Page 22 of In It for the Long Ride

Not again. I seriously could not do this anymore.

Isabella shoved the double doors open and I froze when I met Carl at the door.

“Come on,” He grabbed my arm and jerked me away from Isabella.

“What the hell,” I gasped, as I looked around the church yard.

It was littered with Steel Disciples. Some of them were openly brandishing pistols in the waistband of their pants.

They never did that!

“Wh–?” I couldn’t form a question; I was too busy searching the crowd for Blaze.

Thankfully, he was still in the back of the car. Just before Carl opened the door, he parked his lips next to my ear, “The bastard has Crystal's sister, Joplin.”

“Goddamn it, Carl!” I started to unload, unable to hold back despite our location.

“I know it. I know it, Babe. Just… get in.” Both his tone and his eyes pleaded with me.

“We need to talk,” I placed my hand on top of his, where he had it resting on the car door.

“Then we will,” he promised.

I gave a slow nod and sank into the backseat. He shut the door for me and climbed into the front.

Chapter 10

Montana

I triedto keep my cool, but man was it hard. The adrenaline was pumping through me. I kept my window cracked and drummed my fingers against the roof of the car and the edge of the door while Easy sped down the road. Behind us, I watched in the rearview as Mak trailed our car and Isabella followed him in that damn luxury car with the tinted windows. The rest of our guys were tailing her. It was a procession that might have made me proud any other day.

Now, it just felt like we were running. A pack of wolves being chased out of their fucking den.

“Damn it,” I thumped my other hand on the dash and ground my teeth.

“Carl, the boy.” Daisy reminded me, but when I looked over my shoulder he was still snoozing against her shoulder.

I shook my head and made a low sound in my throat.

In the rearview, I saw Daisy staring at me. I could see the questions in her gaze, but she didn’t ask any of them with the boy in the car. We rode in silence back to the cabin, where everyone crammed together so we’d all be able to park in the yard and on the lane.

Easy killed the engine and hopped out, but Daisy didn’t move.

“Why are they here?” she finally whispered.

“Hm?” I knew she meant the club, but I was so scattered mentally that it took me a moment to form an answer, “For safety.”

“Safety,” She laughed, and her eyes got wide. “There is no safety amongst these people, Carl. They didn’t save Janice or Sasha, why would I believe my safety or that of my nephew is any more assured than theirs?”

I hung my head and sighed.

A knock sounded against the window, and I nearly pulled a muscle with how hard I arched my back. Isabella smiled on the other side and opened and closed her hand, in a wave that made her nails look twice as long as they were.

“We’ll be a minute.” I nodded at her and shifted my gaze toward the front.

The woman stood there until I thought I was going to have to be a little less polite, but she eventually straightened her hair and went back to Mak’s side.

“She doesn’t mean any harm.” Daisy quietly mused, “But all the same, I want to leave.”

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