She nodded in understanding. “Well, I won’t pester you about it anymore, but I am getting a silent alarm installed. Not just for your peace of mind, but for mine as well. This town is a little rough around the edges, and it makes me feel better knowing we can contact help without alerting to any trouble.”
Well, I couldn’t complain about that. If it made her feel better, I’d deal with it. “Sure. When?”
“An electrician will be showing up later in the week to set it up. Sam was the name I was given. I’ll be doing story time with the kindergarteners during the appointment, but I’m sure you can handle it. We also need to look at hiring someone to fix the computers. Two of them are acting up and I’ve gotten a few complaints.”
“Considering how old the computers are, I’m not surprised. I’ll call around, get some quotes after I put back all the returns.”
And for the first time since I was attacked, I was left alone. Regina didn't hover, and I could get my work done with no issues. I put the returns back, cleaned up the kids room, sent out some emails about late books, and just went about my day. It was nice. And eventually, my shoulders came down and the last of the stress slipped away. I was a librarian. The job wasn’t dangerous. I had no reason to freak out or for anyone to hover.
I was fine.
CHAPTER 2
CHASE
“Load up, assholes!” Brewer barked.
He had his kid propped on his arm, his eyes narrowed, a deep scowl on his face. You’d think he’d have gotten more patient after becoming a dad. If anything, it made him more surly. He had better things to be doing than be chasing after the crew to get them on the road.
Sitting on my bike, I scanned the crowded lot. A portion of the crew was staying back to watch over the clubhouse, including the prospects. Everyone else was joining in on the run. We were heading for a rally, mostly as a show of force, reminding the other clubs nearby who we were and what we were capable of.
I tracked the girls out of habit, making sure each of them was with their men where they were supposed to be. Protecting women was an old habit I took fucking seriously. Even landed me a job as head of security at Lacey’s club. If anyone wanted to get close to the girls who worked there, they had to go through me first. No one dared try twice.
Once I was sure they were covered, I relaxed, leaning on the handlebars of my bike while I waited for everyone else to hurry up. I felt the urge to get on the road like an itch under my skin. I needed the high like a damn addict.
Not that I knew what that was actually like. Never touched the stuff. Didn’t want to end up like Clink. He followed his old lady around like adamn golden retriever, but underneath the surface, I saw the tension there. He still got urges, despite being six months out of rehab. He dealt better with support. When he passed me, I tossed him a pack of gum. The intense mint shit sometimes knocked him out of the urges.
He caught it, shooting me a bemused look. “What are you? My keeper?”
“Maybe I’m hoping I don’t have to babysit you this time.”
He flipped me off, but he didn’t give the shit back. He knew we were only looking out for him. Brewer was his go-to, but a bunch of us stepped up when he admitted he was struggling a month out of rehab. We were his crew. We watched his back. That kind of camaraderie was why I joined in the first place.
Well… part of the reason, anyway.
Shaking the thought off, I turned my attention to our Prez, Croy, who was coming out of the clubhouse with his old lady on his arm. Finally. If he was here, we’d get a move on.
He wasn’t a man for speeches, heading straight for his bike and climbing on. Riley hopped on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. My chest tightened automatically, just like it did every time I watched the women with their men. I had that once. For a little while, anyway.
Where the hell was my head at today? Too fucking focused on the past. None of that shit mattered anymore. I had my crew. That was all I needed.
The ride was long, long enough to clear my head. I rode in the middle of the pack, behind the officers. I didn’t pull stupid stunts, which made me trustworthy enough to get that close. Meanwhile, Bandit and Snake Eyes were behind me to my left, popping wheelies like fucking kids. If they crashed, I wasn’t going to rescue them. And I was pretty sure Socket would make them pay out the nose to fix their shit. He might be the club mechanic, but if you did stupid shit to your bike on purpose, he’d charge you extra for the inconvenience. You didn’t piss off Socket if you wanted his help later.
Bear pulled up alongside me, lowering his sunglasses long enough to shoot me an irritated eye roll and jerk his chin at the two idiots behind us. I shook my head. Not my circus, not my monkeys. If Croy had a problem, he’d send Reaper to deal with it. One of the reasons I’d never go officer was because I didn’t want to deal with shit like that. Luckily, those spots were filled and unless someone died, it’d stay that way for a while.
We pulled off the highway and followed a long road into a town only a little bigger than ours. A town I was intimately familiar with. My hackles went up, and I scanned the area warily. No one told me exactly where we were going, just that there was a rally. It wasn’t my job to know. And even if I did beforehand, there wouldn’t have been a thing I could do about it. None of the crew knew my story, and I wasn’t about to share it with them to get them to avoid coming out here. Knowing a few of them, they’d only push to drag me back out here just to fuck with me.
There was a spot designated for our crew that we parked at and everyone dismounted, the energy picking up with the excitement of the event. Most would be drunk by the end of the night. Knox was already heading for the nearby motel to make sure there were rooms available for people to crash. I looked around uneasily, tracking the colors on the backs of crews passing by.
A heavy hand clapped my shoulder, and I had to fight the urge to jump. Glancing over my shoulder, I glared at Viper, who had a shit-eating grin on his face. “Problem, brother? You look a little spooked.”
I shrugged him off with a scowl. “No fucking problem. Watch it.”
He put his hands up in surrender, snickering. “Woah. Someone’s got his panties in a twist. Problem, teacher’s pet?”
I fucking hated that nickname. Since Croy trusted me to watch over the girls right after I got inducted, the crew teased me a lot. Called me things like kiss ass or teacher’s pet. They never asked why I took on the job, not that I’d tell them anyway. But looking out for the girls didn’t make me a simp for Croy. It made me fucking smart. Women didn't belong around the crew. They were always the first targets. Some assholes weren’t man enough to face us head-on and went after them instead.
“Man, why you always lookin’ for a fight?” Bear wondered out loud,giving Viper a bored look. “You looking to compete with Clink for most annoying? He’ll take it as a challenge, you know.”