Page 8 of Big Timber

Without a word, Talia retrieves a set of keys from a hook next to the garage door and leaves me. Instead of waiting for her, I limp back toward my bathroom.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Talia says, with a quick knock on the door. I have a mouthful of toothpaste at the moment, so I grunt loudly in reply; to my surprise, she cracks the door open. “My eyes are closed. I wouldn’t normally do this, but someone’s blowing up your phone.”

I spit, then rinse my mouth out before reaching for a towel. Grinning when my eyes meet hers in the mirror. “You said your eyes were closed.”

“I didn’t think you’d be brushing your teeth naked,” she answers, more defensively than sassy but I let out another chuckle,nonetheless. Talia anxiously waves the phone at me, then nearly drops it as it starts to ring.

“Yeah?” I answer it, and although I see Prez’s name on the screen, he doesn’t say a word.

“Where. The. Fuck. Are. You?”

The rage coming through the line is palatable, and Talia’s green eyes widen as her jaw drops. Considering Declan is not one to raise his voice, it speaks volumes she could hear him.

“At Talia’s. That firefighter from the other day,” I tell him, hitting speaker so I can scroll through my log. “Ah, fuck, man. I’m sorry. I accidentally left my phone in her car and her family walked in—”

“What’s her address?”

I make eye contact with her, giving her a nod to tell him because I have no idea. She immediately recites it and he hangs up. Looking at the log, I have eight voicemails, a dozen text messages, and even more missed calls.

“Could I trouble you for ibuprofen and an ice pack?” I ask her, moving to step around her. “Is the door unlocked? You’re about to have more company.”

All I want in this entire world is to take the ACE bandage off my ankle and ice it. I’m exhausted from talking to strangers all day and know that I’m about to get my ass handed to me for not letting any of my brothers know where I am, especially since our enemies have stopped playing games.

The roar of bikes coming up the street tells me that Declan isn’t coming alone. Unlocking the door, I decide to sit on the smaller of the two living room couches. It’s really the first chance I’ve had to study her place and quickly realize that her furnishings are all worn and mismatched. Nothing shabby, but it’s easy toimagine her family walking into this house immediately after she bought it, each carrying a piece of furniture they could live without, to help her fill the space.

She walks in with the items I asked for and a glass of water, just as Declan, Throttle, Diesel, Wolfman, and a couple of the other guys push their way inside. Axel is noticeably, and understandably, missing.

“Today was not the day to disappear,” Declan immediately starts, not even acknowledging Talia.

“It was me,” she interjects. “I kidnapped him.”

“That so?” Diesel asks, looking between us.

“Have we met?” Throttle’s question comes at the same time.

Wolfman stands quietly beside the door, his eyes taking inventory of everyone’s movements.

“I couldn’t let him stay at his tattoo parlor,” she informs them, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s against regulation.”

The question on Declan’s face is very clear when his eyes swing back to my face—Is she for real?

“Talia, these are my brothers. You met Declan the other day.” I kick off the introductions when I see her wringing her hands together and don’t want her to feel uncomfortable in her own home. “Talia’s a firefighter, and graciously invited me to stay in her spare room until I can move back to the clubhouse.”

“There’s trouble in Iowa also,” Declan says. He looks between me and Talia, silently conveying there’ll be more to discuss later. “I still don’t have any word on Light and Randy. Me’ansome’s last ride is on Tuesday. It’s understandable if you can’t handle it.”

“I’m going to head upstairs,” Talia interrupts him again as she realizes we have a lot to discuss. “Help yourselves to the beer in the fridge.”

She turns, retrieving her full wine glass before leaving us to talk.

“What are you doing here?” Diesel asks as soon as we hear the click of a door somewhere upstairs.

“I honestly haven’t had a moment to think about it. Her entire family showed up right after we arrived and just left. My ankle’s killing me and I haven’t slept the past two nights—no offense, Prez. I appreciate you putting me up,” I tell them, feeling defensive because of how much Idowant to be here—even though the timing is shit. “I saw her pull up outside your place earlier, and Justin was jabbering away in the kitchen, then I just kind of bolted.”

Throttle snorts at the last part of my sentence because we’ve all been subjected to that kid’s endless, though usually amusing, stream of consciousness.

“Did she say something about beer?” Tonic asks, and I point toward the kitchen.

“Axel and Joey know your ankle is fucked up, so don’t worry about missing the last ride,” Declan informs me, finally sitting down opposite me, pausing to accept a beer even though he grimaces at how comfortable Tonic is making himself. “The Northern Grizzlies are coming down for it, as are some of our brothers, but there’s a lot of shit going down with multiple chapters. Joey, Piper, and Ransom are taking it hard. Of course.”

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