Page 33 of Outlaws’ Runaway

Despite feeling like a fifth wheel, I risk speaking up. “So um, what are you going to do with me?”

“Keep you here, obviously,” Crank states like it’s a given. “Inside these walls, you're as safe as you can be until we've got this shit figured out. And if you get bored, I'm sure we can figure out something to keep you entertained.” He winks.

“Seems like Poe already got you warmed up,” Savage adds.

Hellfire looks between the four of us. “Don’t get distracted. I’ll give Eagle-eye a call to see what he knows on his end. Get the money into our vault in the meantime. Even if we don’t turn over the girl, I can’t necessarily justify keeping their cash. Clear? I'll be waiting for that intel, Poe.”

“On it.”

We leave Hellfire’s office and as soon as I’m out of his range, I feel like I can breathe a little easier. “Is he always so…”

Savage shakes his head. “He’s always been serious, but having to take on responsibility for the club the way he did, it’s made him harder.”

“What do I do now?” I ask.

Crank grins. “Make yourself at home.”

18

PAIGE

Poe leavesto go do some digital snooping, leaving me with Crank and Savage who give me a quick tour. The main part of the compound is laid out in a bit of a ‘U’ shape around a central courtyard that still shows signs of its old life in the paved paths between the buildings and the green areas that were probably gardens at one point but are mostly worn down under motorcycle wheels and heavy foot traffic now.

In addition to the church and school, there are two decent sized houses. One Savage points out as where he has an apartment, and the other is where Hellfire and someone named Bonnie live, Hellfire downstairs and Bonnie upstairs. The garage is much busier during the day, though most of the bikers are just hanging out watching the few people who are actually working on their bikes. Music and the smell of someone grilling is coming from the other side of the church.

“Hungry?” Savage asks.

“Starving.”

They lead me around to a grassy field with rickety soccer goals pulled off to the far end. The bikers have set up an open sided tent next to some charcoal barrel grills, and there’s rock music blasting out of a tall speaker. There are a few women around, but it’s mostly ripped, inked-up, shirtless bikers. I could probably make a small fortune selling tickets to the show, but there's no fighting or shooting or orgies happening on the lawn. Compared to my experiences so far, it seems pretty tame, almost homey.

There’s a huge guy with a short mohawk manning the grills that are packed with pretty much every kind of meat you could imagine. Several coolers are stocked with beer and the occasional soda. The sweet scent of barbecue sauce blends with the char of grilling to form a thick scent that has my stomach rumbling.

I get a hot dog while the guys both get burgers. Nobody asks for money or seems to pay much attention to what we take from the coolers.

“How does this place work?” I ask. “Do you pay monthly fees or something?”

Savage laughs, almost spitting out his hamburger. “Nah. All active members work for the club. We get a cut of the profits for ourselves, but most of it goes into keeping this place up and running.”

“So if at the end of all this, I pay you half a million dollars,” something that is feeling increasingly unlikely. “You don’t get to keep it? That doesn’t seem fair.”

“We know exactly what we’re getting into when we join,” Crank says. “The three of us would probably get bonuses, but who goes on what job can be a bit of a crapshoot. It would be seriousbullshit if a guy who shows up and puts in his all like everyone else ends up with nothing because he had shitty luck.”

My entire understanding of their lifestyle shifts. My introduction to biker life was bloody and shocking, but for as rough and violent as the Outlaw Sons might be, these men have created their own small world that allows them to live their lives by their own rules. It’s like a sixties commune, but instead of peace and love, it’s sex, drugs and rock and roll. And guns.

“Why are you smiling?” Savage asks suspiciously.

I shrug, doubting that he’d appreciate the comparison. “No reason. It just seems like a nice setup if you can make it work.”

“Girls against guys!” A brunette shouts as she jogs across the lawn. Her hair is tied back in a bouncy ponytail and she’s wearing thick, black glasses. She stops right in front of us. “Hey! I’m Jessica. You’re Paige, right?”

Taken back, I nod. “Uh, hi.”

“Sorry, I’m not stalking you or anything. I’m Ghost’s old lady. He mentioned Savage was bringing someone back and I know how overwhelming this place can be at first so I was hoping to run into you. Wanna play cornhole? Two of us and two of them, right?”

I look at Crank and Savage.

“Up to you,” Savage says.

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