Page 16 of Echoes of Danger

“At the most, you’re sixteen,” I say, raising my brows. “If you’re going to pay someone to make you a fake ID, at least find someone who knows what the fuck they’re doing.”

“Damnit, Mike,” the kid mutters as he stomps away with the equally young teen behind him. “I told you it wasn’t going to work.”

“Anyway,” Taylor continues. “Since Maddy got pregnant, King isn’t allowing her to do anything, so we’ll most likely end up doing the cookout and meeting at their place. Think Freckles and her kid would want to come?”

“I’ll talk to her in the morning,” I say before punching my best friend in the arm. “And don’t call her Freckles.”

“I don’t know, brother,” he laughs. “If she’s as freckly as I think she is, there’s no chance in hell the other brothers won’t adopt the nickname for her themselves. You’re going to have to find a new one for yourself.”

“Fucker,” I grumble.

“Quit talking to your girlfriend, and let me the hell in. I need to go smack some worker’s asses.”

Nodding, Taylor lets the man through before pulling out his phone to most likely call Emily, his sister who works behind the bar.

“Hey Em, that fucker that just walked through the door, do you see him?” he asks her. “Water his shit down tonight and charge him double, then put the extra in the tip jar. Why? Because he pissed me the fuck off. See ya.”

Laughing, I nod at the next few people to go ahead inside.

It’s going to be a long night.

Chapter Five

Delphi Mae

“Maybe we should reconsider this,” Eli says for the second time. “We don’t know these people, Ma. And they’re all bikers.”

“Does that make them bad people?” I ask, removing Jessica from her car seat. “Not everything you read is true, Elijah. Don’t be a hateful person.”

“I’m not being hateful,” he says, holding open my jacket and waiting for me to slide it on. “I’m being cautious. I’ve heard rumors that these guys don’t take shit from anyone.”

“You’re being judgmental,” I say as I accept his help. “You’re right about one thing. Wedon’tknow these people. And, if we stick to the way you want things to go, we never will.”

Elijah sighs heavily, his eyes darting to the rows of motorcycles lined up in front of a large house. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt again,” he says, his voice quiet but firm. “We’ve been through enough.”

My heart clenches at his words. I reach out, cupping his cheek with my free hand and forcing him to look at me. “I know you’re trying to protect me, but you can’t shield me from everything. I’m not asking you to trust them; I’m just asking you to trust me.”

He nods reluctantly, his gaze dropping to the ground. “I do trust you, Ma. I just…”

“Don’t want to see me get hurt again,” I finish for him, brushing a stray curl out of his eyes. “But we can’t live our lives looking over our shoulders, Eli. We need to move forward.”

He glances back at the active house, his jaw tight. “Fine. But if they try anything…”

“We’ll leave,” I promise, smiling softly. “Now, come on. Let’s go make some new friends.”

“Why couldn’t Jacob come with us again?” he asks, grabbing the diaper bag from my shoulder.

“He said he was running late and had to make a stop for steak,” I answer. “He thought it would be easier if we just met him here instead.”

“I’m amazed he let you put his baby in that heap of junk you call a car,” he says, ducking when I go to elbow him.

“I’ll have you know that my car is not a heap of junk,” I laugh. “She works perfectly fine.”

“Whatever you say, Ma,” he smiles as he leads the way to the front porch. “Honestly, though, I think Jacob just wanted you to have your car in case you felt like you needed to leave. That’s what I would have done had I been him.”

I don’t respond, knowing that my son is most likely correct. These past few weeks, I’ve noticed how much my son and Jacob are alike.

It’s confusing. But, I’ve also noticed a change in Eli. He’s not as weary of the world as he once was. He’s open and honest to Jacob about his feelings and they’ve worked through some of his anger.

---