Page 52 of Chubs

“Wow. Wonder who they were and what they wanted,” Bailey says.

“The license plate is government issued. As in, Feds. I didn’t get a good look at them, but I think they might have been the ones harassing Chubs,” Candy answers as she enters the room. “We’re secure here. Alex is being entertained by Mac and Prissy, and she’s explaining all about Disney movies to them.”

Candy walks back out of the kitchen, and we follow. Taking seats in the living room, I watch as Candy stands to the side of the front window and keeps an eye on the road. I pull my phone out and call Ava to let her know we have Mac and to see if she needs help, but she said she’s fine. Trudy’s at her house, and Petey’s on his way home.

It's not long, and Axel calls Bailey to let her know everything’s good. By the time James made it to the corner, the SUV was gone. They must have turned around after seeing us drive through the gate.

“Let me talk to him when you’re done, Bailey,” Candy orders, and Bailey hands over her phone immediately.

Candy takes it and then walks out the front door, shutting it behind her. I’m sure she’s filling the guys in on the license plate and who she thinks it was.

“Want to stay for dinner?” Bailey asks.

“I better not. I promised Axel I’d set him up at the clubhouse for the night because he doesn’t want anyone to catch whatever he has,” I explain as Bailey grins.

“I’ll make him some food and grab a change of clothes for him then. I think whatever is wrong with him is just in his head, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, I guess.”

Stopping back at the clubhouse, Candy and I carry in the items Bailey sent for Axel. Several of the members are there and discussing what happened, so I place everything on the bar and point to them when Axel looks in my direction. I turn to leave, but Gunner’s voice stops me.

“I want you sticking close to club members for a while, Lucy. Whoever it was, and I think Candy was right, might not have been looking for you, but it’s possible they were. If they only wanted to talk to you, they could have approached you most anywhere. They didn’t, though. They tried stopping your car on a deserted stretch of road, and that concerns me.”

“I’ll stick with her unless I’m at work. During those times, she can hang with one of you guys,” Candy states.

“That work for you, Lucy?” Gunner questions.

“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll make arrangements with the guys when Candy’s working. Thank you.”

“Any idea why they’d want to talk with you?” Gunner asks.

“No, none. They never tried before,” I answer, without mentioning that the men had been sitting outside the gym earlier. I certainly don’t mention that they may have been following me all day, and I hadn’t noticed.

“Maybe they think you know something they don’t. Today’s move was that of desperation, and that’s never a good thing,” Gunner informs me with a warning in his voice.

I nod in agreement and let Candy herd me out the door. Once we’re on the road back to town, Candy speaks up.

“Might be easier to tell that man what he wants to know and let him deal with these Fed Fuckers. I’m not scared of much, but even I wouldn’t want to be on his bad side.”

I nod, acknowledging her comment, but silently give myself a pat on the back for not caving into Gunner’s intimidation factor. Yet.

We stopped by Candy’s apartment long enough for her to grab some spare clothing, then drove directly to Lisa’s condo. Candy headed for the shower she had missed earlier, and I explained what had happened to Lisa. I didn’t want to tell her or make her worry, but I had to explain my new shadow. Lisa listened closely, agreed with Gunner over her very own sister, then asked what I wanted for dinner. We did agree that our parents didn’t need to know about my little run-in, literally, with federal agents.

“You need to have Trigger fix your car tomorrow. It’s drivable but needs work,” Candy advises while sitting cross-legged on the living room floor, eating Chinese takeout.

“I didn’t even think about it. Hell, I never even looked at the damage,” I admit while helping myself to more noodles. “We can take it to the shop before we go to New Horizons. Are you sure you want to be on babysitting duty?”

“Sure. I love my apartment, but it gets lonely sometimes too,” Candy responds between bites. “I’ve never really had girlfriends before either, so this is fun for me.”

“And we love having you hang with us,” Lisa adds sincerely.

When there’s a knock on the door, Lisa stands, but Candy holds up a hand to stop her. Picking up her handgun, Candy approaches the door.

“Who’s there?” Candy growls.

I can’t hear whatever the answer is, but Candy relaxes and flips the lock. Opening the door, she holds it wide while my parents walk past. Mom nearly stumbles when she sees the handgun, but Dad simply grips her arm as they join us in the living room.

“Want to explain?” Dad asks while quirking an eyebrow.

“Candy is over-cautious,” I reply, but it comes out sounding more like a question than a statement.

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