Page 25 of Savior

Instead of traipsing out into the middle of nowhere, I could’ve put all my focus on being a store manager and Zane’s wife. What little excitement I’d been exposed to had only left me longing for the familiar, so why couldn’t I let it go?

A chill worked its way down my spine at the thought of my father being lost forever. Maybe I’d never really known Grey, but there was a small part of me that felt like I owed it to him to fight.

Grief had left me battered, but anytime I felt like quitting, I asked myself if he would’ve given up on me.

“Have you heard from Hail Mary?” he asked, peering at me from over his sunglasses.

I shook my head. “She still won’t return my calls. Mama said she’s just trying to process everything, but it’s been two months. I don’t understand why she shuts down like this.”

He nodded before turning off onto a dirt road. His truck bounced up and down violently, causing the baby to startle. My belly contorted beneath the fitted tank top as little arms and legs fought to make their presence known.

“Holy shit, Cap, it looks like it’s going to burst out of you!”

I patted my shirt reassuringly as we hit another rough patch of road. “You woke it up with your bad driving. Why are we even on this road?”

“You wanted to go to the clubhouse, woman! What, you think we just have it sitting on a busy street corner next to aStarbucks? ‘Yeah, I’d like a mocha latte, and a side of blow, please.’ The fuck, Cap? You wanna be a biker, you gotta think like a biker.”

I giggled at the image. “Geez Louise, calm down. So, I’ve been working on my interview questions. I wrote them down on index cards and stuck them in my purse. Do you think they would be opposed to me referencing them?”

The truck came to an abrupt halt, getting the baby all fired up again. Little Ricky cocked his head to the side and looked over at me with a smirk. “The fuck? Look, I think you’ve got it twisted. This ain’t—wait, hold up. Actually, I think you should go over some of them with me. Practice makes perfect, yeah?”

I fished the cards out of my purse with a wide grin. “So, they’re just a few hypothetical questions… things that I thought might come up. First one is…”

I shuffled through the index cards to find the one I wanted. “‘Dakota, how will you increase the ROI on our drugs and guns?’” I folded my hands in my lap and recited, “I’m glad you asked me that, Sir Bear. As store manager ofBella Beauty, I have consistently been a top performer in our district. I possess excellent customer service skills and am willing to go above and beyond to ensure my clients are satisfied—that sounds sexual, doesn’t it?”

Little Ricky ran a hand over his mouth, hiding another smirk. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, it absolutely sounds sexual… and what’s with the Sir Bear shit?”

“Oh, well he’s the boss, so it’s a sign of respect. Does he prefer Your Majesty? I can’t screw this up. We have to find my dad.”

Instead of laughing at me, Little Ricky’s mouth settled into a flat line and reached across the console to squeeze my hand. “We will, Caparina. I swear to you.”

I swallowed the emotion threatening to spill over in the form of tears and looked out the window at the sea of motorcycles. “How are there this many bikers and we still don’t know where the Sons are?”

Little Ricky shrugged easily as he navigated his pickup truck into a narrow space between two bikes. “Bear called in some of the other chapters… thought it’d be best to make sure everyone was on board with him takin’ over, ya know?”

“So, they’re not here to fight for my dad? They’re just here to say that they think Bear should run things?” There was no hiding the judgment in my tone.

I suddenly wasn’t feeling much like a biker chick. My father had given everything to the club, but it seemed as if they’d already forgotten about him.

With Mike busy sobering up, it had made sense to pledge my loyalty to the club, to let them know that I was willing to break whatever laws necessary to find my father.

Now, I wasn’t so sure.

The prospect, Alex, walked up to the window with a wave. I hadn’t seen him since the night of my wedding when he’d stood in front of the doors, refusing to let either me or Kate pass. I’d hated him at the time but realized that his actions hadn’t been some elaborate scheme to keep me away from my mother but were meant to keep me safe.

I climbed down with as much grace as I could muster before meeting his curious expression.

“Hello, Alex,” I said, carefully infusing conviction in my words. Nan had always claimed that people responded well to authority. Granted, she’d only ever said it to Pops, but it was good advice, nonetheless.

He eyes me warily. “Why are you here?”

Little Ricky came around the back of the truck, his boots connecting loudly with bits of gravel. “She’s with me. Why don’t you get back to your post before Pres sees you?”

Alex nodded and scurried back toward the gate, still watching us with wide eyes.

“Does Alex know something I don’t?” I finally asked. “He keeps staring at me like I’m about to get my head caved in, and he wants to remember how I looked before I got dead.”

With a chuckle, Little Ricky looped an arm around my shoulders and led me toward a large building. “Nah, Cap. Everyone’s just on edge with what happened to your old man. Bear cracked down on security—”

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