Page 38 of The Gentleness of Rage

“Ain’t going nowhere, baby. Forget it,” he replied and gave Jaelynn a light kiss.

Slate held her eyes for a few seconds and ran a finger down her cheek before departing to speak to Ramirez and Ben.

“That’s no coincidence. Slate, you were followed,” Ben said as he approached. Slate noted how Ben kept his voice down.

“Yeah, but by who?”

“That’s the question. Keep your head on a swivel, Slate. Someone has targeted you,” Ramirez agreed.

“Is Jaelynn at risk?” Slate asked. He was fully prepared to stick her on a plane and get her out of the country.

“No. It’s one death. I believe the person tried to set you up and was unsuccessful. They’re not going to be too happy they failed, but I can’t see them trying again. Just make sure you keep company over the next few days and stay as much as possible on camera. Note everywhere you go and the roads you took getting there. Let’s cover your back,” Ben said.

“Pain in my fuckin’ ass,” Slate complained.

“So is getting locked up!” Ramirez stated.

Chapter Eight.

Slate

Slate booked another date for Jaelynn on Saturday. She wasn’t working for Ezra during the day, so he made plans with her. He had seen her since Tuesday but hadn’t been able to take her out. Between issues with the strip club, sitting in on interviews, and other shit, Slate was at his wit’s end.

Grabbing takeout and watching TV with Jaelynn was not how he wanted to court her. Today, he’d booked something he hoped she’d see as romantic.

But what did Slate know about romance? He was a biker, not the boy next door. Slate was doing his damn best.

As he pulled up outside Jaelynn’s house, he smiled as Jaelynn opened the door and came hurrying out. She wore a jacket and carried her helmet.

“In a rush?” Slate teased.

“I love riding!” Jaelynn replied as she swung up behind him.

Slate had noticed that the last few days, Jaelynn had worked up the confidence to start touching him. She was more comfortable around him, and her flinching had lessened. She also seemed to be settling into the bar. He’d watched her Thursday and Friday night, and she’d been tense and on edge. But she soldiered through it.

Slate wanted nothing more than to tell her to quit the jobs and be a stay-at-home mom. Because he intended to knock her up as soon as possible. However, if Slate rushed Jaelynn, he may traumatise her more. Slow and steady won the race.

They rode towards Pactola Lake up in the Black Hills. Slate had taken a guess that Jaelynn might enjoy a day on the water. Self-doubt now kicked in as he hoped she liked the water and didn’t hate it. Despite the chilly weather, their warm clothing eased Slate’s concerns. Rage held a cabin up there, and Slate knew it was well stocked.

They parked outside, and Jaelynn took off her helmet and looked around.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Rage owns this. We have a booking system; nobody had today, so I grabbed it,” Slate answered. “Come on. If you like log cabins, you’ll love this one.”

Jaelynn followed him up the steps and onto the porch, where there was a swing. “I love that,” she said, pointing.

“Then feast on this,” Slate replied, opening the door to a quintessential log cabin.

“Oh wow,” Jaelynn exclaimed. Her eyes drifted around the large open space, which had been separated into three using furniture. An eight-seater dining table sat against the far wall. The kitchen area was to the left, and a lounge filled the rest of the space.

“There’s four bedrooms upstairs and those are two sofa beds,” Slate said. “Considering the size of some of our families, we needed big.”

Jaelynn shrugged, and Slate could understand. She hardly knew anyone from the club yet.

“I thought we might go fishing,” Slate suggested, and Jaelynn smiled.

“Wonderful! I used to go with Aunt Elise and Dorothy,” she exclaimed.

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