Page 82 of Lucifer's Hounds

Jordan stops and looks at Asher. “What?”

“For fuck’s sake try not to fucking hurt her anymore before you return her,” he sighs, pressing his thumb and finger to the bridge of his nose in exasperation. It must be hard to deal with this bunch of idiots all day.

Jordan snarls at Asher and continues to grab my arm and lead me out of the trailer. I don’t ask questions. I don’t like the fact that I have to ride with these guys, the imbeciles that have no fucking sense, but hopefully it’ll be a short ride and I’ll be back home soon enough.

I’ve already decided that once I get back, I will continue on with my life as normal. Work the bar, date Cass, and try to forget this shit ever happened. Or, maybe that isn’t the best idea. What if they come back for me? Would these assholes be the ones to misunderstand directions or go rogue again and kill me next time?

Jordan opens the door of the trailer and walks down the three stairs that are falling apart without offering me a hand. These men have no fucking manners. I walk down the stairs without falling through them, somehow, and follow Jordan to the truck parked in the dimly lit driveway. He opens the back-passenger door and shoves me in. I grunt as my legs hit the running board before I have the time to lift my foot to climb in. Jordan shuts the door once I’m inside and disappears back into the house.

I scan my surroundings, looking to see if I recognize anything but nothing looks familiar. The sky is starting to lighten, and the sun will be coming up shortly. I look at the ignition of the truck, but the keys aren’t in it. Not that it matters. They’re taking me back. I debate making a run for it, but I don’t have the first clue where the hell I’m at.

I sit in the truck for a while before the guys come out of the trailer. They don’t look pleased that they have to return me, Keith included, and I wonder if they actually will.

Keith climbs into the driver’s seat and Jordan gets in the passenger seat while Boulder hops in the back with me. I swear I’m going to die of suffocation from the odor coming off of them before we ever make it out the driveway. The vibe in the truck is weird. The tension in here is thick.

Jordan reaches for the volume knob of the radio and turns it up. Some new rap song plays for a moment before Keith changes the station.

“I ain’t listening to that shit,” he says.

An old country song plays through the speakers as we turn out of the driveway on a back road that doesn’t even have any lines on it. When we turn onto the main highway, I still don’t know where we are. Nothing here looks familiar. We drive for a few minutes before turning into a gas station.

Keith kills the truck and looks at Jordan. “You and Boulder go inside and grab drinks. This is as far as I go.”

Jordan exits the truck and goes into the store with Boulder. Once they’re out of sight, Keith turns around to face me.

“Your time’s gonna come and you’re gonna pay for the shit you just caused. I’ll make damn sure of it.” His tone is harsh. I’m confused. What had I caused? The only thing I did was try to leave work.

I look at him, curious if he’s going to say anything else, but he doesn’t. He grabs the driver’s door and gets out. I watch him walk to one of two motorcycles across the parking lot. There’s a Moccasin on the other one, obviously waiting for Keith.

Boulder and Jordan return with three cokes and two bags of chips. I already know that one of them isn’t for me. Figures. The two motorcycles head in the direction we came from. Boulder turns the opposite direction, hopefully to bring me home.

I ride quietly in the backseat wondering what they did with my phone, if I’ll get it back or if they’re going to keep it. After an hour of driving, I begin to recognize my surroundings. We’re coming through the little town I grew up in, only fifteen minutes from Creek’s.

“Where’s my phone?” I ask, reluctantly.

“In my hand,” Jordan says, lifting it up for me to see.

“Can I have it?” I ask.

“Not ‘til we drop you off.”

I sigh. What difference does it make whether I get it back now or later? They pass up the entrance to Creek’s and my heart sinks in my chest. Why aren’t they taking me to my car? I can get inand drive myself anywhere from there. I try not to panic as so many thoughts flicker through my mind.

Boulder breaks the silence in the truck. “Where’s this place at?”

“Down the road a few more miles, then there’s an entrance on the left-hand side of the street.”

I hear the directions but this location doesn’t sound familiar. Maybe it’s one of the guys’ houses. When Boulder makes a left turn into a private drive, I see a line of motorcycles parked out front of a two-story house. It’s made of dark red brick and looks like it was built in the fifties.

Ten or fifteen Lucifer’s Hounds stand outside in a group, waiting. I can’t make out who all is standing there but I don’t care. These are the men that have my back, whether I know them or not, simply because Cass is their President and I’m his girl.

Boulder puts the truck in park, and we’re surrounded. Leo is on one side of the truck and Shorty is on the other, both with guns trained on the men in the front seats. The doors open and Boulder and Jordan are ripped from the truck.

I don’t know what to do and I don’t want to get out if they don’t know I’m in the truck. The last thing I need is to get shot because I step out unannounced.

Leo shoves Boulder forward and Shorty leads both guys toward the group of Hounds. Leo opens the back door of the truck, his gun aimed right at me.

“Whoa,” I say, putting my hands up.

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