Page 135 of Gunner

“Only once. I left right after.”

“Why?”

She fidgeted in her seat. Wringing her hands together as we got to the heart of what happened that had frightened her enough to make her leave a life she was building.

“He was with them.”

“Who was with them, Amber?”

“The man from the cell.”

Her eyes watered and she lifted her face to the ceiling. Her breathing quickened, and I reached out to take her hand.

“Deep breaths, Amber. Inhale and hold it. Four... Three... Two... One. Now exhale slowly. We can stop here if you need to,” I offered.

Though just as I thought, she didn’t want to stop. She wanted to forge through. Amber confessed she had never told anyone what had happened. She never told Danny she left Chicago, let alone why. She wanted to get through this, so I would sit here as long as she needed me to.

“I was behind the counter, taking orders, and four men walked in. My co-worker told me after that only two of them were Valentinettis. The other two were cousins who had disappeared years before, and only recently had returned to Chicago. She said there were rumors and stories, but no one really knew what had happened or why they were back.”

“And you recognized one of them?”

“One of the cousins. They called him Dwayne. That wasn’t the name he gave that day in the cell, and he looked different. He was in a suit instead of faded jeans, and he’d shaved. He had a beard when I met him. But there was no mistaking it was him. When they walked up to the counter, I froze. His eyes bore into mine like he recognized me but he couldn’t place from where.”

“What did you do?”

“I ran. I turned away and ran to the back room. I begged the other girl to take their orders. I could hear them teasing him. Saying things like‘Dwayne chases all the girls away’and‘There’s that Buchannon charm.’

“What did he say?”

“Nothing. I peeked around the corner, and he was staring directly at me. When they finally left, my co-worker told me who they were. It didn’t matter what she said about him. I knew it was him. So, I left. I went home, packed a bag, and left Chicago.”

“Where did you go?”

“I just drove west until I found this place. It was so small. Barely even a dot on the map. Then the MC moved in and had a party. I went intending to get shit faced and let whatever happened happen. I knew I was taking a risk. I saw the 1% patch and knew what it meant. I was ready to leave this earth. My plan was to get drunk and come on to the scariest man there. I wanted to pick a fight. I knew how MCs treated women. I figured it wouldn’t take much for one of them to kill me.”

“Only that didn’t happen.”

“No, that didn’t happen. I found the one freaking club that had respect for women,” she scoffed. “They monitored the alcohol, making sure none of the women overdid it. And if they did, they called the sheriff to get her home. The sheriff? Can you believe it? Of course, I didn’t know at the time the sheriff was the president’s brother.”

“What made you stay?”

“I made a choice to have sex that night. For the first time in my life, I had sex because I wanted to. And I enjoyed it. Boy, did I enjoy it. They said they were looking for a few women who might want to live at the clubhouse. Food and board were included. And if we wanted to help keep the clubhouse clean, they would pay us a salary. They made it clear that sex was not a requirement but expected. We could say no. We could choose who we wanted to be with. I figured, why the hell not? I had been trained half my life on how to please a man. And if the others were as good as the first guy, I would benefit from it too. So, I set my boundaries, and so far, every man there has respected them. I haven’t been with all of them. I only have sex with guys younger than me. No one older. And I have no footprint here. No way to track me. The car I use is in the club’s name. One member is a doctor, so there are no medical records to hack into, and they pay us in cash. I can hide here, or so I thought.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Gunner

Slamming the door behind me, I stomped down the front steps, heading straight to the prospect leaning on his bike.

He straightened up immediately, and I got in his face.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Sir?”

“Where were you?”

“Um, Miss Walker asked me to go pick up Amber and bring her over. I thought—”

---