Page 29 of Hammer

We turned onto a gravel road I didn’t recognize.Trees crowded close on either side, branches scraping against the windows like skeletal fingers.

“How much farther?”I asked, breaking the heavy silence.

“Ten minutes,” Hammer replied, his hands steady on the wheel.“The compound’s rear entrance is isolated.Good for security.”

I nodded, fidgeting with the hem of my cardigan.The question I’d asked him -- my desperate proposition -- hung between us, unacknowledged but impossible to forget.

“What happens when we get there?”I finally asked.

Hammer’s gaze remained fixed on the road.“You’ll stay in one of the duplexes we keep for emergencies.Club members will take shifts patrolling the perimeter.No one gets in without going through the gate, and the gate’s always manned.”

It sounded like a prison.Or a fortress.I wasn’t sure which scared me more.

“And us?”Chase asked from the back seat.“What, we just stay locked up until you decide it’s safe?”

Hammer looked at Chase in the rearview mirror.“For tonight, yes.Tomorrow we’ll figure out school, work, everything else.”

“And my mom’s… offer?”Chase’s voice hardened on the last word.

I closed my eyes, heat rushing to my face.Of course he’d bring it up.Chase had never been one to dance around difficult subjects.

The truck slowed as Hammer took a sharp turn onto an even narrower road.“That’s between me and your mother.”

“Like hell it is,” Chase shot back.“It affects all of us.”

“Chase,” I warned, turning to give him a look.

He huffed and sat back in the seat.I had a feeling I hadn’t heard the end of it with him.I knew he worried about me, but even he’d told me Hammer was a nice guy.I didn’t understand why he suddenly seemed so concerned.

I watched the man next to me, and wished I knew what he was thinking.If we were staying at a duplex tonight, did that mean he wasn’t accepting my offer?Or did he simply want more time to think it over?

The unanswered questions hanging over me felt like an oppressive weight.I hated things being so up in the air.

Chapter Nine

Hammer

The duplex smelled of fresh paint and the industrial cleaner Aura insisted on using whenever we prepped a place for someone new.Basic furniture filled the space -- a couch, coffee table, kitchen table with four chairs, beds in each room.Nothing fancy, but solid.Safe.

Chase shouldered past me, walking into the duplex.The kid moved with the coiled tension of someone expecting a fight.After being here a few weeks, I’d hoped some of that tension would have eased.Then again, having the Devil’s Minions find them had probably kicked the boy back into his hypervigilant state.I recognized the look in his eyes -- had seen it in brothers just back from war zones, in women who’d escaped men like Piston, and in men like me who’d just gotten out of prison.I’d been the same way during those first months of freedom.The kid was living in survival mode.

“Your room’s on the right,” I told him, nodding toward the hallway.“Your brother’s is on the left.”

Chase didn’t respond, just headed down the hall with his bag.I couldn’t blame him for the cold shoulder.His mother had offered herself to me as payment for protection.What sixteen-year-old wouldn’t hate that arrangement?

Levi slipped past us both, laptop clutched to his chest like it held state secrets.The younger boy hadn’t spoken two words since we’d arrived at the compound.Just watched everything with those analytical eyes behind his glasses, taking in details, assessing.Smart kid.Dangerous kid, in his own way.The quiet ones usually were.

Amelia began opening kitchen cabinets and taking stock of what was available, her movements efficient but tentative.I watched her for a moment, the way she stretched to reach the upper cabinets, how her ponytail swung with each movement.She wore jeans and a simple T-shirt, both well-worn but clean.The sweater she’d had on had been removed at some point.No makeup hiding her features today, just the natural flush of exertion on her cheeks and the hint of shadows under her eyes from constant worry.

I stepped outside to give her space, without having her feel like I was staring her down.Outside, the compound hummed with its usual activity.A Prospect washed bikes near the clubhouse.Tank’s booming laugh carried from the garage.Everything normal, except for the guards I’d asked Savior to double at the gate and the brothers he’d stationed around the perimeter.Devil’s Minions wouldn’t be stupid enough to come onto Dixie Reapers’ territory, not yet, anyway.They’d sent the Prospect to make sure Amelia was actually here, and they’d watch her, gather intel.But Piston wasn’t entirely stupid.He wouldn’t make a move yet.

When I went back inside, Amelia was checking out the books on the shelves in the living room.It was something the old ladies had added over the last few years.This place had been used for multiple things… safe zone for women we rescued, family visiting from out of town, and even for the Prospects on occasion.

“Need to show you the security features,” I said, moving toward the front windows.Better to focus on practical matters than the way her scent -- something floral mixed with coffee -- had invaded my senses.“Every window and door has an alarm.Code is 9241.Don’t share it with anyone but your boys.Once you’re gone from here, Savior will change it again.”

She nodded, following me as I pointed out the surveillance cameras visible through the windows.

“That one covers your front door.Another in back.Gate’s manned 24/7.No one gets in or out without us knowing.”I glanced toward the hallway, lowering my voice.“If something happens, if you feel unsafe for any reason, you hit this.”

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