Page 6 of Pearl
I grin. The babe’s got one hell of an attitude, that’s for sure.
Hawg doesn’t answer but clears his throat. He doesn’t usually put up with much. Maybe he’s used to her sass. “The ladies will be fine. The guys have orders to bring them in safelyand take them downstairs with you and the others as soon as they arrive.”
“Thanks.”
“You should know, Duchess called and asked us to secure you for a few days as a favor to her and the Royal Bastards, and to make sure your club doesn’t come under attack. I didn’t want to say it in front of the others, ‘cause I don’t know those girls who were rescued from Jack, but I sent some guys over to make sure no one comes calling and if they do, they get a message to leave your club alone.”
Pearl should be grateful the Royal Bastards and Phoenix Crew have her back, but that baby has more attitude than any female I’ve ever seen. “In most circumstances, I’d be pissed,” she says. “The ladies and I have been doing just fine by ourselves for years, but we’ve found ourselves helping women in trouble and those lives come before my pride. Duchess probably knew I’d feel that way. So, thank you, we appreciate the help.”
Hawg laughs. “You’re welcome, Pearl.”
It sounds like everything is under control and I’m about to head back upstairs but she starts talking again and against my better instincts, I stay to hear what it is she has to say.
“And we carry our own weight, we pay for our food, and anything else we need, and after all this is over, when you need a favor, you know who to call, deal?” Her voice is strong and commanding, just like the badass she is and it’s hard not to respect everything about her in this moment.
Hawg laughs, a deep burly chuckle, but then I hear another voice in the room. “Any favor pretty girl? Cause I can envision a whole lot of ways we could get paid back.”
My jaw locks fucking tight. Someone must have been in the room already watching TV or something, but I don’t fucking like the tone of his voice one damn bit.
Pearl doesn’t need a man to jump in and protect her, and she puts the asshole in his place without hesitation. “Anything but the sexual kind. I have a lot of respect for the Phoenix Crew, but I don’t mix business with pleasure although I appreciate the help more than you know.”
Hawg glares at the man. “Pearl, this is Pipes. Don’t pay him any mind. He’s a new recruit and should learn to keep his mouth shut.”
Pipes isn’t as smart as he should be and keeps running his mouth. “Don’t mean I won’t try to change your mind, sweetcakes. I’ll be dreaming about you tonight.”
Pearl doesn’t say anything, but I can just imagine the icy blue that heats up in a minute, that she’s turning on him now.
Hawg clears his throat. “Find something else to do, Pipes. Right now, Pearl, what you gotta watch out for is your back. Those ladies want to get to safety fast and the surest way is on a truck headed north tomorrow night at seven. Duchess has it all lined up and from what I understand will have work for them when they get to where they’re going. As long as they want to go.”
Pearl’s voice sounds edgy and tired. “Except for one thing. Angel’s twin sister Lacey is in Vegas, apparently on ice at some hole in the wall strip club just outside of town. We didn’t know until tonight. That’s what tipped us off to the fact that we may have been tracked. She was still carrying a cell.”
The sound of a chair or bar stool moving in the room causes me to put one foot on the step in case I have to hit the stairs fast, if they get closer to the door. Hawg may be empathetic to her plight, but he stands his ground. “You can’t save everyone sweetheart, not at the risk of putting the other girls’ lives in jeopardy. We can’t wait. We have to get them out of town.”
I expect Pearl to argue but she doesn’t say a thing. She probably knows the score, has been down this road before butclearly something gives him the impression that she’s not happy about his answer.
Hawg exhales a loud breath. “Look Pearl. I’m not saying we give up on getting her sister out, but we move the ladies we have to safety first. The guys are stretched too fucking thin right now. I’ve got some of the boys over at your place, some outside here guarding the place, and we need to be at a meet in Tucson by tomorrow night. We’ll make damn sure your ladies get on that truck before we head out, but it’s the best we can do. If we could miss that meet tomorrow night, we would.”
The sound of boots moving across the room put my own feet into gear, hightailing it back up the stairs. But I still watch to make sure Pearl is on her way back to the other females before I rejoin Lucky at the bar because I don’t like the way fucking Pipes talked to her at all.
Once back at the bar, the glass of warming beer spins in my hand while I’m thinking about the conversation, inwardly swearing about the timing of that Tucson meet and the need for more supply. They’re going to get the supply, but I’d feel a whole lot better if someone stayed here and made sure Pearl and the Harlots are okay. I can’t be in two places at one time, and neither the Royal Bastards nor the Phoenix Crew will be here to do it after they put the rescued girls on the truck tomorrow night.
I make up my mind, right then and there, that tomorrow’s going to be a long-ass day because I’m not leaving Pearl and the women alone. With a timeline like this, I may be able to use a few of the back roads, but the main drag is going to get me there and back a whole hell of a lot faster.
Chapter 5
Pearl
It’s clearly not an argument I’m going to win with the big burly member of the Phoenix Crew who may be thinking logically but not telling me what I want to hear. I’m not leaving her there. No fucking way in hell. I just need time to think and figure out next steps. I follow him back and hear the jangle of keys locking us safely into the room as his footsteps disappear into the night. All in the name of safety, with no chance to get into trouble. I fume at the situation because locked in anywhere, no matter the reason, is not where I want to be.
Fucking night from hell is putting it lightly.
Angel lounges on one of the couches and Charity is on the floor with a pillow and a blanket. Angel wipes her puffy eyes trying to hide the fact that she’s been crying but I’ve seen enough of that in my day. “You can take that bed if you want,” Charity says as I tug off my boots and run my fingers through my hair, brushing it out loosely before tying it back up in a ponytail. I leave the bed for someone else.
I lie back on the couch not even bothering to get undressed, just closing my mind to think and to breathe but that’s easier said than done. Every time I think about the sisters beingseparated, I think about my own sister, torn from me so early in life. Maybe not by a monster who kidnapped her and was in the process of trafficking her until a well-meaning connected family and their bikers stepped in, but a disease as monstrous as any.
No matter the reason. That bond and love doesn’t just go away, and no amount of time closes that wound. And her sister is still alive. Not dead, like mine.
Hours pass, and sleep comes and goes, dragging my exhausted mind under before waking unexpectedly again. A glance at my watch at the crack of dawn assures me that there’s still time. There may not be time to gather an army, or to coordinate an attack, or to do all the things we would normally do, but there is still time. Nobody makes the ride between Phoenix and Vegas faster than me. And that’s a fucking fact.
