Page 39 of Property of Max
“Wait,” Sunny frowns. “Doesn’t Micah’s insurance pay for the nurses?”
“Yes and no,” I admit. “Insurance covers five hours a day. I pay out of pocket for the other five. Sometimes more, if I’m stuckon a double. And half the time, the nurses end up watching Bree, too. Luckily, Micah’s teacher doesn’t cost us anything. But I can’t go even a couple of days without a paycheck.”
“Then come work for me,” Sunny offers. “It’s not much, but I can guarantee you the job.”
“Or me,” Abby jumps in. “My new boutique opens next month. I was going to run it myself, but I really do need help.”
“You bitches are crazy,” my best friend calls from the doorway, half-laughing, half-fuming. “When I heard what you did, I was pissed. How dare you plan a revenge beating without me? I wanted to get a few swings and kicks in, too.”
“Don’t incriminate yourself,” I tell him, shaking my head. “What they did was dangerous. I don’t even want to be here when the Shadows find out.”
“Yeah! Too late for that,” Sunny says, sheepish and proud at once.
I turn and see a ring of furious men watching us. Not a single one speaks. For a second, the silence is worse than anything they could yell. Then Skip pushes Tank and Bones aside and strides forward.
“My heroes,” he says, laughing. “You girls are fucking awesome.”
An officer steps up and produces a set of keys. “You’re free to go,” he says. “You’re just lucky Mr. Gumphrey isn’t pressing charges.”
“Give me five more minutes and I’ll give him something to press charges about,” Riley snaps.
“Should I keep you locked up?” the officer asks.
“Probably,” Riley answers without missing a beat. “You do realize that dickhead was going to fire our friend if she didn’t suck him off, right?”
“Is this true?” the officer asks, turning to me.
“Don’t put her on the spot,” Abby interrupts as the officer opens the cage. “It’s hard enough being a woman in a man’s world. That doesn’t mean you have to treat us like we’re nothing more than holes. My friend is doing her best alone, and then some stupid man decides to kick her while she’s down. Well, I’ve had enough.”
“We all have,” Sunny adds, stepping in close so the three of them form a wall behind me.
“That bastard can try to shove her to her knees again, but I can guarantee you this…if he does, we’ll be right there to kick him in the balls. Again. Come on, Lila. Let’s get out of here.”
“My car is…” Spike starts, voice hard.
“We’re fine,” Riley snaps, cutting him off with a glare. “We’re going to go home with Lila for a few hours. When we’re ready to go back, we’ll go back.”
“Asher…” Spike begins.
“Is at Lila’s with the nurse,” Riley says. “Right now, we need a break from the lot of you.”
“Come on, Skip,” Abby urges. “You can come with us. Otherwise, my brother will have someone tailing us anyway. At least this way we choose who watches over us.”
“Don’t worry, ladies,” Skip says, hands on his hips, trying for a heroic tone. “I’ll keep you safe.”
“Not a lady,” Cody quips, “but I can be if you want. Also, I have to get home, but I’ll call later.”
I hug Cody quickly and tightly, watching him leave without sparing the bikers a second glance.
“I didn’t drive here,” Skip says.
“We can all fit in my van,” I offer softly, feeling Max’s eyes on me from across the room. “The seats are folded down for my brother’s chair, but we can easily pull them back up.”
“Okay,” Skip says. “But I’m driving.”
I nod and fall in step behind him and the girls as we leave.
“Riley,” Spike calls after us, but she doesn’t answer. None of them do.
