Page 27 of Biker's Baby

TWELVE

Iris

I didn’t sayanything about the fact Abe was carrying a gun around the house out loud but seeing him with it made me want all the more to get out of the house as fast as I could.

I didn’t want guns around Tristan.

And I really didn’t want to expose him to the lifestyle that called for carrying those guns, either.

The fact that something was going on with the MC that made Abe feel as though he had to be armed at all times left me feeling incredibly uncomfortable, but I still knew better than to ask him about it. I had no idea what he was doing, and I wasn’t going to get myself involved with anything that had to do with the MC.

I had left that life behind when I left the first time, and nothing would change my mind about that now. Especially since he had made it clear that he was the only one who would be able to help me out of the MC.

I wasn’t going to trust any of the others.

Not now, not ever.

But I was running into the problem of getting my things.

Abe hadn’t been very open about helping me when I brought up the paperwork before, but now I felt there was more to it than that. I didn’t think my neighbor had just stopped with the paperwork. I knew Maria, and she was a lot smarter than me when it came to being prepared.

Odds were she had grabbed several things out of my apartment that would come in handy for me once I had a place of my own again, and it was foolish for me to leave it back there.

At the same time, I hoped if Joel were around and he happened to see me with Abe, he’d get the hint and fuck off for good. Joel wasn’t very smart when it came to knowing his own size, but I was sure if he saw me with someone as fierce as Abe, he was sure to back down.

I wanted to believe he wasn’t stupid enough to get involved with someone who outsized him that much. But then, it was Joel, and there was no telling where he’d draw the line when it came to fighting for me. He wanted me back for the pure and simple fact I’d told him he couldn’t have me. I was sure it had nothing to do with love.

I was sure he’d never loved me, in fact.

That afternoon, once Abe was up for the day, I told him once again I wanted him to go with me to grab some things from the old apartment.

“I thought you were going to have your friend send you the paperwork,” he said.

I shook my head. “There’s more than just papers as it turns out. I’m going to need some things when I get a place, and she grabbed them for me. If you would please go with me back there, I don’t want any trouble from my ex, and you’re the only person I can think to take with me who’s not going to put up with any shit if he shows up.”

Abe didn’t seem very happy with the idea, but he agreed to go with me. He didn’t want to take my car, however.

“We’ll get a lot more mileage if we use my truck. I never use it around town, but there’s a lot more room in there than your little clunker. Not to mention we can use the back to haul your things we pick up,” he said.

“If that’s what you want to do.” I nodded.

Truth be told, I was happy that he chose to take his truck. I felt like I was on top of the world after we moved Tris’s car seat into the backseat of the cab, and I climbed into the front with Abe.

It was a lot higher than my car, and Tris was happy to be able to see out the window at the road as we drove back toward our little town. Abe didn’t say much, but he did sing along under his breath to the rock station he’d put on the radio, and I was fine with that.

I wasn’t in the mood for a lot of talking myself, and if I could get through the ride without having to make small talk about what was going on with the MC, I was plenty happy with that.

But we did have to find a place to eat. It was several hours both ways, and we wouldn’t be back in Holbrook until late that night.

“Why don’t we go to Stacy’s?” I asked.

“Why not the truck stop?” Abe replied.

“I used to work at Stacy’s. We’ll probably get a better price, and I bet my old coworkers would love to meet you,” I told him.

“Doubt it would make any difference to them who I am,” he said.

“Well, they were worried about me when I headed out of town. I’m sure it would do them some good to see that I’m okay,” I insisted.

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