Page 116 of The Echo of Violence

“That’s the one.”

“Hold on. He shouldn’t be out yet.”

“Well, he is. Was. He’s now hanging out of his windshield with a broken neck.”

He curses up a storm before calling for Rex. “Where are you?”

I tell him where we are, and he tells me he’ll head our way and see if he can find anything out.

“He sounds pissed,” Mercy says when I put my cell phone back in my pocket.

“He was actually calmer than I thought he would be. Shit like this is his worst nightmare and one of the reasons he wasn’t crazy about me becoming a fugitive recovery agent.”

“It sounds to me like there are many reasons why he wouldn’t want you to do it, but I love that he didn’t stop you, regardless.”

“Right? He’s one of the best men I know. I don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for him and Rex.”

“How did he take it when you told him you were a prospect?”

I huff before looking at her. “I didn’t. I wanted to get a few weeks in first and see if I could handle it before I broke it to them. Only Splinter, Knight, and Eightball decided to tattle on me.”

She gasps. “No, they didn’t.”

“Oh, they did.”

“And you weren’t pissed at them?”

“Oh no, I was, but…”

“They used their magic dicks on you.”

“Yep, pretty much. In my defense, I’m not used to premium dick. I usually attract the budget-buy ones who do the job with no frills and minimal effort. I’m not used to all the bells and whistles, so it made me a little giddy.”

“So, they basically turned you off, then back on again.”

“Yep. A factory reset sponsored by Big Dick Energy.”

Red and blue lights flash through the trees as they approach the bend.

“You got a permit for the gun?”

“Yeah, carry and conceal.”

“Okay, put it on your seat, get out of the car, and keep your hands where they can see them.”

I do the same, leaving my gun on the driver’s seat. I keep my knife on me because they have no right to search either of us.

Thankfully, I don’t have my cut on. It’s lying on the back seat, patch side down. Scope bitched me out the last time I wore it in a cage, so I try to remember to take it off now every time I get in the car.

Mercy has her cut on, though.

“It’s up to you how you play this. If you want to walk the path of least resistance, then take your cut off and lay it on the back seat with mine, hiding the patch. Most cops aren’t too bad, but you’ll always have a few who will only focus on your links to an MC. If you want to keep it on, then that’s fine too. We might just—”

“No. Let’s play it smart. The last thing I want is to sit in a holding room for hours while they prove a point. My baby might be the size of an M&M right now, but that doesn’t stop me from needing to pee all the time.”

She hurries to take her cut off and lay it down with mine before slamming the door shut. She walks around to stand beside me with her hands on her thighs in front of her.

Two police cars pull onto the turnoff and stop in front of us. Four cops climb out. Two hold back with their guns aimed, and two move forward. An ambulance and a firetruck pull up behind, cutting off the road access.

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