Page 22 of His Claim

“Oh, god,” Meg gasped.

“Oh god, is right,” Gravel grunted.

“Is everyone okay?” Ethel asked.

“The guys escaped by the skin of their teeth. King called for a ride. Some of the bikes and the goons’ SUV didn’t survive the explosion, and they need a ride.”

Sirens wailed in the distance.

Meg turned to me. “You’re the only one who didn’t drink. You gotta drive.”

“Me?” I squeaked.

“I got the keys,” Ethel hollered. “My van is parked in the garage.”

“Wait, what?” I sputtered.

“I’ll go with her. King gave me the address.” Gravel pointed at Ethel. “Once we leave, lockdown. No one leaves until I get back.” He headed out the door, leaving it open.

Ethel waved at Gravel’s retreating back. “I know the drill.” She tossed me the keys. “Drive safe, honey.”

I snatched the keys from the air and looked around frantically. Things had done a one-eighty from two minutes ago when I was just excited to have pretty colored hair.

“Oh, poor girl,” Greta snickered. “I still remember my first lockdown. I think I was eleven.”

Cyn nodded. “Yeah, I remember that, but I don’t remember my first one. I’m sure I freaked out like Tatum.”

This was normal for them. This was normal for them?!? And I wasn’t freaking out. I was just trying to process what was going on.

Meg waved her hand in my face. “You gotta go, honey. Put your shoes on, and hop in the van. Gravel will tell you where to go.”

This was what I needed. Short, exact directions on what to do. I nodded and looked for my shoes in the pile by the front door.

“Just wear whatever you can find,” Cyn ordered. “You’ve got about ten seconds before Gravel is blaring the horn and hollering for you to get out there.”

I crammed my feet into two shoes, not caring what they were, and ran out the door.

The garage door rose, and Gravel was in the van's passenger seat. I jumped in and fired it up.

“You’re quicker than I thought you would be,” Gravel chuckled. “Ethel would have made me wait while she fixed her face and found matching shoes.” He leaned over and looked down at my feet. “You made an interesting combo.”

I threw the van into reverse and careened out of the garage. “Which way?” I asked. I shifted into drive and stopped at the end of the driveway.

Gravel pointed to the left. “That way, and then right at the next stop sign. They’re about ten minutes away.”

I turned left and reached to put on my seat belt.

“They’re okay, darlin’,” Gravel said softly.

“Is anyone really okay if they barely escape being blown up?” I asked. It sounded pretty darn serious to me. I didn’t understand how the rest of the girls weren’t freaking out. Ethel seemed a little on edge, but she seemed more than fine with locking down when Gravel and I left.

“I know you’re new to all of this, but your guy knows what he’s doing. Any other fool would have died in that building. Bear knew what to look for and to get everyone out.”

I glanced at Gravel. “Are you sure we should have left everyone at your cabin?”

“You wanted all of them to cram into the van with us?” he chuckled. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his beard. “Ethel, Meg, and Cyn have been through worse than this. They know what to do. If this fool decides to go after them, he’s really barking up the wrong tree.”

“I don’t even understand why he is doing this,” I confessed.

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