Page 14 of Jagged Little Pieces

“Is Peter your brother or father?” Noble asks me while Zoot’s dark gaze remains focused on Walla Walla.

“My brother.”

“We were under the impression you weren’t on good terms with your out-of-state family,” Noble says and strokes his black-and-white beard. “Why would their problem show up here?”

“Because they missed their shot on her family,” Walla Walla explains. “Didn’t Goose tell your boys all this info?”

Noble allows a little smile. “We heard Goose is quite the character.”

Walla Walla stops messing with his hair and frowns at Noble. “What’s that mean?”

“Our club isn’t fortunate enough to have a woman member. We find her interesting, is all.”

Losing his relaxed vibe, Walla Walla suddenly seems larger. “I feel like you’re fucking with me.”

“People get that feeling a lot,” Noble says and gives a quick glance at a scowling Zoot.

When I sense the bikers will gang up on Walla Walla, I ask “Can I go home?”

“They trashed your SUV,” Noble explains while Zoot snaps for Sync to bring a car around. “Did the same to the motorcycles parked nearby.”

Noble pauses and takes notice of the arriving police chief. Zoot’s already scowling face turns darker. The brothers seem on edge, making me want to disappear even more.

Finally, Noble’s focus returns to me. “We can get you home, Austen. Where will we drop off Coco and your new friends?”

I get a specific feeling in my gut, much like I did the night when the ranch workers hurt Hunter and me. That time, I ignored the internal warning. Today, I know better.

“I don’t believe all of those men are dead,” I explain as I stand and steady myself. “I think Coco, Walla Walla, and Goose will be safest at my house.”

Noble and especially Zoot don’t want these bikers around. They’re having to clean up a mess on their territory, meaning my family owes theirs. I feel them silently pushing me to submit to their desire to exile Walla Walla and Goose out of town.

I probably would bow to them if I hadn’t spent a lifetime wrapped in privilege. However, I know my mom won’t care about a debt to the club or the Kovak family. She’s been richer longer than any of them, and she always gives me what I want.

“They’ll be at my house until we figure out our next move,” I tell Noble and Zoot.

The younger brother gives me a little smile, embracing his good-cop role. His older brother only grunts before walking over to Bear.

Rather than wait around for more bravado between the men, I gesture for Coco to join me.

After those men hurt Hunter and me, I desperately wanted my father to make everything right again. When he failed me, I grabbed my sister and ran back home. I remember how I could barely catch my breath for the entire flight home. Only when I walked through the doors and saw my mother could I truly feel safe.

Tonight, I suffer from the same barely contained panic. The noise in my head won’t be silenced until I’m home. My mom will know what to do next about the attackers, Urick, and my feelings for Walla Walla.

MARTIN

My president is an impressive man. As a kid, Hoyt effortlessly led our group of misfits. As an adult, Ruin keeps the club focused. He owns natural good looks yet can be scary as fuck. In person, his temper is a fearsome sight to behold. In text form, he comes off more confused than scary.

“What the fuck?” he asks like twenty times during my texts to him.

I can imagine Ruin swearing up a storm back in McMurdo Valley. His assistant—who’s also his wife and the mother of his baby son, Walker—is likely struggling to figure out what the angry man needs to settle his britches.

But again, in text form, he mostly comes off seeming overly confused.

“Are you trapped there?”

“No. In fact, we’re being escorted to Austen’s house.”

“But your bikes are trashed.”

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