Chapter Four
Miranda looked from one to another of the four huge men who’d just come out of the house—no, it was more of a cabin—where she’d been trapped beneath the floor. She bit her lip as her gaze landed on the man who called himself Ashes. What kind of name was that anyway?
She couldn’t help the fine tremble of her entire body so she did her best to ignore it as she kept her eyes on Ashes.
He’d promised her she would be safe. He’d told her no hospital and he’d given her something more than her torn and ragged clothes, the only thing she had left from before Kevin had abducted her.
For that alone, she was grateful to him.
But he’d promised to get her out of here.
None of the others had done that, so she would stay close to him.
“Sparrow, you and Doc head into Payson. One of you get a room. I don’t care what it costs, but something we can pay cash for and not leave a name.
The other find a store and get Miranda something to wear and food.
My shirt covers her but she’ll need more than that.
” He turned to her. “Anything in particular you want in the way of food?”
She stared at him as her mind spun. She hadn’t been asked what she wanted in so long she hadn’t even considered it.
“Something hot. Fried chicken sounds amazing if you can get it, but I’m not picky. I’ll eat anything you get me.” She turned her gaze to the cabin. “Except oatmeal. Please, no oatmeal.” She looked at Ashes again.
He frowned as he looked at her, then turned back to the other men.
“All right, whatever you can find that’s hot and not oatmeal.
Sparrow, can we trade vehicles? I don’t think Miranda is ready for the bike, she’s certainly not dressed for one and I want to stay with her for now.
When you’re done, head to the gas station just down from the Safeway, we’ll meet there,” he checked his watch, “in an hour and a half. That should be plenty of time.”
Sparrow nodded. “I’ll hit the store, you get a room?”
Doc nodded, then together they turned and headed to where three motorcycles were parked in front of a pickup.
“One room for all of us?” Miranda asked, her voice soft enough she hoped only Ashes would hear her.
“We’re not getting a room to sleep in, little one,” the fourth man said. He was even bigger than Ashes, and though she hadn’t been told his name, his vest said Goliath, in the same place Ashes’ vest said his name, so she assumed that was what he was called.
Miranda frowned. If they weren’t going to sleep, why bother with a room?
“The room’s so you can bathe, Tiny Warrior. We’ll let you shower, put on something clean that will hopefully fit a little better, and eat, then we’ll head back to the clubhouse. It’s a couple of hours away and I didn’t think you’d want to wait that long.”
Miranda shrugged. She wasn’t used to getting a say about what happened. She’d spent God knew how long surviving. She could deal with a lot, she knew that now, but she wasn’t sure how to react to this. The kindness of men she didn’t even know.
“When will we leave?” Now that there was hope she could get out of here and never see this hellhole again, she was eager to get gone.
“Soon. I want to make sure there’s nothing here that could lead anyone back to us, then we’ll go. Do you want to get in the truck and wait? This won’t take Goliath and I long.”
She turned and looked at the truck then back to him. If she was in the truck, they wouldn’t be able to leave her behind, at least not without her knowing it.
“Where is he? Is he going to come for me?” She glanced around the yard, half afraid Kevin would come around the corner any minute, laugh, and tell her it was all a joke.
“He’s gone, little one,” Goliath said. “He’ll never bother you or anyone else again.”
Miranda frowned. Did that mean he was dead? Or in jail? She wanted to ask but this didn’t seem like the time.
“You’re safe,” Ashes said. “You can stay with one of us or you can wait in the truck. Either way, no one will hurt you. We’ll finish what we need to do here, then pull out. You’ll never have to see this place again.”
She stared at Ashes, trying to decide what he wasn’t telling her because she got the feeling there was more that he wasn’t saying than what he was. He gave nothing away but for some reason she couldn’t explain, she trusted him.
“I’ll wait in the truck.” She went to the truck, opening the door and climbing into the back seat without looking back.
Not knowing how long they might be or what the men were going to do, she laid down across the rear seat, pulled her arms tight against her chest, and tried to figure out what was going on and what she would do next.