Chapter Thirteen
Ashes kept an eye on Miranda. She’d seemed all right when they’d come down for dinner and nothing changed, even though there had been an almost steady stream of people stopping by their table.
There had been no sign of her withdrawing into herself or that she was overwhelmed.
He had to wonder what had triggered her before.
Not that he would ask, at least not now.
By the time they finished eating, most of his brothers had come by to at least meet her.
That was something he’d let Bulldog know needed to happen, and sooner rather than later, when he’d left Miranda in the room to borrow clothes from Winter.
Winter was the one person who had noticeably kept her distance, at least it was noticeable to Ashes.
He looked at Miranda, watching her and thinking how pretty she was. Not that pretty was more than the surface, but she looked far better than the filthy waif he’d found this morning. She had healthy color in her cheeks and while she appeared wary, she didn’t look or act like she was afraid of them.
“What?” she asked, noticing he was watching her. She looked down at herself as if trying to figure out what was wrong that had drawn his attention.
“Nothing, just thinking. Are you okay? You want something to drink?” He motioned toward the bar. “You done and ready to call it a night?”
She eyed the bar. “Do they have a blender back there?” Her gaze never left the bar area.
“I don’t know.” Ashes frowned. He twisted around, caught Billy’s attention, and waved him to approach.
“What can I do for you?” the prospect asked as he got near.
“Is there a blender back there?” Ashes motioned toward the bar area.
“I think so.” Billy tilted his head to one side. “Fuck it. Let me go check. What do you want if there is one?” He looked at Miranda.
“A strawberry margarita,” she said.
“Salt or sugar on the rim?”
“Salt.”
“And if there’s no blender, what can I get you?”
She wrinkled her nose and pushed her puckered lips off to one side as she thought about it. “I don’t know, how about I tell you I like cherry and lime and I’m not huge on tasting the liquor. Can you make me something from that?”
Billy sent her a wink. “I can work with that. Give me a hot minute and I’ll be back with something for you.” Ashes scowled after him as he left. What the hell did the prospect think he was doing, flirting with his woman like that?
His woman. Where the fuck had that thought come from?
He turned back to Miranda and watched her for a moment.
Despite everything she’d been through, she seemed surprisingly comfortable here.
Around men who didn’t fit into normal society, well, some of them probably could, if they tried.
But the real kicker was they didn’t want to, and that not fitting in with the corporate drones, the millions with dead souls who got up every morning and went through their routine and never missed what they didn’t have—that was the difference between the Sons and the rest of the world.
They didn’t care. It wasn’t a world where everyone fit, but so far, it looked like Miranda fit in just fine.
Before Billy came back with Miranda’s drink, Winter appeared beside their table, a laptop tucked under her arm.
“Ashes said you need clothes. I can get some things for you, but I thought you might like to pick them out,” Winter said. “We can take that table and do a little shopping. You’ll be able to see everyone, including Ashes. What do you say?”
“I-I don’t know. I don’t know if I should.” Miranda turned wide eyes to Ashes. “I don’t have any money.”
“Don’t worry about that, she’s got my card.” Ashes gave her a gentle smile.
Miranda shook her head. “I don’t know how long I’ll be here. I don’t want to order something then be gone when it arrives.” She lowered her gaze to the table.
“Tiny Warrior?” he spoke softly, then waited for Miranda to look up. “We’re not going to kick you out. You need something to wear. Go order clothes. If things change and you’re not here when they arrive, we’ll get them to you.”
She stared at him for a moment, then opened her mouth. Ashes held up one hand to stop her. “If you say anything about paying me back, you and I are going to have words. Just accept it.”
She watched him a little longer, then nodded. “When my drink gets here—”
“I’ll make sure it gets to you. Don’t worry about it.”
Slowly, she stood, then followed Winter to another table where Bishop’s old lady pulled two chairs close together and put the laptop between them both before they sat.
“How is it?” Hammer said before taking the seat Miranda had just vacated.
Ashes turned to find the Sons’ tech sergeant watching the women as they pointed to the screen and said something Ashes couldn’t hear.
“So far so good, but there have been a couple of issues. I suspect they’ll resolve themselves as she gets more comfortable here. What have you been able to find out?” He assumed Hammer wouldn’t be here like this if he didn’t have something to tell him.
“I’m not finding a ton. At least not much on her disappearance.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. It seems Dwyer had a type—girls who had lost their family, cut them off, or were otherwise isolated.
I think he liked that no one would come looking for them.
Someone might report them missing, a coworker, a boss, or a roommate but there was no one who cared enough to stay on top of it.
No one to prod the police into keeping the case on top of their caseload. ”
Hammer nodded slowly, his eyes still on the girls.
His gaze flicked to Ashes. “I think you’re right.
But it’s more than that. It looks like he specifically chose people who were new to town, never here more than a year or two, people who were more introverted and didn’t make friends easily.
” He tilted his head toward the women. “Your girl had been in town about a year when he took her. She went to class, showed up for her work-study job, and studied. She was living in the dorm and was supposed to move into an apartment but hadn’t yet put down deposits when she disappeared.
She missed her last couple of shifts with her work-study job, which isn’t uncommon, but her boss thought it was out of character.
He tried to call but every call went straight to voicemail.
He called the cops. They took a report and assumed she’d gone home, that she had disappeared of her own volition, so that’s where it ended. ”
Ashes shook his head. He hated that Miranda had no one on her side. That there was no one who cared enough to stay on the cops to find her or to take the matter into their own hands.
“As to her life before he took her, that I found quite a bit about,” Hammer said, lowering his voice so it wouldn’t carry to where the women sat.
“What?” Ashes said with a scowl. It couldn’t be good or Hammer wouldn’t care if the women heard him.
Hammer shook his head. “She had it rough. In and out of the foster system until she was twelve when the removal from her parents was made permanent. I can give you what the records say, if you want, but you’d be better off asking her.”
Ashes nodded but didn’t say anything.
“After that she was placed in a home, and it looks like it was a good home, they eventually adopted her, but the parents passed away just after she turned nineteen, one after another, as if one couldn’t live without the other.
” Hammer tapped the fingers of one hand against the tabletop.
She received a small inheritance and shortly thereafter, she moved to Phoenix. ”
“Where was she before that?” He’d gotten the impression she was from the area, but maybe he was wrong.
“She was in a small town in the mountains a few hours from here. She’d started going to school, actually got an AA, then moved here to get her degree. Because of her status of having been a foster child, she was there on enough grants for a full ride, including housing.”
“And now she’s missed nearly all of this semester. Will that hurt her if she wants to go back?”
“Not sure.” Hammer lifted one shoulder. “I’ll have to look into it. If they try, we’ll fight back or I’ll reach out to an acquaintance and we’ll get it taken care of the back way.”
Ashes stared at his brother, then shook his head. “I don’t want to know. I don’t have to lie about what I don’t know.”
“Fair.” Hammer looked at the girls again, then back to Ashes.
“Either way, I found her bank account. And reached out to the school about anything she might have left in her dorm. I haven’t heard back yet.
She’s not destitute, but she doesn’t have a lot.
She does own the house her adoptive parents had, but it’s older, and without knowing what kind of shape it’s in, it’s impossible to know what it’s worth.
You might consider talking to her about it, maybe taking her to Snowflake to see it and see what she wants to do.
In the meantime, I’ll make sure she’s issued new ID, bank cards and all that, after I change her address to here.
Let me know if you need anything else.” Hammer knocked on the table before standing and walking away.
Ashes found himself watching Miranda and wondering how she’d managed. She’d done so much, and a lot of it with only minimal support. If he had his way, she’d never have to struggle through anything alone again. The Sons would be her family.