Chapter Seven
Winter wrapped her hands around the rail and held on as she leaned against the barrier and forced herself to breathe.
She hated talking about her mother and what had happened to her.
It was a wound that had never healed. Fuck.
It had barely scabbed over, and every time it was brought up, it broke open and bled like it was fresh.
Losing her father was fresher and still hurt just as much as the day she’d watched as they lowered his casket into the ground.
He’d done his best to teach her everything she needed to live without him.
And he hadn’t failed, but she wished she’d had another twenty years to learn, to ask questions, to love him.
She hadn’t had to tell Bishop. He had only asked, and had given her an out. But something told her he needed to know. Still, after telling him the worst thing she’d ever been through, she couldn’t stand the weight of him behind her. She had moved away.
Now, standing at the railing, staring unseeing at the city surrounding them, she missed his warmth and presence behind her. She was lost in her head, wondering if maybe she shouldn’t just go home, not to her apartment here, but all the way back to Montana.
But there was nothing for her there. It was a small town and while the Angels would welcome her back, she would be back where she started with memories of both her parents and what she’d lost.
Bishop stepped up to the rail beside her, not touching her, but not leaving her alone either.
She wondered what was going through his head.
Had she scared him off? Not that there was anything between them but his protecting her like he’d promised Raven he would.
Did he wish he’d kept his mouth shut and could just take her back to her truck and be done with her?
“I’m sorry, Spitfire.” He reached over and covered one of her hands with his. That was all. He didn’t push, didn’t try to take over. Just let her know he was there.
After a few minutes she sighed and turned away from the view. There was no point in dwelling on the past, the things she’d lost and couldn’t have back. Instead, she had to move forward. She took another pull from the water bottle Bishop had brought her, then turned to look at him.
“What’s the plan?”
“I don’t really have one yet. Let’s go sit in the shade for a bit, I’m sure between the five of us, we can come up with something.”
Winter looked over her shoulder at the city and wished she could get away. She could, but would Kevin let her leave or would he follow her? Did she want to give up the few friends she’d made here on the chance he’d leave her alone once she left?
Nope. She wasn’t a runner, at least not past the time it took to make a plan and set it in motion.
“All right. We might as well. We’ve got nothing else to do while we wait to see if Kevin shows up.” She headed for the ramada.
“Dudes.” She scowled as soon as she saw the men sitting on the picnic table under the ramada. “Sit right. People put food where you’ve got your dirty asses.”
“Yeah, and birds shit here too, so anyone not covering or disinfecting it before putting their food on it is SOL,” Viper said, not moving. “You need more water or you still got plenty?” He tilted his head toward her hand.
“I’m good.”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” Blade put in. “Whether this dumb fuck shows up here or not, we know he’s got to be tracking her somehow, right?”
Winter frowned. “It hadn’t occurred to me until you guys suggested it, but yeah, he’s likely tracking me somehow.” She slid into the seat of the picnic bench beside Blade.
“Did he ever pick you up at your place?” Bishop asked.
“No. We only went out a couple of times and I met him there.”
“Did you ever leave him alone with your phone?” Warlock asked. It wasn’t a bad question but if the fuckwad knew what he was doing, he’d never have to touch her phone to clone it.
“Not that I recall. I don’t usually leave it laying around. It’s either in my hand or in my bag.”
“So, whatever he’s tracking you with, it’s likely on your car.”
Winter lifted one shoulder in a confused shrug.
“I know he saw it, but I don’t remember him getting close to my truck. I have no clue how he’s showing up everywhere I do.”
“If he’s tracking you, he knows where you live. Even if you never told him. If he’s watching your location, he knows where you go home every night,” Bishop put in, making her realize that though he was huge and muscled, he had a brain too.
“Fuck.” She let her shoulders drop and her head hang. She couldn’t go home.
“Do you have a roommate?” Viper asked.
Winter shook her head. Yeah, it would be cheaper if she found a roommate but she liked her privacy. She liked her space, and a roommate would have ruined all that.
“You can’t go home, babe,” Blade said in almost a whisper.
It was loud enough for the five of them to hear, but not enough to carry.
“You running into us and acting like you knew us, that could have sent him off the deep end. We don’t know enough about this lunatic to know what he might do next.
It’s not safe there, not until we figure out what to do about him and how to get him to leave you alone. ”
“Not even to pack enough for a few days, at least not alone.”
“Fuck.” She let her head hang. She could swing a couple of nights in a motel, as long as it wasn’t a fancy one, but even that would cut into her budget.
“Give me your keys. Text me a list of what you want and your address and I’ll go pack you a bag,” Viper said.
“I can’t ask you to do that,” Winter said, ready to drop her head into her hands.
Why did everything seem to happen to her?
Why couldn’t she catch a break once in a while?
Her laptop was at the apartment. She couldn’t work without her laptop.
If she couldn’t work, she would lose the apartment, then she’d be in real trouble.
“You’re not asking us to do anything, Spitfire.
” She felt the warmth of Bishop at her back, and without thinking about it, she leaned until her back hit his thighs.
She rested her head against the taut muscles of his abdomen and closed her eyes.
She had a lot to figure out and not a lot of time to do it.
“I can tell your mind is spinning. I want you to get the idea of a motel out of your head. We’ll take you back to the clubhouse so we can all keep an eye out and make sure this fuckwad gets the message that you want nothing to do with him. ”
She didn’t bother opening her eyes as she wrinkled her nose at the thought.
“Do your club girls have the run of the place?” She didn’t care to see that or deal with the drama that would come with being a new woman coming around the club.
The silence coming from the men around her for the next several seconds was deafening.
“Yes and no,” Blade finally said.
She opened one eye and glared at him until he sighed and explained.
“They have a few rooms where they are supposed to stay, and mostly they do, with a few exceptions. They do come out of their area, but they have to be clothed and presentable most of the time. We’ve got a couple of brothers with kids.
You can never tell when one’s gonna drop by, so we keep the common area presentable.
Of course, all that goes out the window if we’re having a party.
If there’s a party, the girls are around and having fun too. ”
Winter continued to watch him for a moment, trying to decide if he was being completely honest. She didn’t think he was lying to her, but since the thing with Kevin she’d had a hard time trusting her own judgement.
She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath as she let all this wash over her. She might as well get used to the idea.
No one spoke, as if they were waiting for her answer.
She knew better. Once men like these got their minds set on something, there was little chance of changing it.
She knew she could kick, scream, and fight and they’d do what they thought was best to protect her, even if that meant hauling her into the clubhouse over someone’s shoulder and locking her in her room.
“All right.” She pulled her phone from her bag, unlocked it, and handed it to Blade. “Put your number in so I can text you. I might as well get started while we wait.”