Chapter Seventeen
Winter stood watching the Sons of Sin make last-minute preparations to head out for a couple of days, wondering what the plan was and where they were going.
She’d been a bit nervous last night about a two-day trip on the bikes, but Bishop had assured her he wouldn’t make her ride on the Interstate.
Now, she stood watching everyone wondering what she should do.
“Come on, I want to introduce you to someone,” Bishop said, coming up behind her and draping an arm across her shoulders.
She adjusted the strap of the overnight bag he’d had her pack, and followed him toward the pickup parked to one side.
As they approached, she couldn’t help but notice the old man fussing with something in the bed.
He had hair gone mostly white, pulled back so she couldn’t tell how long it was.
“Hey, Wrench. I’ve got another bag for you,” Bishop called.
The older man looked up and a gap-toothed grin split his face.
“Looks like you might have more than a bag. Is this your patch rat?”
Winter crinkled her nose. She’d heard the term “patch rat,” but much preferred the “patchling” moniker her father had used. Bishop reached for her bag. She slipped it off her shoulder and handed it over.
“I told you last night, old man. I don’t like that term.
And Bulldog has granted her Princess status, even if she’s not one of our own, so watch the way you talk to her.
” Bishop scowled at the older man, but handed her bag to him.
Bishop turned his attention to Winter. “Wrench is our head mechanic. He drives the tail truck when we do longer runs. I’m gonna have you ride with him until we hit the edge of town and get off the Interstate, then we’ll take a little break and you can ride with me, if you want. ”
“What if I decide to ride with him all day?” she asked, just to see how he would react.
“If you’re more comfortable doing that, I won’t argue. I would have given you the option to stay behind but we’re only leaving a couple of men to guard the compound. Until we get the issue of your stalker straightened out, I’m not comfortable without more men here to keep you safe.”
“No problem. I don’t mind coming along. And I only asked to see what you would say. I’d love to ride with you. Once we are done with the Interstate.”
“I hope I passed.” He watched her for a moment. When she nodded, he bent and dropped a quick kiss on her lips before turning back to Wrench. “This is Winter. She’ll be riding with you for the first leg. Behave yourself or you’ll have to deal with me.”
Wrench rolled his eyes. Winter could tell the old man wasn’t afraid of Bishop.
“No worries there, I’ll treat your girl right.” Wrench shot her a grin and a wink.
Winter got the impression the old man was trying to get at Bishop, so she let it go.
“We’re supposed to pull out in the next five or ten minutes, go ahead and climb up and get comfortable.
It will be nice to have some company that’s not another grumpy biker for a change,” Wrench said.
He went back to arranging bags among the toolboxes and other things already in the truck, then securing them.
“You come from this life, you know how it works,” he said dismissing them as he focused on finishing his preparations.
“How long is the ride today?” Winter asked as she followed Bishop back to his bike.
“Somewhere around four or five hours. I’m not sure where we plan to stop tonight. I know it won’t be Oatman. They don’t have enough rooms for all of us. And Styx is in charge of planning all this shit. He’ll lead us where we need to go.”
She watched as he finished arranging things in the hard cases on either side of his bike then stood.
“Come here and give me a kiss before we hit the road. Styx is gonna be calling for us to mount up soon and I’m gonna miss having you at my back.”
She stepped toward him, tilting her head back and relaxing into him as he lowered his head.
Bishop brushed his lips across hers before coaxing her mouth open and giving her every bit of passion and hunger she’d always hoped someone would feel for her, and that she would feel for them.
She forgot they were standing in the middle of the courtyard of the clubhouse, the rest of the club surrounding them as she relaxed, molding her body against him.
A sharp whistle broke through the haze of desire he’d stoked into flame from the ember that had been smoldering since she’d rolled out of bed and into the shower this morning. Bishop grinned down at her.
“That’s the two-minute warning before we mount up. Want me to walk you back to Wrench?”
“I can make it. I guess I’ll see you later.”
“Guaranteed. Let me know if Wrench pulls anything inappropriate.”
She didn’t say anything, just nodded. She didn’t think Wrench would get out of hand, she didn’t think he’d say anything even borderline inappropriate, unless Bishop was close enough to hear it.
She got the impression the older man enjoyed pushing Bishop’s buttons.
It didn’t take her long to make it back to the pickup and climb in.
A moment later, the driver’s door opened and Wrench hauled himself up into the cab.
“You ever been to Kingman, Winter?” he asked as he shifted around getting comfortable.
“Not more than to drive through it on my way here. Is that where we’re going?”
“We’ll go through it but that’s not our final destination. Though where we’re headed today isn’t that much past it. It will be nice to have someone new to talk to, at least for part of the drive.”
“Do you usually do this alone?” she asked. If she was going to be around the Sons, she might as well get to know them.
“Off and on,” he said, tilting his head from side to side. “When someone gets hurt, or can’t ride for one reason or another, I’ll end up with a passenger, but it’s not often.”
A few minutes later she heard shouting she couldn’t make out, then all the Sons of Sin in front of the truck mounted up and started their bikes. Wrench started the pickup and they hit the road.
“Bishop said you’re from an ally club, but not which one. Where are you originally from?” Wrench asked once they’d followed the pack of motorcycles through the streets and onto the Interstate.
“Um, Montana,” she answered absently as she kept her gaze on Bishop’s back.
She hated that he was alone in the traffic like this.
Well, not really alone but she wasn’t with him.
And she hated that almost as bad as the thought of being there, unprotected, in the middle of all these cars racing along at breakneck speeds and not paying any attention to anyone else on the road.
But he wasn’t alone, she reminded herself.
He had the rest of his club with him. He wasn’t a lone rider at risk of some idiot in a cage not seeing him and moving into his lane, sideswiping him into wrecking and killing him.
He had the rest of the club around him and the noise from that many Harleys was enough to let anyone know they were there.
He wasn’t going to end up hurt and in a ditch for hours before anyone found him, like her father had.
“You look like you’ve got something else on your mind. Want me to shut up and let you think?” Wrench’s words drew her back to the here and now.
“Actually, no.” She turned to look at Wrench rather than keep her eyes glued on Bishop. “I could use the distraction. I’m from Montana, but I’ve been here in town for a couple of years now.”
“You’re part of an ally club and it took you this long to find us?” He glanced at her before turning back to the road.
Winter shrugged. “I’ve been dealing with some things.
I was trying to get away from the lifestyle.
” She was quiet for a moment, looking past him at the mountains out his window as she let her mind drift.
“I lost my dad about six months before I came here. I was having a hard time with it and needed to get away.”
“What made you seek us out?”
“I didn’t, not on purpose.”
“What do you mean?” He frowned.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, debating how much detail to go into about Kevin and all the shit she’d been dealing with.
“I’ve spent most of the last two and a half years pissed off.
I couldn’t handle being around people who knew me.
They were concerned, not that I blame them, but I couldn’t handle it.
I made arrangements in secret and didn’t tell anyone I was leaving, much less where I was going, and I left Craven’s Creek. ”
“Who were you pissed at?”
“I thought it was the Angels but I’ve come to realize I was angrier at the world than any person or group.”
“And let me guess. You didn’t call and let them know where you landed. You didn’t reach out when you needed help?”
She shook her head but didn’t say anything right away.
“Asking Bishop for help was the first time I’d spoken with anyone in our world in over two years.
” It wasn’t a lie, at least not strictly.
She’d been in touch with Raven and a couple of others, but she’d kept it only to text and refused to speak to them.
It was easier to keep things short and avoid questions she didn’t want to answer.
Raven in particular had asked where she was, several times in fact, but she’d distracted him with other things or just not answered him.
“And Raven let you get away with that shit?”
She shrugged. “I was in touch. I text him regularly, letting him know I’m okay and not ready to come back.”
“And he hasn’t asked why you left or where you are?” Wrench looked like he didn’t believe her.
“He’s asked. I didn’t answer. I would distract him, then after a couple of minutes, tell him I had to go, so he wouldn’t expect an answer right away when he did ask again.”
“And he let you get away with that?”