Chapter One #3
Ignoring the corpse, I held my gun at the ready and circled the front of the van just as Rattler’s shotgun boomed. Damn.
I expected to see another corpse.
Wrong. Must have been a warning shot.
Rattler and the second perp were in a standoff, yards apart with weapons pointed at each other.
A stone rolled from under my foot, alerting the asshole to my presence behind him.
He pivoted to target me with the weapon, and his head swung wildly back and forth between me and Rattler.
If he knew his buddy was dead, it didn’t seem to faze him.
“The bitch belongs to us. Give her back, and you don’t get hurt.” The idiot spat on the ground and took a step toward me.
Not only ugly, but stupid.
“I don’t think so.” Rattler stood with his legs planted solidly on the ground, the picture of a Capone era gangster as he pointed his favorite short-barreled shotgun at the asshole’s head.
“She’s not worth fighting over.” The gun wavered just a bit as the asshole switched his attention to Rattler. “You don’t want to do that.”
Rattler’s smile was devoid of humor. “Yeah, I think I do.” His aim held steady as he made a point of moving his finger just a hair on the trigger.
“She’s not worth it.” The idiot repeated his statement as if it might be more persuasive the second time.
“Then maybe you should call it a day and move on.”
The asshole narrowed his eyes. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with.” He took a step backward so he could see both of us without constantly swiveling his head.
Rattler shrugged, drawing the motherfucker’s attention back to himself. “Don’t care. You pulled a gun on me. Can’t let that shit go.” His eyes shone with a wicked light. “Maybe you don’t know who you’re dealing with.”
With a frustrated grunt, the idiot gave it one last, desperate try. “Just give us the girl, and we all leave happy.”
Dead quiet descended as the last of the train’s cars cleared the crossing and disappeared around a bend in the tracks.
Rattler didn’t take his eyes off the asshole as he raised his voice, not giving away the woman’s hiding spot. “You want to go with this guy, lady?”
“No.”
The jackass raked the area with his eyes, trying to determine the woman’s location.
“You heard the lady,” Rattler snarled. “She doesn’t want to go with you. Now why don’t you just hop back into that piece of shit and disappear into whatever hellhole you came from?”
“I could shoot you right now and take her.” The gun wavered between me and Rattler.
“You might want to be real sure of your aim.” Rattler grinned menacingly. “Because one shot is all you’re going to get with that little peashooter before I blow you into pieces so small they’ll need dental records to identify you.”
The kidnapper hesitated, as if deciding how serious Rattler was.
“Well?” Rattler dropped the muzzle and sent another round into the ground just in front of the idiot to drive his point home.
“Fine!” The asshole jumped back, glaring furiously at Rattler. He lowered his gun and reached for the van’s door handle. Hauling himself back into the van, he hurled one last threat. “You’re gonna regret this!”
He slammed the door shut, and moments later the van peeled across the tracks with a squeal of tires.
My eyes darted down to the van’s license plate, committing the number to memory.
Shadow should be able to trace it. He was a magician with a computer.
I swear that guy could trace a single ghost hiding in a graveyard.
I relaxed, grinning at Rattler as I holstered my weapon. “You are a crazy son of a bitch.”
Rattler stalked back to his bike and settled the shotgun into its sheath. His mouth quirked up in a grin. “Not really. We had him outnumbered two to one, and you were the one he had in his sights. If he planned to smoke me, he should have done it before you joined the party.”
“Good point.”
But I knew he meant it in jest. Rattler had my back. Always. Just as I had his.
I nudged the dead thug with the toe of my boot. “I’ll call Beast and have him send a crew to clean up the garbage.”
“We should probably get him off the road in case anyone comes by before Beast and the team get here. Grab his legs.” Rattler spat on the ground. “One less waste of oxygen on the planet.”
Together the two of us lugged the body to the far side of the road and rolled it into the weeds. Unless someone looked carefully, it wasn’t visible from the road. It would do until the cleanup crew got here.
I turned and addressed the tall grass in the ditch. “You can come out now.”
“Are they gone?” The woman’s head popped into view from behind a stand of tall grass.
“Yeah.”
She clambered out of the ditch, shivering visibly and I realized how cold she must be.
There was no way I could put my cut on her; the symbolism would be too much.
Putting my cut on a female was tantamount to declaring her my old lady.
Did that once and it turned out badly. Not planning on going for round two.
I sighed and took my cut off before shrugging out of my shirt and handing it to her. “Here. Put this on.”
She took the shirt, frowning. “What are you going to wear?”
“This.” I pulled my cut back on.
“Oh.” That single, little word, barely a whisper, sounded so forlorn I almost wished the remaining asshole in the van would circle back so I could teach him some manners. I made a point of turning my back to give her the illusion of privacy as she donned my shirt.
Over to my right, I could see Rattler’s shoulders shaking with suppressed mirth. He knew how cold it was going to be riding with just my cut to block the wind.
The shirt would help keep the woman warm, but it wasn’t exactly a fleece sweater and would do zilch to cut the wind. We needed to get her somewhere warm. Fast.
I still needed to find out what her name was, and how she ended up in that van.
“There’s a coffee shop not far from here. We can talk there. Okay?”
She nodded slowly, eyeing up my Harley. Right. Not everyone thought a bike was a great way to travel.
“You okay to ride behind me?”
She looked from me to the bike and gulped. “I guess so.”
Not the most enthusiastic answer I’d ever heard, but it would do. I grabbed the extra helmet from the backrest and helped her fasten it on her head. “What’s your name?”
She paused. “Sophia.”
At least I had something I could call her now. I wasn’t about to push for a last name. Given the circumstances, she’d probably lie anyway. “Nice name.”
Satisfied with the fit of the helmet, I slung one leg over the bike and held out my hand to help her on. She climbed aboard behind me and put her hands on my waist, holding on gingerly.
Obviously, she’d never been on a bike before.
I grabbed her hands and dragged her arms around me. “You need to hang on tight or you’ll end up splattered on the ground again.”
That point certainly hit home. She scooted closer, plastering herself against my back and tightening her arms.
I flipped the kickstand up and cranked the engine, glancing over at Rattler. “Heading to Coffee Quest . You coming?”
Rattler nodded. “I’ll cover your back. Just in case.”
I wasn’t the only one with a paranoid streak.