Chapter 6 #2
“Not sure how,” I said with a chuckle. “Ain’t exactly hidin’ it.”
“Where are we going?”
“Back to the clubhouse,” I replied, glancing at her. “We’ll grab some food first, though. Anythin’ sound good?”
She rattled off a fast food place so quickly that I smiled.
“I’m hungry,” she said ruefully. “Which is weird because my stomach is one big knot.”
“Baby’s hungry,” I replied. The words felt weird coming out of my mouth and I cleared my throat.
“I guess so.”
“You—” My voice cracked and I felt my ears heat in embarrassment. “Uh, you know what you’re havin’ yet?”
Esther shook her head. “No, but I heard the heartbeat yesterday.”
There was something in her voice that made me tense. I wasn’t sure what it was, just that it wasn’t good.
“Everything’s good, though?”
“Yeah,” she said, nodding. She didn’t look at me. “I think so.”
“That’s good.”
We were mostly silent for the rest of the drive.
Esther became more fidgety the closer we got to town and by the time we’d pulled into the drive-thru she was visibly nervous.
Her eyes darted from one place to the next, wide and worried, and she didn’t calm down until we were on the highway headed back to the clubhouse.
“I’m not used to all the noise anymore,” she said around a bite of her breakfast sandwich.
“You’ve been at the cabin all that time?” I asked, trying to sound like the answer didn’t matter.
“Until yesterday,” she replied, nodding. “We came into town for the doctor’s appointment.”
“That’s right.”
“Oh, I’ve seen this before,” she said, leaning forward as we pulled up to the club’s gate. “I didn’t know this was where the motorcycle club is.” She looked at the sign. “It says it’s a mechanic shop.”
“Got one of those, too,” I said, rolling down my window. “It’s where I work.”
“Hey, man, I’ll get the gate,” the prospect called, coming out of the little shed behind the fence.
“Is he a guard?” she asked curiously. The prospect in question had so many piercings on his face that she was staring at him wide-eyed.
“He’s a prospect,” I clarified, jerking my chin in thanks as we rolled through the gate. “Wants to be a member, but he’s gotta go through a probation period first.”
“Oh,” she replied.
“Not sure who’s here,” I warned her as we drove up the driveway. “But there shouldn’t be that many people. You’re with me, so they’ll be cool.”
“Why wouldn’t they be?” she asked, looking over at me.
I forced a smile, but didn’t answer her.
I couldn’t understand how Esther still hadn’t fully grasped the situation we were in.
She was protected because of her connection to me and the child she carried, but that was as far as her protection went.
We’d found her with the goddamn stolen guns.
No one was going to think that she’d orchestrated anything because they weren’t stupid, but her proximity to the people who had put her in a precarious fucking position.
I swallowed hard when we pulled into the forecourt and recognized the bikes that were lined up outside.
Any chance of quietly ushering her into my parents’ room and keeping her there until we figured out what the fuck to do was gone.
When my uncle Casper stepped outside to watch me park, I realized I had no time to even prepare her for what happened next.
If I was interpreting the group assembled correctly, she was going to have to run the gauntlet the minute we walked inside.
“Just tell the truth,” I said as I opened her door and helped her to the ground. “No bullshit.”
“About what?” she said in exasperation, throwing up her hands. “I don’t even know what the heck is going on.”
“Esther,” I growled, squeezing her hand. There was no fear in her eyes and that made me more nervous than anything, the fact that she seemed completely unbothered. “I get that you’re confused, alright? But this shit is serious as fuck. You know more than you’re sayin’.”
Her lips clamped shut and she frowned at me.
“Just tell the truth,” I said, a little more gently, reaching out to brush her hair away from her face. “It’ll be alright.”
I led her to the front door, still holding her hand. I figured that would tell the boys inside more than anything else exactly what they were dealing with. She was a part of this, unwilling or not, but for what it was worth I wanted everyone to know she had my protection.
“Otto,” Uncle Casper said with a nod, opening the door wide.
“This is Esther,” I said as I passed him.
“Hello,” Esther said quietly from behind me.
Jesus, she sounded so fucking sweet. As much as it drove me crazy how goddamn na?ve she was, I also loved it.
There weren’t any games with Esther. What you saw was exactly what you got.
I remembered that about her from school and when I’d met her again later.
She had a glass face. You always knew exactly what she was thinking.
“Otto,” Dragon greeted as we walked further into the room. “Take a seat.”
They were all sitting around a table, and a person who didn’t know them might’ve thought they were relaxed, but they weren’t. Dragon, my gramps, Leo, Uncle Mack, and Cam watched as I towed Esther to the table and sat down next to her.
“This is Esther,” I repeated. Fuck, my hands were clammy.
“Hello, Esther,” Gramps said, not unkindly. “Grease.”
“My grandfather,” I clarified. He shot me a look that I couldn’t interpret.
“This is Dragon, Mack, Leo, Cam,” Gramps continued. “And Casper.”
“Nice to meet you,” Esther said, smiling nervously. “Your name’s Dragon?”
“Nickname,” he replied flatly.
“Oh,” she breathed.
“Our boys said they found our missin’ shipment at your house,” Dragon said. “That true?”
“It’s really more of a cabin,” Esther replied shakily. I nearly groaned.
“Cabin, then,” Dragon said, inclining his head. Then he just watched her.
“They were under the floorboards,” Esther said. Stronger men than her had spilled their guts when Dragon looked at them like that, I was actually surprised by the few seconds she’d sat there in silence. “There was a trap door in the floor.”
“Who put them there?” Gramps asked.
“I don’t know,” Esther replied, lifting her hands and dropping them again.
“I’ve been at the cabin since Thanksgiving and I never even noticed that there was a trap door in the floor.
Yesterday my uncle and aunt picked me up and took me to the doctor.
” She paused and took a breath. “Which was actually pretty surprising because I hadn’t seen or heard from anyone since I moved in.
Anyway, they took me to the doctor and we stopped for more supplies,” she said, looking around at the men.
“You know, food and water and more propane for the stove. Then we drove back to the cabin and that’s when I noticed the door. ”
She stopped talking suddenly like she’d finally realized that she’d been rambling on.
“You open it?” Dragon asked.
“Well, yeah.”
“So you saw what was inside.”
“One of the crates was open.”
“You weren’t surprised? Didn’t think to call someone and ask them why there were guns underneath your floor?”
Esther stared at him, nonplussed. “My dad said I could only use the phone for emergencies. I didn’t think it was an emergency.”
“You didn’t think it was an emergency that there were a bunch of rifles in your house that you didn’t put there?” He held up his hand to stop her from replying. “Cabin,” he clarified.
She looked at each of the men in turn, gauging their facial expressions, and I knew the moment she realized exactly how things looked and how serious her situation was. It was as if the rosy sheen she saw the world through was suddenly gone.
Her neck muscles tightened as she swallowed.
“He said only emergencies,” she replied quietly. “And since I wasn’t hurt and the cabin wasn’t on fire, I didn’t think it qualified.”
“You didn’t call anyone on that phone since Thanksgiving?” Cam asked, his voice nearly as quiet as hers. “From what I hear, you were livin’ pretty rough.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head once. “No one.” Her voice was hoarse when she spoke again.
“He said that he’d be watching the account, and if I called anyone, he’d take it back.
” Her hand went to her belly under the shelter of the table.
“I didn’t want to take the chance and be out there without a phone. ”
That motherfucker. The thought of her stranded in the middle of nowhere with no way to reach anyone made my stomach clench. Instinctively I reached over and put my hand on her back. The movement wasn’t lost on anyone at the table.
“What I can’t understand is why you were livin’ out there in the first place,” Leo said.
“I—” She glanced at me. “I—uh.”
I rubbed my thumb lightly between her shoulder blades, ignoring the little zap of attraction at the firm muscle under my fingertips.
“They sent me there when I told them I was pregnant,” she said finally. “They said I could come home after I’d had the baby.”
Leo stared at her in confusion.
“Fuckin’ assholes,” my gramps muttered.
“I knew they’d be mad,” Esther said, her voice soft.
“Did you tell them who the father was?” Uncle Casper asked, watching Esther intently.
She met his gaze, wide-eyed. “They never asked.”