23. Two Years Ago
TWENTY-THREE
TWO YEARS AGO
ONE MONTH LIVING WITH THE STONE RIDERS
Natty
My room was bigger than anything I’d ever had in my life. It was a suite that had a small kitchen, enough space for a couch, bed and full-sized bathroom. It was slightly dizzying to be in a space that wouldn’t be shared for the first time ever.
Not to mention, my room was all the way at the end of the hall, away from where any other members stayed. Across the hall from me was a laundry room, and the door next to it was a bathroom. It created a barrier between me and the rest of the club, which was hugely helpful.
I was still shy whenever I did venture downstairs, but a month into staying here, I had finally braved stepping foot in the massive kitchen, but the only reason I wanted to was to see if I could use a phone to call Sasha.
This situation wasn’t going to work if it meant I was completely shut off from everyone I ever knew. I needed to see Silas.
There was a woman bustling around the space, humming to herself. Her white hair was piled on top of her head, and the curls were pinned back in place with a black bandana. It matched her property patch that boasted of her belonging to someone named Brooks.
“Umm, excuse me.” I cleared my throat, tugging on the ends of my sleeve.
The woman turned toward me with a blinding smile. “There you are! I was wondering when you’d come down here. I’m Red, in charge of pretty much everything, so if you need something, just come to me.”
I pressed farther into the kitchen, loving all the natural light that poured in through the windows. There were butcher block counters along the wall, an industrial-sized sink, and professional ovens; it felt like a professional kitchen, but the only person I’d seen so far in this space was this woman, Red.
“A phone?” I asked, hoping her offer for help was genuine.
She glanced back at the pot in front of her where she continued to stir.
“You don’t have a cell?”
No. But how was I supposed to explain that? I must have waited too long to answer because Red stopped and left her spot at the stove.
“Come on in here, we have extras.” She walked ahead of me into an office that sat just outside the kitchen. The office had a simple metal desk inside and two basic chairs in front of it. There was a pretty window on the far wall letting in a ton of light. For some reason I felt the tension swirling around my chest begin to ease. The Death Raiders club never felt this way. It never felt like it could be a home.
Red opened a drawer and pulled out a package made of plastic.
“Do you have any funds to add minutes to it?” She handed me the package that had a prepaid cell phone inside.
I nodded, feeling excited that I could call Silas. “How much do I owe you?”
She waved me off. “Maybe come down and keep me company in the kitchen from time to time.”
She moved out of the office first, not even worried that I might not be trustworthy to stay behind among their club secrets. I trailed closely behind her.
“I can clean, and I’m fairly decent at baking, but if you give me a few pointers, I could probably get better. ”
Red’s expression softened toward me as she returned to her pot of soup.
“I’d be happy to teach you, sweetheart. Do you want some dinner to take up to your room? There’s only so many boxes of crackers you can eat before you need to see a doctor.”
I was getting sick of being in my room, and the boxes of Ritz I had.
With a laugh, I ducked my head. “How did you know they were crackers?”
“You aren’t the first girl adjusting to a new club, sweetheart. From what Simon told me, you’ve had a rough go of it over there with The Death Raiders.”
Just hearing their name made me want to break into hives.
I didn’t respond and started toying with the plastic package.
Red placed a bowl of soup in my hands and gave me a warm smile. I looked up and felt like her smile was an invisible piece of thread worming its way through my heart, knitting and fixing the gaping hole torn open by losing Silas and Sasha.
“Can I eat down here…um at the bar?” I glanced over at the space, seeing a few members there but an open spot on the end.
Red walked me over to the bar with her arm around my shoulder, stopping in front of an older member, the name Brooks was stitched into his leather cut.
“This here is my man, Brooks—if you ever feel like one of these Stone Riders pushes you around or makes you feel uncomfortable, just tell him. He’ll keep you safe.”
The man turned toward me, giving me the widest smile I’d ever seen. He had silver hair braided down his back and a leather strap covering the crown. “Anyone my girl says is safe, will have my utmost protection.”
His adoring gaze on Red made me feel relaxed. So I slid onto the stool next to him and began eating my soup, and for the first time in an entire month, I stopped thinking about how badly I missed my husband.