Chapter Five
I’m sitting on the back deck as Tanner and Emily run around the yard playing some form of tag. I can’t help the smile on my face as I watch them laugh with one another.
I’m still scared to death to let them out of my sight, but Mac was right. They need to be in school.
After Emily fell asleep last night, Tanner came out to the living room to talk to me. He said that he would keep Emily safe so I could go to work. It broke my heart that he felt he needed to say that.
The truth is, Evan can find us at any moment, but Mac made it a hell of a lot harder for that to happen. If it weren’t for the envelope of documents sitting in the top drawer of the dresser he gave us, I wouldn’t let these kids go to school, not using their real names.
Instead, we are now the Sheridans. Mac was right.
There is no way Evan would ever find us using this name.
It doesn’t stop my anxiety, but it does help ease some of it.
It’s going to be hard. I am going to have to fight every instinct to go get them, but I need to get out of this fight-or-flight mindset.
If I keep them locked up, I am only going to cause them more harm.
So I have decided that they will go to school, and I will go to work.
“Do you guys want to go for a ride?” I call out.
They both stop with different reactions. Emily is smiling, running over to me, but Tanner looks worried.
“Can we get ice cream?” Emily asks.
Tanner meets my eyes. “Where are we going?”
“How about we go check out the garage Mac works at? They might have a job for me. Then we can drive by the school and get some ice cream,” I tell them, forcing a smile on my face.
“Yay! I’ll go wash my hands!” Emily yells, running into the house.
“We are going to school?” Tanner asks.
“Yes. I know I am on edge, and I know you know way more than any child should, but we are safe here. We need to get back to a normal life.”
“I didn’t like normal,” he admits.
Standing, I pull him into my arms, crushing him to me.
“I know you didn’t like our normal then, but I promise you I will never let that happen again.” Pulling back, I grab his cheeks. “No one will ever hurt you again.”
“I’m not worried about me, Mom,” he tells me.
“I know. You had to witness a lot, but no one will ever hurt me again, either. I promise.” I press a kiss to his forehead.
“I know they won’t. I won’t let them.” The steel in his tone worries me.
“It’s not your job to take on that weight. I’m the parent here. You let me worry about keeping us safe. You be a kid,” I tell him.
He reluctantly nods.
God, I fucked him up so much. I hate what this has done to him.
Kissing the top of his head, I push him toward the house.
After making sure I have everything, we go wait by the curb as I order an Uber.
I didn’t like getting an account, but Mac included a bank card with far too much money on it to use for things like this.
I’m going to pay him back, whether he likes it or not.
Still, it makes my skin itch as I enter the information.
He can’t find you using someone else’s name.
When the car arrives, I get them buckled in the back before taking the passenger seat. At least if the guy is a creeper, he can’t lock me in. The back might have child locks, but the front doesn’t.
The older gentleman is nice as he talks with the kids about the beach and trees and whatever else seems to pop into his head.
I’m grateful he seems to keep them distracted as I pay attention to our surroundings.
This place is so different from Portland. I’m used to the dreary weather and Pacific vibes. Here it’s different. The sun seems to always shine. It’s a city, but not full of skyscrapers and such. If I drove through this town without knowing, I wouldn’t know it was a large city.
As we get further from the city, I glance down at my app. He is still taking us to where we are going, but the houses are further apart out here. When he finally pulls up at the garage, I’m surprised. It seems to be in the middle of nowhere.
“You sure this is where you want to be? Them Saint’s guys can be pretty rough,” the old man says.
“Yes. Thank you,” I tell him, but inside I’m freaking out.
Was this a mistake?
I help Emily and Tanner out of the car before I walk up toward the business.
Saint’s Garage.
Interesting name and logo with the skull and wrenches.
As we get closer, a woman wipes her hands on a rag before walking our way. Her name tag reads Sloane. I’m surprised to see a woman in the garage. I know it happens, but this woman could be a model rather than a mechanic.
“Hey, can I help you?” she asks.
“Yeah, I’m looking for the owner. Is he around by chance?”
The woman looks at the two kids, then at me with distrust in her eyes.
“What do you need to see him for?”
I lick my lips, about to answer, but Mac comes jogging out behind her, helping relieve some of my anxiety.
“Jane, what are you doing here?” he calls out as he reaches Sloane’s side.
The distrust evaporates as she looks at me with new eyes.
“Jane? You’re the new office lady, right? Oh, thank God. Mac said he wasn’t sure you were taking the job, but Gunner is going to be ecstatic.”
Oh shit. She thought I was showing up with two kids, asking for this Gunner guy. I didn’t realize how that would look.
“I haven’t said yes yet. I wanted to check the place out,” I tell her.
“Come on. I’ll take you to meet Smoke. He is in the office. Sloane, can you hang out with the kids for a few minutes?” Mac says, looking to me for approval.
“Tanner, keep an eye on Emily. Don’t touch anything,” I tell them.
“Come on. I can show you all the cool things I get to do with cars,” Sloane tells them, walking them around the edge of the garage.
My body tenses as soon as they are out of my sight.
“She’s taking them to her project car. They have it over to the side today because they needed the extra bay. It’s safer for them outside of the garage,” Mac answers my unasked question.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“I’d like to say it gets easier, but I honestly don’t know if it will. Let’s go. Smoke is going to be happy to see you.”
“Wait, didn’t she say Gunner?” I ask as he leads me into the building.
“Gunner is her man. He runs the place for the most part, but Smoke is the boss. He has been helping Gunner when he can. His wife has been too. So basically, we have been swamped with paperwork no one wants to deal with.” Mac laughs.
“So you volunteered me for the shit job,” I joke.
“Absolutely. You’ll hate it.” He winks at me.
It feels good to talk to a man without worrying about what I might say, but it doesn’t last long. That familiar fear grips me, making my smile fall.
Mac doesn’t say anything, but I know he notices. We walk the rest of the way in silence. When he knocks on the door, I hear a male voice call out.
My nerves are on edge, but Mac lightly touches my back. He moves slowly enough that I don’t immediately recoil from him. Instead, I take the slight comfort he is offering.
“I will be right there by your side. You are safe.”
I nod once before stepping into the office.
A large man with messy dark hair, almost black, sits behind the desk. He’s got facial hair somewhere between a five o’clock shadow and the start of a beard. Something about him screams alpha male, but at the same time, he doesn’t give off the vibe that he would hurt me.
“Hey, this is Jane. Jane, this is Smoke. He is the owner of this wonderful establishment and the president of the Saint’s Outlaws.”
“Nice to meet you,” I tell him.
“Likewise. Listen, I am going to cut to the chase, especially since I didn’t know you were coming.
This is what I’m dealing with.” He motions to the room.
“I don’t need you to be a genius. I need someone who can start by organizing this mess.
Then I basically need someone who can manage the office—order things for the shop, pay invoices, take calls.
That sort of thing. We can train you in all of it.
Please tell me you will do it, because if I have to interview one more girl coming in here thinking she is going to land herself one of the mechanics, I will shoot myself. Seriously, I will do it.”
“Smoke, don’t pressure her,” Mac snaps.
It has my eyes widening as I look at him. He offers me a small smile before shooting a glare back at Smoke, but it seems more playful than angry.
“I’m only telling the woman the truth.”
I let out a small laugh. “I can’t have you committing suicide over paperwork. I haven’t had an office job in a long time—since I was like eighteen—but I can do my best. I mean, provided I can get the kids in school okay. I haven’t figured out how to get them enrolled yet,” I tell them.
“We will get that taken care of. We have a contact at the school. If you say yes, it is a done deal.”
I look at Mac, then back to Smoke.
“Then, yes.”
He nods. “Welcome to the team.”
I watch as Jane and the kids pull away in an Uber. We will need to figure out her transportation, but for now, I’m happy she said yes.
“I’ll call Ethel at the elementary school. She will sort everything for both of them,” Smoke tells me.
“Good. She wants them dropped off here after school. Make it happen. I don’t care who I need to pay,” I tell him.
“You are taking this little side mission your sister gave you pretty seriously,” he comments as Gunner and Tank come up behind us.
“Did you see the boy? He watched Jane when they were in the room. He witnessed whatever she went through. Emily seems oblivious, but she’s younger. How can I not help them?” I tell him.
“He was even worse when you took the woman upstairs. He watched the girl like a hawk. It was like as soon as the woman was out of view, he took on the parent role,” Gunner says.
“The woman has a name,” I growl. “It’s Jane.”
“Jane was mighty fine too,” Tank jokes.
I punch him in the arm, making him wince.
“Fuck. It was a joke.” He groans as he rubs his arm.
“No inappropriate jokes. I don’t know what happened to her, but she doesn’t need your bullshit. In fact, she is off limits. Understood?” I hiss at him.
“You claiming her?” he taunts.
“He doesn’t need to claim her. We don’t allow men to treat women poorly. Whatever she and those kids went through, it was enough to send them on the road. We will protect them from whatever we need to. They are under club protection. Understood?” Smoke declares.
It’s only the four of us standing here, but I know by tomorrow the whole club will know who they are and that they are protected.
Something settles inside me knowing that Smoke agrees with me.
“Did Sloane find anything else out?” I ask Gunner.
“Sloane,” he calls out.
She comes over, leaving the car she was working on.
“What’s up?” she asks, looking around our little circle.
“Did the kids say anything about what they are running from?” I ask.
“No, but I did try to probe a little. The little girl said she doesn’t talk about her dad because it makes her mom sad and her brother angry.
She said he wasn’t a good man. Before I could ask anything else, the boy came over and said he didn’t like me whispering with his sister and asked what we were talking about.
The little girl told him butterflies and went off on the topic.
She might only be five, but she’s smarter than she lets on,” Sloane says.
I frown. “She won’t speak his name. I asked for the last name to avoid, and she practically hyperventilated on her porch.
I switched tactics and got the first letter of the last name, but that’s all.
We have to be careful. If he is powerful, which I have a suspicion that he is, then he will have people looking for her.
I have Fox looking for missing persons reports from around the country.
So far, none have popped up matching her description. ”
“Could be saving face. Don’t want to put out a missing persons report for your wife and two kids if you have a reputation to uphold. He probably is telling people they are on vacation or visiting family. I doubt we will find him that way,” Gunner muses.
“No, probably not. Maybe have Fox look up engagement announcements based on her description. Do you know how old she is? When she was born?” Smoke asks.
“I didn’t ask for her information. I realized it when I went to get the papers made. I guessed she was about twenty-seven based on the kids’ ages if she had them right out of high school.”
I want to punch myself for not getting that information. That might have been the little bit we needed to find this monster.
“We will find him. If not before he gets here, then when he inevitably finds her,” Smoke tells me.
“Are we sure he will find her?” Sloane asks.
“She seems sure that he has the connections to hunt her down. She never relaxes. Did you see the black circles under her eyes? I don’t think she sleeps at all,” I tell her.
“Maybe I could offer to watch the kids or something. Give her time to rest?” she offers.
“You can, but I don’t think she will take you up on it.
I’ll be surprised if she actually lets the kids go to school.
She’s been through something traumatic, which means she is going to react.
So no fast movements near her. She flinches when you raise your hands and such, but if you move slowly, she seems to realize you aren’t a threat,” I inform them.
“Seems you have been studying her a lot,” Tank teases. “You sure she ain’t your old lady?”
“I will slit your throat in your sleep.” I look him dead in the eye, making his laughter die off as his smile falls.
“Understood. No jokes at all. Even with you. I’m going back to work.”
I watch as he takes off, Sloane and Gunner following him.
“Are you sure you are okay? You seem to be taking this harder than usual. Is it because your sister brought her?” Smoke asks, patting me on the shoulder.
“No. I don’t know. Something inside me tells me that she needs me. I can’t explain it. I need to protect her.”
He smiles, but covers it with his hand before clearing his throat. “It’s the kids. They will get you every time. The good news is that they are living next door, so we will keep them safe.”
I nod. “I want someone to patrol the schools too, while the kids are in. I’m going to see if Lee will do his work study over at the elementary school with Tanner. With Emily only having half a day, I’ll get Fox to monitor the cameras and ensure their safety.”
“Is that for her comfort or your own?”
I glare at him, giving him my middle finger.
He laughs, walking backward away from me.
“Hey, don’t be mad at me for asking the hard-hitting questions.”
He’s right, though. The surveillance was an offer for Jane to feel more comfortable, but the truth is, it’s for me.
I need to know they are safe and will do so by any measure.