Chapter 52
fifty-two
JUDE
Greer leaves her cousin with hugs and promises to see her often. As we finally make our way down the dirt path back to the clubhouse, Greer’s body is tense beneath my hand.
I’m in the dog house.
The kitchen grows quiet when we walk in, and all heads turn to us. They all know. It couldn’t be helped. Sutton and Meadow only know because they helped feed and nurse Allie.
Greer turns accusing eyes to me, the only one not in on the secret. Face flush, she rushes up the stairs to the safety of our room, not ready to deal with another dose of betrayal.
“I’ll go make sure all the keys are out of the trucks,” Couyon bemoans.
Before rushing to join Greer, I mutter, “Don’t bother. She can’t drive a stick shift.” We’re still going to have to watch them like a hawk. Letting Allie leave with me is one thing. Greer and Allie on their own is another. There’s no telling where they’d decide to go.
I find Greer at the bathroom sink, washing off her makeup with furious movements. “I know you were going to tell me later tonight, but what the fuck, Jude?”
“I want what’s best for you, and that in turn means doing what’s best for Allie.”
She dries off her face, then pats it off with a towel. “Well, I guess we know why P.J. left town now. Same culprits who broke his brother’s legs.”
“We did what had to be done to protect you and Allie. I can’t promise to always tell you things, but I hated that you couldn’t know this.”
Her face is pinched as she breezes by my perch in the doorway. She starts changing for bed, brow furrowed. “I’ve always thought of your job and the club as the same thing as Dad’s military clearance. It’s not for me to know.”
“But this hits differently because it’s Allie,” I fill in.
“Damn straight it does. She’s my family.”
“We did everything in her best interest. Allie raised a fuss at first but is quite happy with how things turned out.”
“I don’t know what to say other than I’m hurt. The only reason I’m not furious is that I trust you were looking out for Allie.”
“Every day. I’m not Flinch’s favorite person right now, but he’ll get over it.”
“I don’t care what Flinch wants. He has to let her out. My aunt and uncle are worried. They could have at least given her a burner phone.”
Yeah, Flinch wasn’t trusting that little spitfire with a cell, and I don’t blame him. I close the distance between us. “Does your family still get together on Sundays?”
“Every other. They did Labor Day weekend together, so they’ll get together next week.”
“Allie will be there, one way or another.”
“What if we want to do something together, or she wants to leave the compound?”
“Allie’s had no issue speaking her mind with him. If she really wants to stretch her wings, she’ll let him know. The big danger is her trying to slip away from guards again.”
“And if she doesn’t want to be with Flinch?”
“It’s pretty obvious at this point that she very much wants that, so it’s a moot point.”
She starts to laugh uncontrollably, hysterically. “What’s so funny?”
“My mom’s all worked up about me living with a biker and having his baby. I can’t wait to see their faces…”
“Maybe it’ll be easier for them now.”
She laughs again, “Nothing to do with bikers is easy.”
I drag her to me by her hips, “There is nothing more important to me than you and our little one. I’d burn down the whole world if need be.
I knew that you’d want Allie to be safe.
Once we knew P.J. wasn’t in the area, I gave Allie two opportunities to leave if she wanted them.
One was pretty early on when she was still in a dander. She took neither.”
“Did you really?”
“Remember when I fixed your brakes? I brought your car to the compound and left it open for her to sneak into. I had a blanket in the back for her to hide under, and left the air on to keep her cool. I know she saw me, because she was on the porch.”
“So what happens now?”
“Now you and Allie can see one another again. Odin’s anxious to get the cabin back before Darcy gets any further along in her pregnancy, so they won’t be able to stay in the cabin much longer anyway.”
“They can have our second bedroom,” she suggests.
“Odin is letting them have a place he owns in town. It’s right next to the prospect house. He’s in the middle of buying it from the sheriff.”
“So after that Allie will be able to move around freely?”
“That’s for Flinch to decide. Until we find P.J. we can’t leave her completely alone. It’s not safe.”
Maw Maw insisted Jude had to be a good man because he got past Odin to become a member. It’s a good point. I’d heard once that Flinch was Odin’s only prospect, and now he’s Darcy’s part-time guard. That wouldn’t happen if Odin didn’t trust him completely.
Pretty much everything he did was in Allie’s best interest.
Even if he did lady-nap her.
“Promise me you’ll watch out for Allie,” I plead.
“Baby Doll, I already have been. You don’t even have to ask. But really, Flinch seems to worship the ground she walks on. He likes her wild, but tries to protect her from the consequences.”
Maybe that’s just what Allie needs. Maybe all of this is going to work out.
Maybe Allie and I will be at club parties together, sharing secrets instead of keeping them, growing closer.
Pulling in a deep breath, then slowly breathing out, I do something horrible.
It’s vindictive but so deserved. I can’t bring myself to look Jude in the eye.
“I got stuck talking to P.J.’s cousin once at a wedding.
He’s a supervisor on an offshore rig. A couple members of their family work there, actually.
I can’t think of anywhere better to hide from an MC. ”
“Do you know which one?”
“No, but the guy’s still on my socials and adds a lot of pictures working offshore.”
“Why is he on your follows?” Jude growls.
“So that one day when you’re looking for his cousin, you can check out his pictures and find the man that beat my cousin and left her in a storage shed.”