Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Four knuckle-clenching hours later, the smoke and sunset had forced them to drive with little light, except for their headlights and the flames flicking the tops of distant pines.
Ben was taking her to a safe house, but the profound darkness still frightened her.
And, of course, they’d lost cell service an hour ago and now the SAT phone didn’t work. “Are we close?”
“Yes.” He turned right onto another dirt road. They passed a sign tacked to a tree. The headlights exposed the original words Camp Bobcat which had been crossed out and replaced with the crooked, handwritten words Camp Bones. “We’ve lost the Black Jacks.”
“Thank goodness.”
He stopped the truck in front of iron gates attached to ten-foot tall brick walls, which spread out in both directions, like broken arms covered in vines that probably encircled the property. The gates automatically opened, and Ben drove through slowly.
“Who owns–” she paused because a man appeared in a pool of yellow light cast by a rustic lamp above his head. He leaned against his motorcycle with his arms crossed and watched them approach.
Ben raised two fingers in greeting, and the man, with long blond hair and a matching beard barely covered by the bandana over his mouth, nodded in return. He looked like an extra in a Viking movie–except for his Devil’s Renegades black leather cut.
“That’s Fate,” Ben said. “He’s the club’s secretary. He came to Salem with me–the same trip where I met you.”
“I remember.” She’d protected all of her memories about that week because it’d changed her life.
Fate stared at her, and she shivered. His demeanor carried the same kind of controlled violence as the Black Jacks.
He also reminded her, a bit, of Ben. Not her sweet sheriff Ben, but the Ben who, when riled up by injustice or unnecessary violence, became a different kind of man.
The kind of man capable of protecting those he loved or, if required, taking a strong offensive position.
She sank into her seat. “Where are we? And why are we here with the MC?”
“My cousin Hawk is VP of the Ravensburg chapter. I asked him to come, and he’d never ride alone.
” Ben drove slowly, probably to appease the other Devil’s Renegades hiding in the shadows.
She couldn’t see them, but she felt the heat of their regard.
During her unfortunate years as the on-again-off-again girlfriend of an infamous Black Jack, she’d learned the protocols of hanging out with a 1% outlaw MC, including the most important rule: Women, including old ladies, had no say in club business.
“Don’t worry.” Ben took her hand and squeezed. “No one will hurt you.”
“Why did you ask Hawk for help? You’re not a member anymore.”
“I spent years with these men and despite moving on with my life–”
“And becoming a sheriff–”
“I have a bond with these men that still stands. I’m also related to a few of them.
” Ben parked the truck in front of a wooden shack with a “Camp Director” sign posted on the door.
Mold decorated the siding, the windows were covered with oilpaper from the inside, and green things grew out of the gutters.
“You must remember what life is like with a MC.”
“I do. That's why I left.”
He shut off the truck. “My cousins, my brothers, and I used to spend our summers at this scouting camp. When my brother Kane and I were members of the MC, we recommended the club buy this property. It’s a perfect hideout, and a great place to run summer bike rallies.
” He sent her a grin, despite the danger that soaked the air. “Like a camp for grown men.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Men from a 1% outlaw motorcycle club?”
He waggled his eyebrows at her, obviously trying to lighten the mood. “Every man deserves to have fun.”
“Whatever you say.” She waited until he came around and opened her door. She coughed from the smoke irritating her throat.
He took her arm and led her toward the shack that had to have starred in every horror movie ever made. The lights near the front door blinked on and off, and an engine hummed in the distance. Probably a generator. Despite the heat, she shivered. “I don’t hear the crickets.”
“All animals, no matter how small, run when they sense danger.”
She snorted softly. She knew the feeling.
The door opened. A tall, muscular man wearing a black leather cut over a black T-shirt and jeans appeared on the stoop.
His long blond hair was tied behind his neck, and his uncanny resemblance to Ben ID’d him as a Mosby.
The only difference between him and Ben was that this man had blond hair instead of brown.
“Hawk. Thanks for coming.” Ben embraced his cousin, and they hit each other’s backs.
When they separated, Ben motioned her forward. “This is Sophie.”
Hawk drew her into a hug. He smelled of pine trees and bourbon. After releasing her, he said, “You’re as pretty as Kane said.”
She smiled. Instead of responding, she smoothed down the skirt of her blue cotton sundress, wishing she had a sweater to cover her halter top.
“Come in.” Hawk waved them into the dimly lit room with leather couches, two battered desks covered in computer equipment, two mini fridges, a galley kitchen, and a door leading into another room.
Two men wearing MC cuts came out of the back room, and she reached for Ben’s hand.
He squeezed three times–their secret code of reassurance.
These men were as tall as Hawk and Ben, but one had a bald head covered in tattoos that matched tattooed sleeves on his arms. The other man wore his long hair braided down his back, and the patch on his cut said Enforcer.
An MC’s enforcer was the club’s protector. The guy you wanted on your side of a tough negotiation. He was also the man who stayed behind long after the talking had failed.
Both men greeted Ben with hugs. Then they stared at her. Her face heated up, and she glanced at Ben, who’d moved behind the table to study the laptops.
“Love what you’ve done to the place, Hawk.” Ben’s voice held a tinge of laughter, probably to break the room’s tension. “Especially the high-tech upgrades.”
“Kane redid our security set-up.”
Ben nodded. “That sounds like my brother.”
Hawk gripped the enforcer’s shoulder. “Sophie, this is Thor.” Hawk nodded to the bald man. “That’s Drac.”
She cleared her throat. “Hi.”
Another man came through the front door in a leather cut with a prospect patch.
Where Thor and Drac carried a threat level of ten, this man’s wide smile collided with his high cheekbones.
The prospect, with his ginger red beard, long red hair swept back from his forehead, and green eyes, was the most handsome man she’d seen in a long time. Other than her fiancé, of course.
“I’m Cali. The prospect.” He nodded at Ben. “Glad you two made it safely.”
She released a breath. Cali was more approachable than the others, including Hawk. Maybe because he was a prospect and didn’t have to carry the weight of being scary all the time.
Thor sat behind a desk and pounded a laptop keyboard. “What’s up outside, Cali?”
Cali threw himself onto the leather couch and it groaned beneath the weight of the six-foot-four grown man. “Fate and the others are on lookout duty. No sign yet of any Black Jacks. But that fire–” he motioned toward the west-facing window. “It’s blowing toward us.”
Hawk opened the door. “Wind has shifted. We have a few hours.” He pointed at Thor, who sat at the table, focused on one of the laptops. “But whatever we’re doing here, brothers, let’s do it quickly.”
“We’ll need caffeine.” Drac went to the small galley kitchen near the front door and began brewing single serve coffee pods.
As the men made plans, she moved toward an uncovered window that overlooked the back of the camp.
Behind the cabin, a long gravel lane stretched between two long houses with front porches.
Beyond the buildings, all she could see were trees. Like the cabin, nature had taken hold of the buildings and refused to let go. The place reeked of loneliness and serial killers.
She shivered. She still wasn’t sure what was going on, and that annoyed her.
Cali appeared and pointed to the left side of the lane where the long, two-story building sported a door and window every ten feet.
“That’s the barracks for the MC members.
” He motioned toward the building across the road with barn doors.
“That’s the mess hall. There’s a kitchen and tables for everyone to eat together.
There’s also a larger space behind the main part of the camp for small RVs and tents. ”
“I didn’t know your club owned this place.” She wiped her forehead with her forearm. It was hotter than a few minutes ago. “I never heard the Black Jacks mention it.”
“That’s good news,” Cali said. “Hopefully those Black Jacks following you got trapped by fires.”
She wrinkled her nose. She had no love for the Black Jacks, but she didn’t want them burned alive.
The room filled with the scent of brewed coffee, and Hawk came over to hand Cali a hot mug. “Cali, go outside and check on the others.”
“Got it.” Cali raised his mug to her. “Try not to worry, darlin’.” Then he left the room.
“Sophie?” Drac asked as he filled another mug. “Would you like coffee? Or tea? We have herbal and black.”
“Herbal tea, please.” She tried to hide her surprise.
Hawk chuckled and leaned his shoulder against the window, a foot away from where she stood. “You’d be shocked at what the brothers drink after midnight. And it’s not always alcohol.”
“Uh, bro?” Drac shook his head. “Izzy is the one who makes sure this place is clean and stocked with her favorite things. Including toiletries for guests, Sophie, that you’re welcome to use.”
“Thanks.” Sophie had never met Izzy, Hawk’s girlfriend, but hoped to one day.
She took the mug from Drac, not sure what else to say other than offer another, “Thanks.”
She sipped her tea, appreciating the honey chamomile flavor, and studied the back yard again. It felt like every minute the outside seemed darker.