Page 77 of Property of Anchor

“That’s interesting,” she murmured.“Why did it take that long to get a new name?”

“Road name,” I corrected and brushed my knuckles down her arm.“And nothing clicked until then.Skull actually came up with it.I was about six months into being Prez.He told me I was bringing the club back together, making it whole again.Said I was like an anchor, holding it down.”

She snorted softly.“You bikers can be pretty philosophical when you want to be.”She tilted her head, eyes still on mine.“Is that why Bob doesn’t have a road name?Nothing’s come to you guys yet?”

I laughed.“Thatishis road name, doll.”

Her brow wrinkled.“Seriously?What does that mean?”

I shook my head.“That’s a story only Bob can tell.”

She smiled but didn’t push.We went quiet for a beat.The kind of silence that doesn’t feel awkward, just settled, comfortable.

“I was talking to Lost earlier,” she said.

I grunted.“First we’re talkin’ about Bob while we’re both naked, and now you’re bringin’ up Lost?”

She laughed, but she leaned up slightly, still nestled close.“It’s aboutyou,I swear.I asked him about motorcycles.I told him I never really see you guys ride.”

I exhaled through my nose, amusement threading my voice.“That’s ‘cause dead bodies have been popping up every damn week.Normally, we ride every day.”

“Can we go for a ride tomorrow?”she asked, hope bleeding into her voice.

I sighed.“Doll...we need to be careful right now.”

She raised up on one elbow and looked down at me.“We don’t have to leave the island.Can’t we just...ride around it?”

I looked at her for a long second, the way her messy hair curled around her cheek, her bare skin still flush from what we’d done.The way she was still trying to live in the middle of this madness.Still trying to claim a piece of normal.

“You really wanna go for a ride that bad?”I asked.

She shrugged, but her smile said everything.“I mean, I’ve never been on a motorcycle before, and plastering myself to you while we cruise around sounds like fun.”

“Yeah,” I said with a chuckle.“That’s a pretty accurate description.”

I leaned up and kissed her, soft but deep.A promise pressed against her lips.“I’ll see what I can do to make that happen.”

“Promise?”she whispered, the hope in her voice making something tight coil in my chest.

I nodded.“Promise, doll.We’ll go for a ride soon.”

Chapter Thirty

Pearl

The sun was barely up, casting a pale orange glow across the tops of the trees when I opened the cabin door.I’d woken up a few minutes ago to the sound of birds chirping and a strange, uneasy feeling in my chest.Anchor was in the bathroom, the sound of running water and movement behind the closed door grounding me.

I’d only planned to step out onto the porch for a second, maybe take a breath of the fresh morning air before figuring out what to make for breakfast.But the moment I stepped outside, my foot nearly caught something at the top of the steps.

I blinked and bent down.

An envelope.

Just a plain white one.No markings.No name.

A chill crept up my spine as I picked it up.It wasn’t heavy, but I felt a bump in it.

Behind me, the bathroom door opened.“What’ve you got, doll?”