Page 79 of Creed

“I wish I knew.”

“Bring her to the clubhouse, and we’ll let Shep have a run at her. Maybe he can piece something together.”

“I can do that, but it’s going to take him some time. This guy wasn’t afraid to make a threat. We need to be ready in case he follows through on it.”

“The Vault is good. We already made sure of that. We need to do the same at the clubhouse. I’ll get the boys to move everything over to the storage unit out east.”

“And what do you want to do about the girl?”

“What are you thinking?”

“She’s pretty rattled, and she’s on her own. Doesn’t have anyone to fall back on. Need to find her somewhere to hide out until this thing blows over.”

“You trust this girl.”

“Got no reason not to, but you never know.”

“I’ll put her up at the stables with Misty. She can keep an eye on her until we can figure something out.”

“Sounds good. We’ll see you in ten.”

I ended the call and stepped back into the staff lounge. Gabby was still sitting at the table, clutching the half-empty can of soda, and she looked just as freaked out as she had when I first spoke to her, only this time, it looked like she’d been crying. “You okay?”

“No.” The tears started streaming. “I didn’t ask for none of this. I didn’t do nothing. It wasn’t my fault those two assholes tried to take me.”

She was right.

None of this was her fault, but that didn’t stop it from happening. And now, we had to find a way to put an end to it. I wanted to ease her mind, but I couldn’t. I had no idea how this shit was going to play out, so I told her, “I know you’re scared, but you’re gonna be okay.”

“Yeah, right.”

“We’re going over to the clubhouse. We’ll get you a shower and some clean clothes and some shoes, and you’ll be safe there.”

While hesitant, she nodded and got to her feet. I led her out front, and she followed me out without a word. We drove to the clubhouse in silence, but I was watching her. Every time a car would pass, her eyes would dart to the windows, like she was waiting for someone to show up and drag her back.

I had a hundred questions rolling through my head, and as much as I wanted to push her for answers, I knew it wasn’t the time. She was already shaken up, and I didn’t need to make matters worse by saying something that might spook her. Besides, Shep and Grim would know how to pull information without breaking her any more than she already was.

When we pulled in, it looked like utter chaos but looks were deceiving. While rare, we’d been in situations like these before, and the brothers knew exactly what they were doing. They had prospects loading crates into the SUVs, clearing out anything that might get us heat if the wrong badge decided to poke around. They did what they were told and worked fast, quiet, and efficiently.

Preacher was waiting by the back door with Shep and Grim, and all three were stone-faced as I led Gabby inside. We didn’t waste time. After a quick introduction, we went straight to the conference room. Gabby lowered herself into one of the chairs, and Shep grimaced when he got a better look at her face and bare feet.

He knelt in front of her and kept his voice low and calm as he told her, “We’re gonna help you, Gabby. But we’re going to need you to help us sort through some things.”

“Okay.”

“So, Creed told us that a cop was asking questions about what happened to you that night?”

“Yeah. He wanted to know what happened to the guys who tried to take me.”

“Okay. Slow down a bit. I need you to tell me where he picked you up.”

Her voice was small, trembling. “Outside the gas station on Fifth. He said he’d give me a ride.”

“What’d this guy look like?” Grim asked, sounding on edge.

“Tall and kind of muscular. He had dark hair and was wearing slacks and a white shirt. He had… he had a badge.”

She kept talking, words pouring out like water through a crack. “Once I got in the car, he locked the doors and drove down this dark alley. He started asking about that night at the Vault. I told him I didn’t want to talk about that, and he started hitting me.”