Page 15

“How is she doing?” asked Ian.

“She’s sleeping right now. In fact, it seems that’s all she does,” smirked Nash.

“Well, that’s normal. She’s had a lot of shocks, a lot of drama in her life this last year. I’d want to sleep until it all went away as well,” said Ghost. “How did she handle everything in Arizona?”

“Surprisingly well. I mean, she was shocked at first, but then I think her memories started to fit into place, and she realized that there were signs things were different for her. She wants to meet her biological mother, but if we do that, the Ciprianis will know she’s alive.”

“That’s true,” said Ghost, “but the question is why are they after her, and what was the secret she carried with her as an infant? Does she have any jewelry that she’s always carried with her? Anything like that?”

“I didn’t get to ask her that question,” said Nash.

“What about the guys that followed you into the neighborhood? Did we find out anything about them?” asked Gaspar.

“We just wanted to make sure that Nash and Jenna were covered,” said Luc. “I think the boys were trying to get a read on the plates.”

“Nothing,” said Ace. “They had no plates. What the hell does she have that would make them track her for more than fifty years?”

“I hate to say this, but I think we’re going to need to visit Claudia St. Martine,” said Nine. “I understand she’s a bitch to get to, but we have to somehow notify her of why we want to see her without telling her all of it.”

“Why not tell her Jenna, Genevieve, is alive?” asked Nash.

“What if she was the one that wanted her dead?” Nash frowned at them, realizing there could be a million possible scenarios as to why she was taken and kept alive.

“I can’t imagine wanting your own child dead, but I guess we all know it’s happened before and will probably happen again,” said Nash. “Did she have other children?”

“None,” said Ace. “Apparently, Genevieve was their only child, and Cipriani had no children. Maybe it has something to do with not leaving an heir to their empire. Without Genevieve, the St. Martine empire dies with Claudia. It could leave the door open for the Cipriani family.”

“That’s true, but when Lydia dies, there’s no one to take over their empire,” said Ian. “It’s all very strange.”

“Ace? See if you can get contact information on St. Martine,” said Ghost.

“I’ve tried, and I’ll keep trying. For someone who runs a supposed legitimate empire at this point, she’s damn hard to get in touch with. No direct phone, e-mail, not even a damn mailing address. I’ll keep looking.”

Ace left them, Code and Sly on his heels.

They’d been fortunate over the years to have the best communications, data, and tech teams in the world.

With the addition of G.R.I.P., they were producing some of the most advanced technologies in the world that the world knew nothing about.

And they planned to keep it that way for as long as possible.

“Nash? How are you doing?” asked Kane.

He stared at the five men he admired most in the world. All genuine heroes in a world that needed more heroes. He respected them, emulated their behavior, and praised their compassion balanced with justice.

“I’m doing okay. I know it’s going to take time to get her to open up to me more. She’s a little better, or at least she was while we were in Arizona. She allowed me to touch her hand or shoulder a few times.”

“Brother, this isn’t just about her attack,” said Ghost. “You forget that she was in a convent for the last thirty-five years of her life. She was rarely around men at all. It’s probably one of the reasons she didn’t run when she saw those bikers.

She was too innocent to understand that they could be trouble. ”

“That’s true,” he frowned. “I guess I didn’t think about that.”

“I have an idea,” said Ghost. “What if we took her up to the shop and let her see what the boys are doing with the bikes up there? She’d understand that not all motorcyclists or motorcycle clubs are bad.”

“That’s actually a good idea,” he smiled.

“Hi,” said Jenna. “Sorry for the interruption. What’s a good idea?” They all turned to stare at her, standing like the gentlemen they were.

“Did you have a good rest?” asked Nash.

“I did. What’s a good idea? I feel as though it’s probably about me,” she grinned.

“Would you be willing to allow us to take you somewhere on the property to show you something?” asked Ghost.

“Of course. I trust all of you.”

Ghost nodded, leading her out to the ATVs. Nash looked at the others and frowned.

“Let’s hope she still feels that way after this.”

Jenna had no idea what building they were entering. When you entered the businesses from the property side, the doors were numbered, not labeled. Ghost turned to her and smiled with his hand on the door.

“Trust us, okay? We know every person in this building.” She frowned at him but nodded.

The moment they entered the mechanic and build area, Jenna froze. She spotted the shining chrome, the beautifully painted tanks, and the bikes lifted on the racks.

“Th-they’re motorcycles,” she whispered.

“That’s right. We make custom motorcycles right here on our property. Remember? That’s how we knew what happened to you. The Flaming Skulls were trying to buy our motorcycles, and we refused them.”

“You refused? Why?” she asked innocently.

“Because we don’t do business with men like that.

We own this business, so we choose who we do business with.

Our motorcycles are highly desirable because they’re all custom-made.

We ask the height, arm and leg length, and weight of the biker to ensure that their ride is as comfortable as possible. ”

“I see. And-and do you all ride those things?” she asked.

“We do,” nodded Kane. “It’s a wonderful feeling of freedom. The wind in your hair kind of thing. For veterans, we often don’t like closed spaces. I don’t think I’ve ever known a veteran who drives a small car.” The others smiled, nodding.

“I can understand that. If it’s bigger, it doesn’t feel as claustrophobic. It makes sense to me. Were you part of a gang?” she asked tentatively.

“No,” said Ghost. “We had a club, which is something very different. When we left the military, we decided that we wanted to continue to serve. We funded our business by building these bikes. We never thought it would take off the way it did. Skull and some of the other guys are the absolute best at what they do.”

Jenna walked slowly around the bikes, giving a wide berth to the very large men working on them. She spotted Trevon, whom she’d met several weeks before, and smiled at him. The gentle giant stood slowly, his hands folded in front of him.

“Hi, Miss Jenna. How are you feeling?” he asked. The older men grinned at the sweet man.

“Trevon, you don’t have to call me Miss Jenna. Jenna is fine. But thank you for asking. I’m getting there. A little better every day.”

“That’s good. That’s real good. I know you’ll be your old self in no time.” She gave a wry smile and nodded.

“My old self. I’m not sure I want to be my old self.

” Trevon looked panicked for a moment, staring from her to Nash and then Ghost. “It’s not a bad thing, Trevon.

You just reminded me that I can’t decide to leave the convent behind and not leave most of who I was behind. I have to re-invent myself.”

“If you don’t mind me sayin’ so, ma’am. There’s nothin’ about you that needs reinventing. You’re pretty awesome, just like you are.” Jenna laughed, shaking her head.

“You know, if you were thirty years older, I’d say you were flirting.”

“No, ma’am. I respect Mr. Nash too much to do that,” he grinned. He turned and started to work on the bike again, Nash blushing from the comment.

“Come on, Jenna,” said Ghost, holding out his arm. “There are bikes up front completed that you should see.”

The entire visit was liberating for Jenna. She asked a million questions about motorcycles and how they’re made, why they paint the tanks, why does it make such a loud noise, anything and everything. She was like a curious child, and the wonder and excitement grew the more they spoke.

When they left the building, she chatted non-stop with the men and then waved goodbye, running toward the small group of women headed into the cafeteria for dinner.

“Thank you for doing that, Ghost. It was like a light switch went on for her,” said Nash.

“It was my pleasure. Maybe now it will be one less monster under the bed for her.”