Page 23

Anchor

The sun was just starting to lower behind the trees as I made my way down the dirt path toward the haunted house. The sound of waves slapping the edge of the dock echoed up from the lake, and the occasional bird call bounced between the branches overhead. The day had been long. Too long. And I needed to see her—Pearl. Just one glimpse of her and maybe I’d stop grinding my damn teeth.

The scent of paint and fresh sawdust hit me before I even made it to the clearing.

“Biker boy,”

Bernice called.

I looked up to see her standing at the edge of the porch with a wide-brimmed straw hat perched on her head like she was fresh out of the garden, even though she was splattered with gray paint and had a strip of masking tape stuck to her forearm.

“Looking for Pearl?”

she asked.

“Your girl’s still inside putting away brushes or yelling at Lost for dripping black paint on a white wall.”

I smirked.

“That man couldn’t color inside the lines if you paid him.”

Bernice huffed a laugh and slowly stepped off the porch. She rolled her shoulders as she came down the stairs, and her hand massaged the small of her back like it’d been giving her grief all day.

“I’m too damn old for this much climbing,”

she muttered.

“You heading back to your cabin?”

“Mm-hmm. Been a long day,”

she said.

“Your woman runs a tight ship. And don’t you dare tell her I said that, or she’ll think I’ve gone soft.”

She moved to me, and she stared out down to the dock.

“Used to be quieter here,”

she said suddenly.

“Before the boats. Before the haunted house turned into some cursed carnival ride.”

I glanced over at her.

“You were here before all that?”

She nodded.

“Before most of you were even patched in. Before this became more show than sanctuary.”

Her words hit something old in my chest.

“I didn’t know you were ever here.”

She gave me a sideways glance.

“There’s a lot you don’t know, Anchor. But I see more than you think.”

I waited and sensed there was more behind that stare.

She looked back at the lake.

“You’re asking the wrong questions, biker boy.”

I stiffened.

“What questions should I be asking?”

She squinted at the water like it held answers.

“Sometimes the dead come back just to remind us we buried the wrong man.”

A chill rolled down my spine, and I didn’t even try to hide it.

“You care to explain that?”

Bernice didn’t look at me. “Nope.”

She started down the path toward her cabin, one slow step at a time.

“Bernice—”

She paused.

“Watch your girl, Anchor. She’s got good instincts, but even the smart ones get surprised.”

Then she kept walking. Her steps were steady, but the air around her felt heavy with more secrets than she’d let on.

I stood there a moment longer and stared out at the lake like it might explain what the hell she meant. But it didn’t.

I headed up the steps into the haunted house.

Pearl was crouched beside a paint tray, hammering the lid onto a can like it had personally offended her. A smear of dried paint ran up her thigh, and she had a small brush tucked behind one ear. Her light white shirt was speckled with drops, and her cutoff shorts clung to her curves in a way that had my throat going dry.

Lost was sitting on the bottom stair of the grand staircase, legs stretched out, looking completely relaxed.

“Everything good today?” I asked.

Lost gave me a lazy grin.

“Your ol’ lady put me to work again, Anchor. Ain’t enough I got the whole club riding my ass; now I got her cracking the whip, too.”

I smirked and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Welcome to the real world, prospect. Think of it as cross-training.”

Lost rolled his eyes, but he stood.

“You got her from here?”

“Yeah. Go eat something.”

He gave Pearl a mock salute and ducked out the door.

I turned back to her. We were about ten feet apart, and for a second, neither of us said anything. Then she stood up, brushed her hands on her shorts, and smiled at me.

“Time for me to do some work for you again?”

I asked and stepped closer.

She tilted her head back playfully when I was about a foot away from her. “Always.”

That was all it took.

I closed the distance and pulled her into my arms. She let out a happy squeal, and I swallowed the sound with a kiss. Her mouth opened for me like she’d been waiting all day for this, and damn if I hadn’t been too.

When we finally came up for air, we were both panting.

I brushed a stray strand of hair from her face.

“Talked to Bernice outside.”

She cringed.

“You always seem to be talking to someone before you come in here. First my dad, and now Bernice. What did she have to say?”

“Some weird shit that I can’t really make heads or tails of. She made it sound like she knew the club and the island before I joined.”

“Oh lord,”

she muttered.

“Half the time, Bernice talks in riddles that no one can understand.”

Yeah, she had definitely been talking in riddles.

“I’m sure it was nothing,”

I said and brushed it off. I had enough to worry about without adding Bernice’s ramblings to it.

She melted into me. We stayed like that for a long second, breathing each other in.

Eventually, she pulled back slightly.

“You think the island’s still opening tomorrow?”

I nodded.

“Yeah. We need to keep things running. The club’s got a good chunk of money stashed, but that’s only gonna stay true if we keep the haunted house and boat tours going. How much longer do you think we’ll be painting?”

She ran down the list of two rooms, touch-ups, detailing the outside again.

“Probably a week, then we’ll be gone.”

“The crew will be gone,”

I corrected.

She blinked.

“Yes… I am part of the crew.”

I wrapped my arms around her waist and leaned close.

“You may be done painting in a week, doll, but you sure as hell aren’t going anywhere when you’re done.”

She stilled.

“Maybe if I leave the island, I’ll be safe.”

“Yeah, no.”

I shook my head.

“We’re not even testing that theory. You’re with me, here, on the island, until we put whoever’s killing people in the ground.”

She smirked.

“You like telling people what to do, don’t you?”

I nuzzled her neck and heard her breath hitch.

“I’m the Prez, doll. Telling people what to do is kinda my thing.”

I kissed the soft skin just below her ear.

“But with you, I’m just keeping you safe. If you want to leave when this is done, I won’t make you stay.”

She looked at me.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens then.”

I didn’t say anything. Just pulled her tighter into my arms and kissed her like tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed. Because right now? On this island? It sure as hell wasn’t.