Page 9 of Shine: Sins of the Father (Evil Dead MC: Second Generation #8)
Fiona—
“Have you seen my watch?” Shine asks the next morning as we’re packing up to check out.
I slow down in shoving my things in my bag. “No. When’s the last time you had it? Wait, a minute. I remember you taking it off the night we met before we took a shower. I bet it's sitting on the bathroom vanity at the cabin.”
“Shit. That watch means a lot to me. Guess I’m going to have to go back and get it.”
“We can just backtrack and you can take me home after.”
“You good with that? You won’t miss a shift at Sonny’s?”
“It’ll be fine.”
We load up and head back, arriving mid-afternoon.
I stretch when I climb off Shine’s bike. The tires of a car driving past on the road carries to us, but when I turn, all I can see is a flash of a vehicle through the trees. We don’t get much traffic up here, but there are other cabins on the lake.
“Let me just grab the watch, and we can head out.” He starts for the cabin, and I follow him inside. He heads straight for the bathroom, disappearing through the bedroom door to reemerge a moment later.
“Find it?”
“Yeah. It was on the counter, like you thought.” He’s strapping it on.
“I need to stretch my legs before we hit the road again,” I say, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. “Want to take a walk with me?”
“Sure.”
Once we’re outside, he glances around. “Want to walk the road?”
“I saw a trail over there. It looks like it circles the lake. Want to try it?” I point toward the woods to the right.
He shrugs. “Lead the way, girl scout.”
As we walk side by side, I feel his eyes on me.
“What?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “You’re not what I expected. That’s all.”
“How so?”
“I wouldn’t figure a dancer to be the outdoorsy type. Most I’ve met give me the impression they wouldn’t be caught dead walking in the woods.”
I smile. “Guess I’m unique that way.”
“And most wouldn’t be caught dead without their fake eyelashes and the whole works. But you look beautiful without any makeup at all. Not that I’m surprised.”
“Thanks.”
“I never get why women think men need all that to find them attractive.”
“Well, in all honesty, I do have a bit of makeup on,” I admit, bumping his shoulder.
“Well, it looks natural. You must be good at it.”
We walk quietly for a few moments, taking in the scenery. “It’s beautiful up here. Don’t you think?”
“It is. Some of the guys in my chapter have been up here, but I never have.”
“Why not?” I slip my hand into his.
He shrugs. “Club’s gotta leave someone at the clubhouse. It was my turn.” He frowns. “Daytona may have been doing me a favor. I think I’d told him my ma was sick that week.”
“Daytona?” I’ve heard of who he is, but I pretend ignorance.
“Our chapter president.”
“Is he a good guy?”
“Yeah. Ever heard of Charlotte Justice?”
“The singer? Yeah, I’ve got a couple of her songs on my playlist. Why?”
“That’s his wife.”
My mouth drops open. “No way.”
Shine chuckles. “Yep. You’ll never believe how they met.”
“How?” I ask, my curiosity piqued. Just then, a noise whizzes past us like a loud bumblebee. Followed by a loud crack. The next thing I know, I’m down on the ground with Shine on top of me.
“What was that?” I ask, adrenaline surging through me.
“Stay down. That was a bullet, and it came damn close.” He’s got us behind a tree, and he lifts his head to peer around it into the distance. I twist to look but don’t see anything.
“A hunter?”
“I doubt it.”
The words are barely out of his mouth when two more shots whiz past.
Because we were just on his bike, he’s still wearing his cut, and he reaches under it and yanks out a weapon. Then he digs into his boot and pulls out a smaller one and passes it to me.
“Ever shot a gun before?”
“Yes. My father taught me.”
“Keep the safety on until you need to fire.” He surveys the direction from where the shots rang out. “We need to get back to the cover of the cabin.”
“But the gunfire is coming from that direction,” I point out.
“It’s still our safest place. We can hole up there.
At least I’ll know you’re safe until I take care of this guy.
” He glances around, then points with his hand low.
“We’re gonna circle around to that side and come up on the backside.
Okay? I’ll open cover fire. Anything happens, you don’t stop until you get inside and lock the door, understand? ”
My mouth dry and my heart pounding, I nod. I’m terrified for both of us, but so thankful Shine is with me. I don’t even want to think about this happening if I were up here alone. My eyes shift to the woods, searching for movement.
“Babe, look at me.”
I meet his gaze. “We’re gonna be okay, sweetness. Everything’s gonna be fine. I’ve got this.”
I nod and repeat his words. “You’ve got this.”
“Trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Stay behind me. Let’s move.”
The minute we move out from behind the tree, Shine opens fire, and we run.
I can’t see the cabin yet, because there are too many trees.
We’re running through the woods now, not on a path, and it isn’t easy going.
There are tree branches on the ground and slippery pine needles, which mask the terrain.
I step in a small hole, twisting my ankle, and I almost go down.
Shine grabs my upper arm and hauls be up before I hit the ground. “Keep going.”
I ignore the wince of pain and run for my life, the gun tight in my grip.
Miraculously, we make it through the door.
“You okay?” Shine asks.
When I nod, he moves to the window and peers out the crack in the drapes. “Fuck.”
“What is it?”
“There are two of them. It’s the Sidler brothers.”
“What? Did they follow us here?”
“Must have. Maybe that’s what they were doing at my bike. Planting a tracker.”
“A tracker? Why?”
He shrugs. “So he can take care of me before I take care of him.”
He moves to the door, and I panic. “What are you doing?”
“I’m gonna end this right now. Lock the door and shoot anything that tries to get in.”
Before I can object, he’s gone. I back against the wall and slide down it on the other side of the couch, then take the safety off the gun. With both hands, I aim it at the door.