Page 8

Tillie

I’d always heard it didn’t matter if you were speeding down the interstate, you could only go so fast. The likelihood of you making it to your destination more than a couple minutes faster than anticipated by speeding is slim to none.

Math is involved, and I could never be bothered to work it out.

It was obvious Tiny had never heard of this rule.

“Who’s he talking to?” I was afraid to speak too loudly. The last thing I wanted to do was break Tiny’s concentration. I sat in the seat behind Tiny while Xavier sat next to me. I gripped his hand.

“Likely Knight. Knight will have eyes on us and can keep the police away from us. Don’t ask me how, because I have no idea. But he’ll let Tiny know which way to go if he needs to take an alternate route.” Xavier squeezed my hand and met my gaze. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

I nodded and squeezed his hand back. I wasn’t sure I had the correct words to tell him what he meant to me and how grateful I was for his help and protection. “I owe you so much, Xave.”

“Not another word, Tillie.” There was fire in his eyes. “You owe me nothing.” I could tell he was serious, but I didn’t agree with him. There was nothing he could ever say to convince me our scales were even. Then he pulled my hand to him and kissed my fingers.

That simple gesture sent a rush of warmth through me despite our dire circumstances. I could feel my cheeks flush as his lips lingered on my skin. When he lowered my hand, I didn’t pull it away. He didn’t either.

The highway stretched before us like a black ribbon, illuminated only by our headlights and the occasional passing car.

Venus and Piston had fallen back slightly, keeping a protective distance behind us while the others had moved into position at various points in front of and behind us, keeping us in the middle and other traffic away from us.

“That’s twice now someone’s either threatened or tried to kill me,” I murmured, the reality of the situation finally sinking in. “And I still don’t understand why.”

Xavier’s jaw tightened. “It’s not you they’re after, exactly. It’s that property.”

“A farmhouse? Why would anyone care about my little farmhouse?”

Xavier exchanged a glance with Tiny through the rearview mirror before facing me again. “That maintenance road at the back of your property isn’t on any maps, but it’s a main smuggling route for the Menendez cartel. They’ve been using it for years.”

“A drug cartel?” My voice rose an octave. “In my backyard?”

He winced. “Yeah. And it actually is as bad as it sounds.”

“But I was leaving! Why would they have followed me all this way?” Now that we were on the road, I expected a letdown like before, but I was fucking wired.

Xavier scrubbed a hand over his face. “Because you left. We took you away from there.”

“I thought that would have been the goal.”

“Yeah, but they also told you to not leave the house. My guess is they were moving a shipment and didn’t want you to see them.”

“Why not kill me?” I winced. “Never mind. I’m grateful they didn’t, so who really cares why?”

He gave me a slight smile. “I know. They don’t kill people first. They have a loose agreement to warn people instead of killing them. They’ve been pretty good at sticking to the agreement, but they only give one chance.”

“Fuckin’ scum shoulda left her alone after we let them know she was under our protection. Knuckles ain’t gonna be happy about that.”

“Tiny.” Xavier glared at the other man where their gazes met in the rearview mirror. We were all silent for a long time after that. Tiny spoke occasionally to whomever was giving him instructions, but otherwise we were all silent.

About two hours later, we rolled through the gate to a motorcycle club.

I was sure there was a way my parents would expect me to feel, but their feelings and mine weren’t even on the same planet.

The second we were through the gate, I relaxed at the same time I felt the tension leave Xavier’s grip on my hand.

I turned my head to see his expression. His look said everything I needed to know about my surroundings.

I’d been going to see Xavier every week for almost a year and a half.

I’d memorized every expression, every crease on his brow and around his eyes and what they meant.

This was the first time I’d seen him truly relaxed.

“You have complete faith we’re safe here. Don’t you, Xave?” I kept my voice down, mainly because the guys had been silent the entire second half of the trip and I didn’t feel right about breaking the silence too much.

“It’s home,” he said simply, his voice low. “And these men are my brothers. We protect each other.”

As Tiny parked the truck, I could see a group of men emerging from the clubhouse. It seemed this place grew them one size, and that was fucking big . All of them wore leather vests similar to Xavier’s. Their expressions were a mix of concern and what looked like relief.

“Come on,” Xavier said, releasing my hand to open his door. “Let’s go inside. We’ll find a place to get you settled.”

That alarmed me. “What?”

“There’s plenty of room. Each building has apartments on the top floors. Most of us prefer the single-room apartments but there are larger ones in several of the buildings.”

“Oh.” The punch of hurt hit me out of nowhere when I had no business being hurt by what I perceived as rejection.

“What’s wrong, Tillie?” He’d been about to open his door, but he stopped and turned to face me more fully.

“Nothing! Everything’s fine! Thank you for making sure I have a place to stay.” The last thing I wanted was for him to think I wasn’t grateful for everything he’d done for me.

“Are you sure? I want you to have your own space, but I’m not going to be far away.”

“Yes.” I let out a breath, needing to take a moment.

As much as I really didn’t want Xavier out of my sight, I knew this was for the best. I needed to take time to process what had happened over the past few hours, as well as really think about this fantasy I had where Xavier was the perfect suburban husband, catering to my every whim.

Even considering what he’d done for me, Xavier didn’t seem the domesticated type.

“I’m sure. Thank you.” I squeezed his hand reassuringly. Time to put on my big girl panties.

If I’d expected some kind of male bonding reunion or something, I’d have been disappointed. Instead, the guys put me and Xavier between them and hurried us inside and didn’t stop until we were on the second floor in the middle of the big, open room. Then everyone started talking at once.

“Holy shit, man!”

“Talk about a welcome home.”

“‘Bout time you got your ass home, Xavier.”

Several of the guys clapped Xavier on the back. A couple of them gave me respectful nods and introduced themselves. Then four women pushed their way through the gang of men catching up with Xavier.

“Don’t mind them.” A slender woman with light brown curls smiled and held out her hand. “I’m Hannah. Knuckles is my husband. These are Pippa, Carrie, and Violet.”

“Welcome to the jungle, honey.” Violet gave me a quick hug. “We put a care package together until you can get anything you’re missing. We all know about life on the run or making a quick exit.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to put anyone else in danger, especially not people I’d never met.”

“Don’t you dare be sorry,” Pippa said, a fierce, almost pained expression on her face. “These guys are a tight bunch. You mean something to Xavier, so they have a driving need to help Xavier protect you.”

“Sounds like something out of a fairy tale.” I could feel tears pricking the back of my eyes.

All my life I’d been weak. I let my parents push me around.

I stayed with Paul after he hit me more than once and didn’t try to leave until the night Xavier found me.

I absolutely would not show weakness in front of these women by crying now.

But, Goddamnit! What Pippa described sounded like my most fervent dreams!

“Takes some getting used to,” Violet said with a soft smile. “I’m still learning.”

I ducked my head. “Thank you for coming to meet me here. All the testosterone is a bit overwhelming.”

Carrie laughed, her smile bright and beautiful.

“I had about the same reaction. Though, to be fair, I freaked them out more than they freaked me out. Long story, but I watched the movie Carrie the other night with Riot like everyone kept telling me to, and I finally understood why poor Chains is afraid of me.”

A thought occurred to me. “I don’t wish ill will on anyone, but please tell me you at least looked like you had blood all over you.”

Carrie laughed gleefully. “I totally did! When Chains found out my mother’s name was Margaret, he started sprinkling holy water over mine and Riot’s door.”

OK, there was no way to contain my laughter. “That’s a story I’ve got to hear soon.”

“Once you get settled in and get some rest, we’ll take you to Oasis Number Two, drink too many margaritas, and we’ll tell you about it.

” Hannah handed me a phone as she spoke.

“This is yours while you’re here. The guys want us to use clean phones when calling or texting inside the compound.

Everyone here has been to prison. Knuckles knows every single one of them personally, or they don’t get in. ”

Hannah continued with the explanation. “Knuckles has extreme pull with local law enforcement. He prefers not to leave any openings if he can help it.”

“All our numbers are programmed in” -- Pippa handed me the phone -- “as well as Xavier’s new number.

You can reach out to any of us if you need anything at all, or if you’re uncomfortable with anything.

Especially the guys. They absolutely will not do anything you don’t want, but that’s not to say they won’t flirt their asses off.

If someone won’t back off, you call one of us or Xavier. We’ll shut them down for you.”