Page 35 of Knuckles (Dragon Riders MC 4)
“Coming!” she yelled back.
I watched as she made her way up to the truck before her eyes bulged. I gave her one second to herself to study what was in front of her before I pulled her into the truck with me. She scrambled over my lap as I closed the door, and I growled as her toes came dangerously close to pushing against my balls.
“Come on, Simone,” I growled.
“I’m here, I’m here. You can go. Just don’t leave any tire tracks behind, if you can?” she asked.
I grinned. “Ask, and ye shall receive.”
The great thing about these tires was that they were damn near bald. Made it almost impossible for the Feds to track them if they even found tracks to study out here. The problem? Bald tires meant a much higher risk of blown tires, car accidents, and getting stuck on the side of the road. Where we’d be nothing but sitting ducks.
So, as I eased my way out of the woods and back onto the road, I kept my eyes peeled for any trucks with campers on the side of it.
I drew in a deep breath as we cruised down the highway. I kept a watch on the muddy tire tracks behind me and prayed with all my might the mud would be off before I had to take the exit. If I was still leaving tracks, I’d have to go up the highway, turn my ass around, and try again.
However, the tracks stopped following behind me on the road when we were still four exits away.
“Thank fuck,” I breathed.
“What?” Simone asked. “What is it?”
She slipped her precious hand into mine and I threaded our fingers together. Drawing from her as much energy and strength as I could.
“Too much to explain. In four more exits, we’re going to get off and make our way back through some woods. We’re meeting up with the guys at an abandoned camper village in the middle of nowhere. Been off the grid and the map for years now.”
She nodded slowly. “Do you guys own it?”
I shook my head. “No. No one owns it right now. It’s right smack dab in the middle of the ‘wild woods,’ as we call them out here.”
“Wild woods?”
I nodded. “Yep. Not owned privately and not owned by the government to be protected. No one owns it.”
“Nice.”
I peeked over at her. “You okay?”
She sighed. “I’m worried about the guys. Worried about you.”
I kissed the back of her hand. “No need. There weren’t any other trucks and campers when we got to the meadow, so that means they all got out. I’m just keeping my eyes peeled for trucks on the side of the road now, case one of them broke down.”
“I take it you guys have been in this situation before?”
I was uncertain of how much to share. But I figured since she was wrapped up in the middle of it now, I owed her the full explanation.
So, I drew in a deep breath. “A few years ago, we had the Feds’ eye on us for a while. Unmarked cars, random drop-ins to the bars. The whole nine.”
“Wait, that’s what we’re running from? The Feds? I thought it was something that was Skeleton-related.”
“That’s what I thought as well, until the bartender gave me that code slogan at the bar.”
She paused. “So, that’s what that was. I thought he was just being disrespectful.”
I grinned. “No one’s ever disrespectful to me, beautiful.”
“And what if I am?”
I growled lowly. “You’ll get punished. That’s what.”
She smiled. “Sounds like a good time.”
I chuckled. “Anyway, when they got too close to our operations, this is what we did. We got trucks with camper trailers and we went scoping for a place to lay low. That’s when we found this camp site we’re headed to, and it quickly became our ‘oh, shit’ place.”
She giggled. “An ‘oh, shit’ place. I like it.”
“It has everything we need. A stocked pond for fishing. Great hunting woods, if someone managed to grab a silencer or some shit. But if all else fails, we’re stocked with food we can ration and share until further notice. Plus, we keep the campers stuffed with canned goods and things that don’t expire easily.”
“What about water? I didn’t see any back at that house or anything.”
I smiled. “You’ll see once we get there. It really is a nice place to lay low for a bit.”
“Right. I’ll just take your word for it.”
I saw our dirt road we needed to take. “All right, hang on. It’s going to be slow and bumpy for a bit.”
She scooted closer to me. “Ready when you are.”
I looked over at her, smiling. “You’re something else, you know that?”
She kissed my shoulder. “Let’s do this.”
I had a sick feeling in the pit of my gut that the Feds weren’t going anywhere for a while. And I worried that staying low for a week or two just wouldn’t cut it this time. Still, I traveled further and further into the woods. Trying to stay away from potholes, spiked branches, and anything that might blow the bald tires on this fucking thing. Every once in a while, we slid in a mud puddle and I had to take a breather. I hated the precautions we had to take just getting out to this place. But if I wanted to protect my guys as well as Simone, it had to happen.
