Page 53 of Archer (Dirty Misfits MC 3)
And as I rattled off what happened, Chops and his minions grew further and further away from us.
Giving me hope that we all might actually make it out of this shithole situation alive.
Twenty-Four
Josie
The second we skidded to a stop in the clubhouse parking lot I leapt out of the back doors as they flew open. I blazed a trail by an unsuspecting man and booked it for the house. I bounced around, peeling off my thigh highs and tossing them to the side, scattering money and ammunition around like I was one of the customers at my own damn place of work.
But when I heard a chorus of sniffles and whimpers, I stopped in my tracks.
And saw a sea of fearful brown eyes staring back at me.
“It’s okay,” I said softly as I held out my hands, “I come in peace. I swear.”
But none of them looked like they knew what I was saying. So, I held up both of my hands in mock surrender and smiled, which seemed to garner me a few head nods.
Then, I pointed to my chest. “Josie.”
One of the girls pushed her way forward and I tried not to cringe at how skinny she looked. “Josie.”
I nodded. “You?”
The girl held her head high. “Gabriella.”
I smiled. “Gabriella. It’s wonderful to meet you.”
I slowly held out my hand and the girl shook it before she spoke in her broken English. “Some girls hungry. Others, no drink for two nights. Showers?”
Tanner rushed past me and gathered the girls. He rattled shit off in Spanish and they immediately gravitated toward him. My eyes bulged as he spoke the language like he had grown up in it or something, and as the girls walked with him down the hallway, I saw Gabriella peer over her shoulder.
Before giving me a bright smile.
“He’ll take care of them,” Archer said as he walked up beside me. “But I need to help go get Cole cleaned up. He’s in pretty rough shape.”
My phone rang and I looked around the floor for it. “Sounds good. Where the fuck is my—”
Cole handed it to me. “Here. It slid into the corner where I was sitting.”
I took it from him and tried not to react to all of the bruises forming on his face. “Thank you.”
He looked over at Archer. “You ready?”
Archer slid his hand under the man’s arms. “Ready when you are.”
Then, the two of them hobbled off as I opened the text message I had from Summer.
“Hey, Archer?”
“Yeah?” he called back.
I turned my phone around. “The girls are safe at the police department. Summer says they’re with a Chief Declan?”
Finn came up beside me. “Oh, he’s a good one. I had to deal with him a few times as a kid. He’ll take very good care of those girls.”
That gave me a piece of mind. “That’s good. That makes me feel better.”
Summer’s text message had a picture of Chief Declan wrapping blankets around the girls’ shoulders while another officer handed them sandwiches and bottles of water. The caption on the picture said, “I’ll see ya when I see ya,” and I knew that meant I’d be seeing much more of Summer in the coming days.
That didn’t matter, though. I welcomed the company while we all recuperated from the shitshow that tonight had become.
I quickly shot a text back to Summer, letting her know that I’d help them out in any way I could. But the second I pressed the “send” button, Archer called down the hallway for me.
“Josie! Tanner could use some help with the girls, if you’re up to it.”
I tucked my phone back into my bra. “Coming!”
I jogged down the hallway and followed the voices of the girls chittering away in Spanish. And the second I entered the room, they all gravitated toward me. I heard the shower running and one of the girls quickly stepped out in a towel, and as Tanner ushered his arm out for another girl to go in, no one took a step forward.
“I don’t think they trust me very much,” Tanner said as he lowered his arm.
So, I traded places with him. “Just translate for me. Ready?”
Tanner nodded as he stood by the door. “Ready.”
I held my arm out. “Who’s next for the shower?”
Tanner rattled it off and Gabriella pushed a girl that looked to be no more than nineteen years old to the front of the room. The poor girl had tears streaming down her face and blood dripping from her nose, so I quickly grabbed a shirt from off the floor and dabbed her nose with it. I held her chin still softly, trying to clean her up as yet another girl came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.
Then, I sent her inside along with another girl so they could quickly clean themselves up.
