Page 11 of Tanner (Dirty Misfits MC 5)
And I was glad that they got the hint.
“Where’s your daughter?” Finn asked.
Summer gasped and I shot him a look. “She’s at another location. Summer, myself, and Brooks will go get her. Everyone else needs to get back to the clubhouse.”
Porter quirked an eyebrow. “Brooks?”
He nodded. “Do what he says. Do you have an address, Tan?”
Summer cleared her throat. “I’ll talk him through where she is. Just follow us.”
After getting Summer onto the back of my bike and linking our Bluetooth headsets up within our helmets, she talked me through how to get to this house Cheyenne was at. But other than her feeding me directions, the ride was pretty quiet.
That is, until Brooks sped around us and slammed on his brakes.
“What the fuck?” I murmured.
“What’s he doing?” Summer asked as she clung to me.
I tried my hardest to keep myself under control, but it had been years since I’d felt Summer touch me. Or cling to me. Or generally press herself against me. She smelled so different, and looked even more different after all these years, but the warmth of her embrace and the tender touch of her hands hadn’t changed one damn bit.
It worried me when Brooks pulled off to the side of the road, though. And I wondered what the hell he had seen.
“Tan, can you hear me?” Brooks asked.
I nodded. “Yep.”
“I can, too,” Summer said.
“Good, this will go quickly, then. Are we close to where Cheyenne is?” he asked.
“Not particularly. We’ve still got about fifteen minutes to go,” she said.
“Is that good?” I asked.
Brooks revved the engine of his bike. “We’re cruising into a part of town that’s heavily policed by guys on our payroll.”
Summer flinched. “You guys have police paid off around here?”
I snickered. “It’s not what you think. We pay some of the officers to keep an eye out for—”
“Ahem,” Brooks said.
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll tell you more about it later.”
Summer sighed. “Always with the secrets.”
“Anyway,” Brooks murmured, “she’s in a very safe part of town. Nothing will happen to her so long as she stays there. She’s there all night, right?”
“Right,” Summer said.
I nodded. “Then, we’ll come pick her back up at whatever time you were originally going to get her, and you can take the evening at the clubhouse to wrap your head around everything before we bring Cheyenne into the picture.”
“Whatever you guys think is best. I’m flying blind right now,” she said.
Brooks looked at me and I nodded. “Lead the way back to the clubhouse. We’ll get Cheyenne in the morning.”
But as we sped off down the road, Summer became apprehensive.
“Are you sure this is necessary?”
I clicked my tongue. “More than you realize.”
“Because I’ve been taking care of myself for the last decade on my own, essentially. I can handle myself.”
I nodded. “I’m sure you can, but right now we can’t take any chances.”
“Who’s coming for us again? I mean, who threatened us or whatever?”
“The Black Flags.”
She pressed her head against my back. “The rival crew, right.”
“I know you don’t get it, or maybe you don’t even believe me, but these men are fucking ruthless. You have no idea how bad these guys are.”
She snickered. “Yeah, I really do. I worked at The Body Shop well before they showed up, and then some. Remember? I survived, though. I’m here with you instead of in a grave somewhere. I got my money and I got out, just like I always do.”
I turned the corner and the clubhouse came into view. “Look, I know you can handle yourself. All right? It’s one of the many things that attracted me to you when we were teenagers. But Chops is ruthless. And if there’s a word stronger than ruthless, he’s actually that one. He has no soul, believes women are nothing more than disposable property, and he’s already killed two of our members.”
“Holy shit,” she whispered.
“Don’t go to the clubhouse!” Brooks yelled in our ears.
Summer screamed as I took a hard left, getting off the road. “What happened? What’s going on?”
Brooks peeled off in the other direction. “Cole said he spotted Black Flags about half a mile out. They’re riding in formation, and they’re strapped.”
“Shit,” I hissed.
“What does that mean?” Summer asked as she trembled against me.
I eased my way down back roads until I approached the clubhouse from the side. “It means I need to get you inside and somewhere safe before I load up.”
“Load up? What do you mean, ‘load up?’”
I shook my head. “Just listen to what I say and stop asking questions. Your life depends on it right now.”
She sniffled in my ear and it killed me inside. She deserved so much better than this. Maybe it was a good thing she walked away from me all those years ago. I mean, I never had a future. I hated the hell out of school. I knew I’d never go to college and sit at some desk all day scribbling my signatures on papers and shit.
