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But I was sure Griller was giving as good as he got. And if his reputation for violence was deserved, the man was capable of doing serious harm. Plus, he had motivation. Now he could not only see Sky, I was sure he could see me, holding her hand as we tried to get away.
With all the noise and smoke, I couldn’t tell if it was just him or if he’d brought back-up. I hadn’t seen anyone behind us on the freeway, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t had a moment of insight and called in some brothers. They might have been on their way, arriving fast on our heels to help him put an end to his cheating wife. But I couldn’t turn around to look. I had to get the two of us to safety.
It couldn’t have been more than ten seconds before my hand touched the handle of the exit door. But those ten seconds felt like ten hours. And all it took was an instant to get a fatal gunshot wound. Ripping the door open, I pulled Sky out first, thrusting her back out into the daylight before I followed, shutting it behind us.
“You hit?” I yelled, wrapping an arm around her lower back as I ran with her over to the SUV.
“I don’t think so.” She sounded terrified and close to losing it, but we were almost there. Eyes fixed on our target, I swept the area with my peripheral vision, looking for Skulls. I didn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean we wouldn’t get a nasty surprise.
The SUV was still parked where we’d left it a minute ago. I fingered my set of keys in my pocket, opening all the doors.
“Passenger side,” I barked, urging her toward the right while I dove left toward the driver’s seat. She probably didn’t need the reminder of where to go, but it couldn’t hurt. Stress and adrenaline could make you fast—Sky was hustling just as swift as me, sprinting over the gravel and weeds to reach the car—but stress didn’t always support clear thinking. She might need a reminder, I was going to drive getaway to the next checkpoint.
In the car, I wrenched on the ignition and jammed us into drive, wheels scrabbling and screeching as we peeled out down the driveway and into the street. I wanted to put as much distance as I could between us and that warehouse. I wished I could erase it from Sky’s brain, too. But I had to go with the flow of traffic, stop at the red light. All it would take was a cop pulling us over for a minor violation to make this whole plan fall to pieces.
“You did so good, baby, so good. Are you OK?” I asked, panting, squeezing her hand. I didn’t see any blood, no evidence of an injury, but that was another thing about adrenaline. It could mask even a nasty wound in the heat of the moment.
She patted herself down, as if she were wondering the same thing. Legs, arms, torso. “I’m OK. Are you?”
I nodded, sure of it. Finally, the light changed and we merged onto the freeway where I could open it up. Again, I kept myself within five miles an hour of the speed limit, even though I craved as much distance as possible.
“It’s all right. It’s all going to be OK.” I kept holding Sky’s hand, enfolding her in my heat, offering her reassurance. But we’d both feel better once we got to the checkpoint. Twenty minutes later, I reached the exit. We didn’t say anything to each other as I drove, winding my way down and into town to an auto shop where Zeke knew a guy. But I knew we were both thinking the same thing. So close now, this was the last piece in the puzzle.
“You stay here.” I kissed her quick, leaving her in the passenger seat while I stepped out. Sure enough, right on cue, Zeke stepped out from the back of the shop.
“There you are.” He approached me looking calm and cool, but I didn’t take that as a guarantee that things had gone down the way we’d wanted at the warehouse. Zeke knew how to maintain a poker face in the middle of all kinds of crazy shit.
“What’s the story?” I stood next to him in the lot, nothing but cars in various states of repair all around us.
“All taken care of.”
“It’s done?” He nodded. Griller was dead. “And your guys?”
“They’re all good. Everyone got out. And you never were there.”
I took a moment, shaking my head at the news. Holy shit. It had gone down as planned. I believed it, but I couldn’t believe it at the same time.
“That’s your ride.” Zeke pointed to a sweet silver Denali, the type you could tell came fully automated with its own WiFi hotspot. A truck that tricked out probably cost over 70K.
“You couldn’t get us something good?” Tense as the moment was, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to give him some shit.
“It’s all I could scrape together.” He walked me over, the truck starting all on its own as we approached. “Keyless technology.” He pressed a set of keys into my hand.
“If this whole MC thing doesn’t pan out for you, you could always get a job selling cars.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He smiled, but glanced over at the street. “You two better get going. You got any idea where you’re headed?”
“Yeah, I got an idea. But I got to talk with Sky about it first.” I looked out at the cars moving by, knowing we’d be one of them in a minute. But before that I wanted to let him know how much it meant to me, the way he’d come through for us. “Zeke, I want you to know—”
“I know, man.” He clapped me on the back, giving me a one-armed hug. “Don’t go all mushy on me. It’s not like I’m a good guy or anything.”
I looked at him, understanding the complexity of that statement. He’d arranged to have someone killed. That was the solid he’d done me. He was no Mother Theresa. But he understood the meaning of loyalty. He would have helped me out even if he hadn’t gotten something out of it.
I settled for, “Thank you.”
“De nada.” He started walking over to the SUV. “Now let’s get your stuff and get you and your woman on the road.”
We moved our things, a few bags of clothes plus a box of mostly kitchen stuff for Sky, a couple of bags of things for me. We didn’t have much, but that felt about right. We were seeking a fresh start, after all. I helped Sky out of the car, and she held onto me with wobbly legs. She looked pale and like she might get sick.
“Take care of yourself.” Zeke gave her shoulder a squeeze, then looked up at me. “You, too. Now get the hell out of here.”
I didn’t need to be told again. I walked Sky over to the truck and helped her up. She looked shaken and I wanted to hold her, make her feel better, but I knew the best thing would be to put everything in the rear view mirror. Keyless engine on, we pulled out, leaving behind our SUV. Zeke would have the plates switched out within the hour. The guy was a pro. We had our stuff, our clean truck, and no one on our tail.
“They got him, Sky. It’s done,” I told her as soon as we were alone in the cab. She drew her hands up over her face and folded down over her lap. I rubbed her back, pained by her muffled sobs. “It’s all over,” I tried to reassure her. Even though I knew, lingering guilt could live on a hell of a long time.
I hadn’t wanted her to hear or see anything. I’d hoped we’d get out of the warehouse before he got in. But I guessed I couldn’t fuss over details now that everything was said and done. Plus, the way it had gone down, everything got tied up real nice and neat.
I let her feel it, whatever she was feeling. I wanted to whoop and celebrate, but her emotions would have to be more complicated. She’d been with the guy for four years.
“Do you think any Skulls know we’re involved?” she asked.
“Nope.” I’d gone over all the scenarios in my head. “Worst case, he called up a Skull and said he’d seen you. But none of them will know what happened after. The Reapers won’t leave a trace.”
“You don’t think they’ll try to track me down? Find out what happened?”
“Trust me, Griller was a liability. They’re going to let this lie.” I didn’t go into the rest of the fucked-up world of MC ethics. I knew the brotherhood would fight to the bloody death over a question of honor. An unfaithful wife was a low blow to their masculine code of ethics, no matter how much they might cross boundaries themselves. With Grille
r alive, he could mobilize others to help him inflict pain.
But dead? I felt pretty sure the Prez would be happy Griller had gone when he did. He must have known Griller caused more trouble than he saved. It was only a matter of time before something he did escalated conflict, sent the whole club spinning into a war with a rival gang. Now he could devote his resources elsewhere.
“Where are we headed?” she asked, sounding exhausted.
“I thought we could spend the night in Flagstaff. Get some sleep. Then we can talk about where to next.” We could get there around midnight, find some hotel where we could pay cash and crash.
Hand on her leg, I added, “You’re amazing, you know that? What you did today? You’re so brave.”
Tears on her face, she tried to give me a smile, but then turned and looked out the window as I drove. We were safe, free at last, the plan working exactly as we’d hoped. But it didn’t feel that way. It felt like she’d brought prison right along with her, trapping herself in a world of pain.
§
The next day, after a heavy sleep, we grabbed coffee and got on the road, driving until Albuquerque when I heard her stomach grumble. I pulled off at a diner, insisting we stop and have a proper meal. She was only going to get some fries, but I urged her toward a burger. She still seemed like she was sleepwalking.
We ate, and I ordered a slice of pie. “Try some.” I offered her some on my fork. Reluctant, she took a bite, then made a disgusted face.
“That’s from a can.”
“Nothing like Sky’s Pies,” I agreed. Slowly, I saw a smile creep into her face. “You know, I think we might need to set you up with a pie shop.”
“Jax.” She shook her head like I was talking crazy.
“Something to think about,” I insisted.
