Page 48 of Throttle Therapy

“What about Lacey?She’s not anyone’s old lady and no one had better treat her like what did you call it?Club ass.”

Roadkill shook his head.“She’s Savage Blood.No one will disrespect her and because she’s Blood, every Warrior will defend her, just as they will Elizabeth and Hex’s kid.No one hurts Savage Blood without having to pay for it.”He watched her, trying see her thoughts, but failing.All he could tell from her expressive face was that her mind was reeling.

“Want to ride for a bit while that processes?”he asked.

Jenna didn’t say anything, just nodded.

“I’ll leave the headset on, all you have to do is talk normally and I’ll hear you, okay?”Roadkill gave her back her helmet, then pulled his own back on.When she was ready, he climbed back on, started the bike, and pulled back out onto the road.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jennadidn’tknowwhatit was about being on the back of Roadkill’s motorcycle, but it settled her in a way she wasn’t used to.She paid no attention to where they were.She didn’t know where they were going, and right now, in this moment, it didn’t matter.

Her mind still spun what felt like a million miles an hour, but on the back of Roadkill’s bike she didn’t feel like she needed to run and hide.She didn’t feel like a bug under a magnifying glass like she did any other time she tried to work through something, anything, and there were other people around.

On the back of the bike she could enjoy the freedom, not just from people watching her but from everything.The weight of having to make sure Lacey was taken care of, the stress of making sure the bills got paid, of making sure they had food on the table, though the check Papa Smurf had handed her while she’d been on her lunch break had gone a long way to lifting that weight from her shoulders.Even with the premiums for their insurance, her check was more than what she brought home in two weeks at the Driftwood.

Now though, her mind wasn’t on any of that.She couldn’t keep thinking about Roadkill’s words.He wanted to be her shoulder.He wanted to be her shield.Did she want that?Hell yes.But at the same time, she wondered if she could let someone in.Or had she been doing everything on her own for so long, she didn’t know how to let someone in.She could try.And the first part of sharing, or trying to share the load was to be honest with him.

“I want to try,” she said, still figuring out how to word what she needed to say.

“Try what?”

“Try you and me.”Her voice got stronger the more she talked, and oddly, not being able to see his face, even if she wanted to, as she spoke, not feeling his eyes on her, made it easier.

“Why do you saytry?”The low rumble of his voice vibrated through is back and sent heat through her.

“Because I’m not sure I know how to share the load.You’ll have to be patient, and probably remind me to share once in a while.”

He took one hand from the handlebars and rubbed her knee where it sat at his side.

“I can do that, darlin’.I’m not trying to make this harder on you.We can work on you letting me take care of the things that are too much, all right?”

“All right.”A weight seemed to lift from Jenna’s chest.They rode a while longer, before Roadkill pulled the bike off the road and into the parking lot of what looked like a single wide mobile home with a porch running the whole length of the front, with half a dozen picnic tables and big purple neon OPEN sign.She got off the motorcycle and removed her helmet.

“Where are we?”she asked, looking around and not seeing anything she recognized.

“A little place just outside of Lucedale.”

“Mississippi?”She frowned.How had they crossed the state line and she hadn’t noticed?

He nodded.“Is that a problem?”

“No, I just hadn’t been aware we were leaving the state.”

“Darlin’, we’re half an hour from home.If something happens, I can get us there faster if I need to, but your sister also has numbers for Joker and Papa Smurf.If something happens that she needs help now, she’ll call one of them.”

Jenna felt her eyes go wide as she looked at him.For an instant, she was pissed.How dare he go behind her back and make those arrangements with Lacey?But her anger didn’t last long before she remembered she’d made sure her sister had the numbers too.That this wasn’t over stepping, this was something Roadkill had done to make her feel better.So she would know her sister was taken care of, even if she was only a half hour away.

“Thank you,” she said, stepping into him.

He didn’t move.He stood still, watching her as she stopped when their bodies just brushed each other and bent her head to rest against his chest.

“It’s been just the two of us for so long, I don’t think about leaning on anyone.I don’t think to ask for help.That you step up and take care of things before they land on my head means the world to me, but please, let me know when it happens not later, okay?”

“I can do that, darlin’.You hungry yet?”he said, wrapping his arms around her and just letting her rest against him.

She nodded, but kept her head against his chest.