Page 39 of Peaks and Promises

“Come on, man,” he said, his tone a mix of concern and exasperation. “You know what you could be bringing down on yourself. You don’t want that.”

He was right, I didn’t. But there was no way I was abandoning them.

“I need a way to get rid of these assholes without starting a war.”

“Good luck with that.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

“There’s gotta be a way.”

“Anything you do risks retribution. You know that. Especially if they find out who you are.”

“Fuck that. Those pieces of shit do not own the world.”

“Tell them that. If you try to stay legit, they’ll ride right through anything issued by a judge. Do whatever the hell they want. And if you go mercenary, they’ll overpower you with sheer numbers. They’ll take the girl and the kid. And if you’re still alive when that’s over—which I doubt—they’ll put a bounty on your head. You’re dead either way.”

I growled in frustration.

“I know that’s not what you want to hear. But it’s the truth. Don’t take this job.”

“I already told you, it’s too late for that.”

He hesitated for a long moment. “You know we always have your back. All of us. But there’s only so much we can do. If you want us to rally, we’ll be there. But I don’t like it, and neither will the others.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Us against an outlaw club? Really bad odds, man. I don’t know if any of us would walk away from that.”

“I won’t ask that of you.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Let me think on it. I’ll figure out something.”

“There is another option. Probably a better one.”

“What?”

“Get her out of town. Hide her somewhere.”

That very thought already lurked at the edge of my mind. Leave. Hide. Help her start a new life where they wouldn’t find her.

“Yeah, I was thinking about that, too. It’s not a bad idea. If she’d go for it. I’ll have to talk to her.”

“Sounds good, man. Keep me posted.”

“I will.”

I ended the call. He was right. Hiding them was a better option than trying to face an outlaw club head-on. The question was, where?

Closing my eyes, I groaned. I already knew the answer. I just didn’t want to face it.

Home. I could take her to Tilikum.

I spent the next few minutes trying to talk myself out of it. There were thousands of other places she could go. What about the Northeast? Didn’t something like 80 percent of the country’s population live east of the Mississippi? It would be easier to hide among all those people. Or California. There were big cities to get lost in, and great weather.

So why was my gut telling me to go to Tilikum?

Small mountain town. Not a lot of people, but most of them were notorious gossips. Reese Haven returning would attract a firestorm of curiosity. And showing up with a woman and her son? The gossip line would go nuts.

But it was also a town almost no one had ever heard of, especially outside the immediate area. And it had to be at least 1,500 miles away. That was a good chunk of distance to put between us and Mayhem.

My mom’s request ran through my mind. Promise me you’ll consider it.

Damn it, Mom.

What would it be like to face them again? To stop keeping so many secrets. Just tell them the truth about where I’d been and why I’d stayed away.