Page 69 of Glacier

I had no idea where she was. I prayed she was safe. I knew what foster care was like. It wasn’t always kind.

A knock sounded on my bedroom door.

I moved fast, covering the phone and closing the lid on my blanket box before standing and walking to the door.

I opened it to find Vera on the other side. “Yeah?”

She rolled her eyes at me. “Your turn to clean the bathrooms. Rita’s on the warpath, so I’d make it snappy.”

“Fine,” I ground out, catching the cleaning caddy she shoved into my chest. “Fucking bitch,” I muttered as I headed for the bathrooms.

Three hours later, my back ached, and I was starving. We all hated cleaning the visitors’ bathrooms. They took forever, and Rita was a stickler. If they weren’t done right, you ended up on your knees with a toothbrush, scrubbing grout.

Turned out, cleaning the bathrooms worked in my favour. I overheard Rita on the phone with Harriet.

“Hey, Harri, we’ve got a problem. Just had a message from Ju. One of the girls dobbed her into the Feds.”

I froze as I listened.

“She’s okay, but she wants us to get the girls together. She wants a word.”

Fuck!

Carefully, I set the caddy down and slipped out, silently making my way back to my room. I didn’t have much time.

I grabbed my go-bag and climbed out of the window, pulling it shut behind me. I’d had this escape planned for a while. I knew where the cameras were and where the blind spots were. There was one on the ranch side, not far from the main road. Close enough to walk to and catch a ride.

Luck was on my side today.

A trucker picked me up not long after I started walking down the main road. Did he expect payment? Yes, he did. Didn’t everyone?

But at least I was alive… for now.

CHAPTER 23

GLACIER

My stomach tightened when I read the message from Juju. We’d had a clear ride to the Grave Prowlers clubhouse, but something told me that this day wouldn’t be easy.

Banshee walked out to greet us.

“Glacier.” He pulled me into a back-pounding hug. “Good to see you.” He nodded at Lurch and Lawless. “Come in. Grab a coffee. You’re the last to arrive.”

“Banshee.” I returned his greeting.

I hesitated, hating to show any kind of weakness in front of another club. My thumb rasped over my early morning stubble as I rubbed it against my chin. “Need to ask a favour.”

Surprise flared in his eyes. “Calling in your marker already?”

Shaking my head, I explained, “No. I need to get home sooner rather than later. Don’t want you to be offended if we leave right after the meeting. My Ol’ Lady’s covering for her family and delivering one of our loads. I’ve got a bad feeling about it.”

Banshee studied me. He’d know what it meant that I was trusting him with this information. He nodded, clapping my shoulder. “Understood. Let’s get this done so you can get back on the road.”

Turning, he barked, “Prospects!”

Two appeared from seemingly nowhere.

“Take care of the merchandise the Kings brought.”