Page 103 of Rigid

I couldn’t respond. I struggled to swallow, and then nodded.

He held out his hand. “Take mine. It’ll outrun anything here, Brother.”

I reached in my pocket, pulled out my keys, and handed them to him. He patted me on the shoulder. “Love ya, Brother.”

I swallowed hard and nodded.

The building began to shake from the rumbling of bikes outside the doors.

“Pee Bee and Cholo’s coming with,” Crip said. “I’ll go, but your sled won’t come close to keeping up.”

I nodded and somehow managed to speak. “Understood.”

“I’ll be right behind you,” Crip said.

Pee Bee stepped to my side, and Cholo was right behind him. “Scripps?”

I nodded.

We rushed out of the building.

At the edge of the parking lot was a line of roughly a dozen bikes. Beside the line and in front, Bama sat on his bagger, revving the engine. “Who’s leading this parade?” he shouted.

“The Filthy Fucker’s will lead the way,” Pee Bee said. “We’ve got the fastest shit.”

I hopped on Crips bike, fired it up, and pulled alongside Bama, who was out in front.

“Red and White!” Bama bellowed over the sound of the exhaust. “Keep up if you can. If you can’t keep up…”

He paused and leaned to the side. “What’s your daughter’s name?”

“Eddie,” I said. “Eddie Wallace.”

“Her name’s Eddie Wallace,” he yelled.

Engines revved in response.

Cholo and Pee Bee pulled up to either side of me.

Pee Bee looked at me. “Let’s do this.”

I bit into my lips and nodded.

And we rode out of there like a bat out of hell.

THIRTY-ONE

Sandy

A nice-looking man dressed in a suit walked into the room. “Miss West, I’ll be your legal counsel. My name is Jay Parsons.”

“Okay.”

He set his briefcase on the table. “Can I get you anything?”

“I’m okay.”

“Miss West, you’ve been through a horrific event. Are you alright to talk about it for a moment?”