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Sig blew a harsh breath out of his nostrils, sounding like an aggravated bull, shook his head and began to move again.
Thank fuck.
Dodge followed the VP and once they reached the women, he said, “Let’s just get the shit you need and get the fuck outta here. Know I said it before, but sayin’ it again… I hate shoppin’.”
“You didn’t have to come along,” Syn told him.
“Yeah, we did. First, you know why. Second, who’s gonna help you two with all the damn shit you need to get? Remember what I said? Make this trip count. So we don’t gotta keep repeatin’ it.”
“We’re quite capable of handling stuff. If not, we could get someone inside the store to help.”
Dodge’s eyes narrowed on Syn and she shot him a bratty smile. He lifted an eyebrow in warning and her smile got even bigger. He then gave her a look that clearly told her that she was playing with fire and she gave him one back that said she knew it and didn’t give a fuck.
Sig’s snort interrupted their silent conversation. “Help? Here? They don’t even got enough people to work the fuckin’ registers. They ain’t carryin’ shit for you.”
“Ears, Sig,” Red reminded him, tipping her eyes down to Maya.
Dodge chuckled. He didn’t bother to attempt to curb his cursing around Syn’s daughter, it was pointless. Living on the farm, being a part of the club, it was impossible to keep their language G-rated.
Daisy was even younger than Maya and could already curse like a fucking trucker. Judge and Cassie tried to fix that problem but realized it was a losing battle. They did make it clear she was not to curse at school or around any of her friends.
So far, Daisy hadn’t been hauled off to the school pokey, so she must be following that rule. It probably helped that Shade’s ol’ lady, Chelle, worked at the same elementary school and stepped in when needed.
The air around them shifted sharply when Red went stock still and turned ghost white, every freckle suddenly standing out on her fair skin. Her hazel eyes widened and her pupils dilated as she stared past Dodge to something beyond him in the parking lot.
What the fuck?
But it was when she slapped a hand on Sig’s forearm and dug her nails deep into his skin that Sig and him went on high alert and the hairs on the back of his neck stood.
“What the fuck, baby? What’s wrong?” Sig asked her, already starting to unravel.
They both spun to look at where her gaze was glued.
Sig’s lip pulled up in a snarl and Dodge finally spotted what he did.
A dark fifteen-passenger van with dark-tinted windows was parked at the far end of the lot. The same kind of van the Shirleys drove.
Dodge’s heart began to thump at what he was seeing. Women and children.
Fuck.
“Those motherfuckers,” Sig growled. “They got the fuckin’ balls to come to town in the daylight.”
“Think that’s the Shirleys?” Dodge asked, checking out the van and the people milling around it.
The women wore homemade prairie dresses, the only difference between them were the fabric patterns. Their hair was all up in a similar style, too.
The people outside the van sort of reminded him of the Shirleys but something was also off about them. They could be a van load of local Mennonites who looked similar enough to the Shirleys to spook Red. However, none of them wore “sin-sifters” on their heads like the local Mennonites did.
No, something was definitely off with whoever they were.
Red shook her head, but didn’t pull her eyes from the van or the group unloading from it. “They’re not the Shirleys. But they’re a branch of the Guardians of Freedom.”
“How d’you know?” Sig asked sharply, his body going stiff as a board.
“Because,” she took a shuddered breath, “that’s my mother.” She turned troubled eyes up to her ol’ man. “Sig, that’s my mother. What’s she doing here? Why is she here? Is she with them?”
Of course she was. Because life couldn’t go smoothly even for a few damn months. If it wasn’t one thing, it was something else fucking shit up.
“Why isn’t she in Ohio?” Red asked, panic filling her eyes and her voice.
“God-fuckin’-damnit,” Sig roared, yanking Red out of view.
Dodge put a hand on a confused Syn’s back. “Hold Maya’s hand and get behind that truck.”
“What’s going on?” Syn asked while she did what she was told.
“Mom, what’s wrong?” The fear in Maya’s voice was apparent.
And hearing it pissed him the fuck off. “Just some people who ain’t very nice and who we wanna avoid,” Dodge said quickly, trying to keep his voice calm and level.
“Dodge!” Syn said sharply.
He didn’t know what else to fucking say. Anyone involved in that bullshit sovereign nation could be dangerous. Any of them could be a threat.
