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Darkness gave a tired nod. “Ryder is right. Leave contact information with Peb, and we’ll let you know when we wrap the situation up.”
“I ain’t going anywhere,” Jack spoke up.
Ven chimed in his two cents worth from the corner of the room. “You should get your ass to class in the morning. You can come straight back and prospect all the hours under the sun when you’re not learnin’.”
Jennifer didn’t seem any more enthusiastic about leaving than Jack. Barbara spoke up, too. “If you want, I’ll drive you all back to campus. Go and gather your things. You can be sleeping in your own beds tonight. That’s the best way to begin putting this whole mess behind us.”
The students all scrambled away to get ready to leave.
After they’d gathered their things, Ace’s arm came out and wound around Barbara’s waist as he led the way outside. “I’m coming with you, until this whole mess is wrapped up.”
Stopping just short of the SUV and grabbing him by the shirt, she pulled him up against her. “Yes, that’s a very good idea. You’ll be damn lucky if I let you come back to your friends to visit.”
Smiling down at her, some of the tension of the day ebbed from his face. “Regardless of what you think, you don’t own my ass.”
“We’ll just see about that, handsome.”
They tossed their bags into the trunk then rounded the SUV. Sliding behind the wheel, she shot Ace a tentative grin. “This whole situation is going to be remembered as much ado about nothing.”
Ace’s happy voice responded sternly, “We always knew that taking you all in was an attempt to cover all our bases safety wise. We did the right thing.”
“I absolutely agree. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.”
As they eased out on the highway, Jennifer spoke up from the back seat. “It blows my mind that thinking it’s a serial killer somehow makes us safer. I mean, I don’t disagree with the club’s train of thought about that. It’s just that knowing a serial killer is involved doesn’t make me feel safer.”
Ace shot her a stern look over his shoulder. “Well, you’re gonna keep your phone charged, stay out of dark alleys, and make sure you don’t take any chances. The reality is that having this experience changed your perspective about safety, so you’re actually less likely to have something seriously shitty happen to you, right?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she agreed hesitantly. “If not for seeing that gross body, this would have been an awesome weekend. How many college kids get to stay with outlaw bikers for the weekend?”
Ace turned back around in his seat. “I’d say not many. We’ve never taken in strangers like this before. It was a new experience for us.”
One of the other guys spoke up. “I can’t believe Jack is staying there to join up with a biker gang.”
“We ain’t a gang.”
Jennifer interjected glibly, “He’s flunking out anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
“I suggest you stop talking about Jack’s personal life. He’s with the Blind Jacks now, and we don’t take kindly to outsiders disrespecting our crew.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be rude.”
“Jack’s real smart,” Ace informed them. “He just ain’t found his niche in life yet.”
Jennifer’s phone jingled and she scrolled through it as she mumbled, “You’re probably right about Jack.”
It was well after dark by the time they pulled up on campus and the students climbed out, retrieved their belongings from the trunk, and said their goodbyes. It would be even later by the time they made it back to her house.
Ace was leaned against the SUV watching her when Barbara shut the hatch and turned to leave. Grinning, she approached him. “Is it really only Sunday night? It feels like a lot longer.”
“It was all the waiting around today that made the day seem so much longer. You ready to hit the sack?”
“I am, and I’m glad you’re coming home with me. Of course, it’ll take forever to get rid of enough coordinating throw pillows from my bed to make room for you.”
“I’m a pretty big bastard, I’ll give you that.”
Sliding her arms around his waist, she murmured, “Maybe, but you’re my big sexy bastard.”
He nuzzled her nose with his then slapped her ass. “Let’s get you home. I’m a man with needs tonight.”
