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“How many are in the club?” Riley shoved the keys in the lock and opened the trunk.
“We have nineteen members.”
“So, you’re a few shy of half the club? Damn it, I should leave.” Riley glared at Bones and then snatched her hat from the ground. Slapping it against her hip, she slid it on backward until Bones took it and turned it around.
“If it makes you feel any better, Preacher, Wrench, and I are the only ones who know you were the sniper on the ledge,” he told her as she tossed the hat in the trunk next to the grocery bags stacked inside.
Riley turned around, resting her butt against the car’s bumper. “That’s not true. They all came to Muther’s and ate last Sunday.”
Bones kept a hand on the trunk lid, holding it open as he saw the worried look on Riley’s face. “They came there to see you. Did they acknowledge anyone else from the warehouse?”
“No. But at the warehouse, everyone else had their faces covered other than me and Whip,” she told him with her elbows now on her knees. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried not to freak out.
“And did they see Whip?” Bones asked.
Riley glanced up. “No, she laid low until they left.”
“Then it’s just the three of us who know. For now.” Bones gave her a smile.
“What are you playing at, Bones? I’m not one to screw with.” Riley stood up so fast, she almost stumbled against the car.
“I need someone to take care of Preacher while I hunt down the motherfuckers who almost killed my damn brother.” Bones didn’t like being threatened, and it felt like she was about to do just that.
“Fine. You could’ve just said that,” she snapped.
If his fingers could crush metal, Bones was sure her car would be dented. “Probably, but I’m trying to do this without anyone else knowing. Especially Preacher.”
Riley reached into the trunk, grabbing two bags of groceries and handing them to Bones, then she lifted two more out. Bones helped her shut the trunk as they both remained quiet. “I want in.”
“What?” Bones was taken aback by her comment.
“I want in on the hunt. I’ll help with Preacher if you let me in on taking down the assholes who tried gutting him,” she told him flatly.
“Let me think about it.” Bones wasn’t a chauvinist, but he also hadn’t asked her there to help him track down a killer.
Riley followed Bones toward the open courtyard. When he remained quiet, she decided to tell him the truth. “Whether you let me in on your hunt or not, I’ll be hunting on my own.”
Bones stopped and stared down at the girl. “Are you making some sort of veiled threat, Riley James?”
“No threat. Just stating a fact.”
“Why?” Bones stared at her, searching her face for any tells. “Why would you want to hunt down the men who attacked my brother?” He was curious about what fueled her.
Riley looked over her shoulder, out where she heard the faint sounds of the ocean waves lapping at the shore. Sea birds squawked in the distance as she thought about the question. “Have you ever done something that you feel you’ll never do enough to make right?”
Damn, that was a loaded question. There weren’t enough rights to make all his wrongs better. “I have.”
Riley cut her eyes back at Bones, realizing she was about to go down a dark road. Turning back to him, she smiled. “And your brother is easy on the eyes.”
Damn, if this chick isn’t perfect for my brother, Bones thought.“Fine, but we keep it away from everyone else. Understand me?”
“Yep. Now, get inside. There’s ice cream in one of these bags,” she said with a smile, trying to keep both of them from descending into a black hole of despair.
“What all did you buy?” Bones asked, shoving open the door.
“Enough to make meals for a week,” she answered, stepping inside behind him. When she stepped through the door, she let out a low appreciative whistle for the interior of the place.
Bones looked down in the bags he carried and thought there was a lot of food. “Just one week?”
