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Austen sets down the carriers and wipes her face. I think she’s worried she looks awful. I catch her peeking at me. She’s gone shy again.
“What about the other guys?” I ask the biker while Golden and a dark-haired guy referred to as Sync stop hassling Coco long enough to join us. “We killed three.”
“We got two. Were there more?”
“We don’t know.”
Bear scans the area and gestures for us to create space from the building. Austen reaches for the carriers until Indigo offers to take them. Though she thanks him, her gaze remains focused on me.
After walking past the dead bodies, I stop near the just-arrived fire engines, EMS, and patrol cars.
“Do you have any blankets for Miss Halvorson and her friends?” Bear asks the paramedics.
Once Austen’s wrapped in a blanket, Bear kneels a little to look in her eyes. I immediately want to punch him in the face and steal her away.
“Does your phone still work?”
Once Austen checks and nods, Bear suggests, “Why don’t you let your mom know you’re safe. She might have phoned up the governor by this point. We really don’t need the national guard out here, now do we?”
Austen grins chagrined as if her mother is wacky for pulling all the strings to keep her daughter safe.
“Hunter is locked down,” Indigo tells Austen. “Tack was nearby when the call went out, so he’s escorting her to your mom’s place.”
The men share a knowing grin. Ignoring their inside joke, she focuses on calling her mom. I catch her gaze flashing to me. Each time she peeks at me, I’m watching her. Austen wears a softer smile once she realizes I won’t look away.
None of these people or the recent violence changes how I need to ride my feelings out to see if I’m looking at the woman meant to own my heart.
AUSTEN
Rather than freeze up, I go on autopilot. From the first gunshot to when I’m shivering under a blanket at the back of the EMS vehicle, I never stop to think. I do what I need to do. I never consider if I’m making the right choices.
I was absolutely convinced we would die. My best friend wouldn’t reach her thirty-second birthday because of me. The man I’ve daydreamed about for years would enter my life, only to lose his own.
“I’m sorry about your clinic,” Walla Walla says as his long hair drips water onto the blanket wrapped around his wide shoulders.
Shaking my head, I mumble, “It’s just a building.”
Walla Walla shuffles closer. He seems so protective of me. I want his kindness to mean he cares about me, but I think that’s just his nature.
“Do you know these bikers?” Walla Walla asks, leaning down so I can hear him over the bedlam around us.
Shellshocked after everything, I can barely respond. “Not really. My sister knows them. Coco’s partied at one of their clubhouses. My mom knows Aunt Fred, but I don’t have anything to do with their world.”
“Aunt Fred?” he asks, giving me a little grin. “Is that an inside joke?”
“Her name is Winifred. She’s like the bikers’ den mother. Everyone with any power in Banta City knows Aunt Fred.”
Walla Walla looks at the bikers huddled up nearby. I know they aren’t a threat to me. The men are more interested in Walla Walla and Goose. However, I still avoid their gazes.
Despite my crush on Walla Walla, I’ve done my best to avoid the local bikers. I see them from time to time. They know who I am. My mom dragged my sister and me to one of Aunt Fred’s parties to ensure the bikers understood how Hunter and I were off-limits. Banta City can be wild and often dangerous, but there are rules. No one messes with Aunt Fred’s daughters. My mom wanted the same guarantees for Hunter and me.
Just like today, whenever the local bikers enter a space, they’re a blizzard of testosterone and arrogance. I can’t help but lower my gaze and avoid drawing their attention. Men like the Backcountry Kings terrify me.
However, seeing them around town always sent my thoughts back to Walla Walla. Now, he stands only inches away. Walla Walla watches me with the beautiful eyes of a man so casually powerful and confident. Though he barely seems to notice the bikers, I have no doubt he’s aware they’re watching him. However, Walla Walla holds himself as if he’s simply chilling with his friends.
“What happens next?” I ask him since I’m used to others choosing for me.
“We get you home. I’d appreciate if you opened your big, fancy home to Goose and me while we sort out what’s happening. Later, I think you should travel with us to McMurdo Valley.”
