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“Yep. I have a sister named Apple. She’s the sweet sister. I’m a bit… tart.”
Despite the situation, the child managed a small, genuine laugh. “Tart means you’re a little sour.”
“Yep.” I tried to match her smile with one of my own when I was still trying to take stock of my body. I didn’t think I was injured. Just winded and a little banged up. All in all, I think I gave better than I got. “You know. Like a Lemon.”
We shared a smile before the van took a sharp right turn and threw us both against the wall of the van. Effie yelped and I managed to catch her. They’d zip-tied my hands together, but in front instead of behind, so I was able to protect her a little.
“Do me a favor, Euphemia. Check my back pocket and make sure my phone is as far down my back pocket as it can be.”
She nodded and I rolled over so she could push my phone farther down so it was as secure as I could make it. Considering I was wearing a bikini top and a pair of cut-off jean shorts, I was damned proud I’d even remembered the fucking phone. I had nowhere else to put it. Also, it wasn’t a fancy smartphone. I’d never take one of those to the beach. Nope. This was an old ass, small-as-shit flip phone Wylde had fixed for me as a backup. Which was both good and bad. Because he’d be looking for my main phone first. I had no doubt Apple would do what she had to do so I knew it was only a matter of time before he found me. Just might take longer than I’d like because I had my back-up phone. On the other hand, it was good because it was small and fit snugly into my back pocket. So, all I had to do was hold out until Wylde sent someone for me.
“Whatever you do, don’t say a word. You can cry, you can scream, you can do whatever you need to, but don’t talk. The more information you give them the easier you’ll make this for them.”
“What are they gonna do?” Euphemia looked up at me. And yeah, I was calling her Euphemia to get her used to it because, once we were out of this shit situation, I fully intended to get her to make everyone call her Euphemia just to fuck with the people in her life. Fucking with people was the best way to show them you cared. Or that you hated them and wanted them as far away from you as possible. Either worked.
“I don’t know. But whatever it is, the last thing we want to do is make it easier for them.”
The van jerked to a stop, throwing us forward. Euphemia screamed but I managed to keep my body between hers and the front of the van. I heard the front doors open and close and scrambled to put the girl solidly behind me and prepared myself for a battle.
They had us. There was little I could do to escape and even if I managed, I couldn’t leave Euphemia. With both our legs tied with zip ties, there was no way to do anything quickly.
I found a fire extinguisher strapped to the front corner of the back of the van and snagged it, pulling the pin and preparing myself for a battle. They’d still get me, but I wasn’t going quietly.
The doors jerked open. Euphemia screamed and I let loose with the fire extinguisher. A spray of carbon dioxide gas assaulted them. The guy who’d first grabbed Euphemia fell to the ground, rubbing his eyes and wheezing. Which was my mistake. I’d aimed at the wrong threat. I might have been able to fight off that first guy, but not the second, bigger guy. I got him, but not enough to make him have too hard a time breathing. At least, not right away. I could only hope he’d inhaled enough of the shit to give him cancer or pop a lung or something. Wouldn’t kill him immediately, but might make it slow and painful. And ugly. And maybe he’d even shit himself in the process.
“Mother fuck!” the first guy yelled between coughing fits. The second lunged for me, wrestling the extinguisher away from me before I could turn it around and hit him with it.
“That’s all I’m takin’ from you, bitch.” The last thing I saw was his hand coming toward my face as he backhanded me. Then… nothing.
Chapter Four
Rocket
Talia, the woman I thought of as a daughter, was all smiles as she walked into the clubhouse hand in hand with Doc. Dr. Jude Collins had taken my ward as his old lady a couple of years ago and he’d done right by her. I couldn’t remember Talia smiling as genuinely or easily as she did when either dancing or playing the piano except when she was with Doc. Or Doc’s daughter, Caroline. The three of them seemed to have formed a tight family that protected both girls and put a spring in Doc’s step. Still didn’t mean I didn’t want to wipe the smug smile off the bastard’s face whenever I saw them together.
“Rocket.” Doc offered his hand and I took it. “Good to see you.”
Talia smiled widely and threw herself into my arms. I’d never been overly demonstrative towards her, but I knew she thought of me as her dad same as I thought of her as my daughter. I’d done my best to fill in that role a after her real father had died when she was just an infant. Talia’s mother was a good woman, but she’d never gotten over her husband’s death. When she died, Talia came to live with me until Doc had claimed her. I’d never admit it to another person, but she’d might have taken a little piece of my soul with her. She was a good kid. And so giving and compassionate I had to wonder how she’d managed to stay so sweet growing up in a place like Grim Road.
No. She wasn’t a kid. She was a woman. And she was currently married to a man I thought of as… not a friend exactly, but close. Men in my line of work didn’t have friends. At least, not if we wanted them to live.
“I’ve missed you, Rocket.” Talia looked up at me and I grinned down at her, leaning in to kiss her forehead.
“Missed you too, kiddo. You keepin’ Doc in line?”
“Mostly.”
“You should ask me if I’m keeping her in line. Woman’s a holy terror when she wants to be.” Doc smiled affectionately down at Talia, and it warmed my heart. Not for Doc. Bastard didn’t deserve her. But Talia deserved every happiness she could have. And it was clear Doc made her happy.
“What’s up?” Doc gave me a quizzical look.
“Can’t I come by to visit my daughter?” No, she wasn’t really my daughter, but she’d thought that for most of her life and, if I were honest, since fate had taken her real dad away from her, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Surprisingly, it was Talia who rolled her eyes and cocked her hip as she shook her head. “Dad. You never come by for just a visit. What’s going on?”
I shrugged. “Not a thing. Thought I’d talk to Thorn. He helped me out of a tight spot several months ago and I wanted to return the favor.”
Doc was all business then, his features going from happy and carefree to hard in the blink of an eye. “I’ll send a prospect for him.”
