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You can say what you want about the Grim Riders, but we don’t give a fuck about what consenting adults get up to. Love who you want. Sharing is caring. But there are some rules, too. Everything is always consensual and once a woman is claimed, she’s off-limits.
“Well,” Warden muses, smoothing back his gray ponytail. “Keeping his daughter. That’s astart.”
It doesn’t take long for us to reach a consensus. We are going to collect on our debt immediately, but it won’t be over for thepreacher. He will have to continue to pay the vig, until we see fit, or face dire, deadly consequences.
“Tonight, we ride,” Warden declares. “But you three should stay here with Goldie.”
“But-” Zeke begins, but he’s interrupted. Warden silences him with the wave of one hand.
“I don’t think so, son,” Warden says. “There is a lot that Reverend Bennet deserves.” Warden pauses, and his eyes flash with a steely glimmer. “But we can’t send the men who deflowered his daughter.”
Zeke chuckles along with the rest of the table as Warden’s cool head prevails. He’s right, and we agree to stay home with Goldie.
But I can’t help feel slightly disappointed. I still want to ride. I want to be a part of this show of force. To see Reverend Bennett’s fat, red face when he hears his daughter won’t be coming home. When he hears that we’re not doing business with him any longer, but that he’ll have to continue to pay us. He has made an enemy out of the Grim Riders. The preacher will suffer for it.
And this is only the beginning.
Chapter 27
Goldie
I’m curled up on a chair with an afghan thrown over my lap, half-reading the book that Rex gave me and half-watching Kiki and Kitty.
It’s difficult to concentrate on my reading. The girls are working on a dance routine for TokTik and even filming, off and on. Their squeals punctuate the air, both of triumph and frustration, and so far I have resisted their urges to join in.
“Are you sure you don’t want to dance, Goldie?” Kiki asks, her hazel eyes shining.
“I don’t think I can keep up with y’all,” I laugh, shaking my head. I haven’t brought myself to confess to these teenagers that TokTik is a foreign concept to me.
To be fair, it’s not just the girls that are distracting me.
I’m worried.
The guys dropped me off at the sisters’ apartment on their way to church, thinking that some company would do me good. Gunner, Rex, and Zeke all kept insisting that there won’t be a problem, but how can I believe that?
The Grim Riders are just going to accept me? They’re going to welcome me with open arms?
Well,thatI can’t actually imagine at all. At least, not literally.
I’ve been the preacher’s daughter all of my life. I’ve never known groups of people to be welcoming or accepting of outsiders. Sure, they might act nice to your face, but it’s all just an act. You don’t really belong.
But I’ve seen different relationships here. I hold on to the hope that things can be different and glance over at the clock on the wall.
It’s only a quarter after one. The guys have barely been gone an hour. If their church service is anything like what I’m used to, I could be in for a long wait.
Kitty and Kiki erupt into peals of laughter, and I watch them with a smile before returning my attention to my book. I’m just getting into it when there are two loud knocks and the door swings open.
“Gunner!” Kitty shrieks. She places her hands on her hips and her hazel eyes narrow. “You can’t just knock and barge in.”
Gunner rolls his eyes while I choke back a chuckle. He closes the door behind him and when he turns forward again, Gunner’s expression is more contrite.
“Sorry, Kitty,” Gunner says. He sounds patient, but I spot his jaw clenching and he beelines over to my chair.
“Gunner, what happened?” I feel like my heart might pound out of my chest. “Is everything okay?”
Gunner kneels in front of me, taking both of my hands in his own.
“Everything is fine,” Gunner says, his hazel eyes burning into mine. “You’re with us now.” He looks over his shoulder to speak to his sisters. “Could we have a minute?”
