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So they hadn’t chosen it for its charm. Why didn’t I find that shocking?
There were several men and women lounging on chairs, checking me out as we approached.
“Piper, that’s Crackers, Evangeline, Bird Dog, and Roxie.”
It hit me then that Kicks had never asked for my name. He’d already known it, a detail that lingered in my mind as I turned my attention to the others.
I got a couple of nods and quick smiles. They didn’t look at me with quite the same awe as my pack, but there was still a feeling of being in a glass case.
“I’m going to run her home. If anyone shows up, tell them nothing. I’ll be back soon,” Kicks said to his people.
There were a couple of knowing looks. He might not think Groza would come looking for me, but clearly he was concernedsomeonemight.
Kicks’ hand was urging me to the door. As I turned to leave, I noticed Crackers’ gaze shift to where Kicks’ hand was at my waist, but the brisk air outside stole my attention.
We walked out onto what could’ve been a quaint main street in any small town. Down the way, there was someone driving a large yellow machine with a shovel in the front, pushing cars out of the way and into a pile up farther down the road, like a makeshift barricade of sorts.
Kicks waved in the guy’s direction before he walked to a motorcycle parked in front.
“You want a helmet?” he asked.
“Uh,yeah.” If I had a death wish, I could’ve fulfilled it many times over in the last few months. I wasn’t planning on dying now, after I’d beaten all the odds.
He walked toward a row of other bikes until he found a helmet and handed it to me.
“You’re not going to wear one?”
“No breaking this skull,” he said, smiling. I didn’t know if it was arrogance or a shifter thing. Talking would only slow things down, so I didn’t bother asking, either. His death wish wasn’t my problem. Charlie would be getting done with school soon, and I didn’t have time for any more of these games.
He climbed on and waited for me, holding out his hand, and I suddenly froze.
I wasn’t sure why I hesitated to get on the bike. It wasn’t about a fear of motorcycles. There was something about him sitting there, on his bike, his hand reaching for me in invitation that sent a tingle of foreboding through me for no sane reason.
No, that wasn’t true, was it? I had plenty of reasons. I’d been dragged here unconscious. Then he hadn’t wanted to let me leave until I promised to lie. Of course I didn’t want to get on the bike, right?
“Do you want to go home or not?” He was watching me, as if he was trying to see inside my head, noting every slight movement, like any twitch would fill up a sheet in his mental file.
“Yeah, I was just…” Just what? Terrified of getting on the back of the bike with him? Getting that close to him again?
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing.” I got my legs moving and settled in behind him, pushing the weird feeling from my mind.
He hadn’t exaggerated when he said we were only a few minutes away. The walls of the community and the welcome window came into view within minutes. This would’ve been less than a twenty-minute walk.
I tapped his side, then his shoulder, trying to get his attention as we got closer and closer. He kept going until we roared right into the heart of the town for all to see. For someone who wanted me to lie, he could’ve made things a little easier by not announcing our arrival. The entire pack was watching us ride up. The people who hadn’t been outside were coming out onto their stoops by the time he stopped in the center of town.
I got off the bike, ignoring Kicks’ hand.
Duncan was there before I’d gotten both my feet on the ground.
“What the hell happened? Where have you been? We were about to send out trackers,” Duncan said.
I glanced behind him, seeing Groza heading over. She was busy staring at Duncan, and her quick glance toward me looked more disappointed than relieved. If they’d been about to send trackers, it wouldn’t have been her call.
Kicks got off the bike and came to stand so close to me, his arm grazed mine. Duncan’s attention shifted immediately to Kicks.
I almost reached out and laid a hand on Duncan’s arm, if only to draw the attention back to myself. Groza’s glare caught my attention before I made that error and was left with a stump. Groza laid a hand on Duncan’s arm, as if making sure I remembered who belonged to whom.
