“Sit down,” Blaze barks, marching into the room and taking his spot at the table. We all settle into our chairs, and he looks down at the papers in front of him for a moment. “All right, we got three jobs this week. All transfers but don’t go thinkin’ that it’s gonna be easy. I don’t need to remind you about the last one.”
He looks around the table to each of us, and a few guys drop their gaze and shake their heads. I’m not sure I’ll ever get the sight of that poor woman passed out on the floor out of my mind, but she’s safe now and that’s all that matters.
“First up, we have Jenny. She first came to us about a month ago but backed out. Her old man is a lawyer so no doubt he’s got the resources to have eyes on her at all times, but as of now, we don’t know if he does or not. He may have gotten comfortable and thinks she’ll never leave. Let’s hope for that. We got a burner phone to her, and she’s gonna send us a text on the day when she’s ready to go so ya’ll need to be ready to go at any point Tuesday.”
Blaze looks up, and everyone nods in agreement.
“Is it just her, Prez?” Smith, our sergeant at arms, asks, and Blaze nods.
“Yeah, but she just found out she’s pregnant so use extreme caution.”
“Understood,” he replies. He doesn’t have to break down how dangerous this situation is for her. If her man got tipped off somehow and went after her, it wouldn’t just be her life in danger.
“Good. Wednesday at noon, we got Laura and her two kids. You’ll grab Laura at the house and take her to the school to get her kids. Her husband is heading out of town on a business trip the day before so you shouldn’t have any issues but as always, keep your eyes open. And tomorrow, we got Sheila and her daughter, Kaley. The husband isn’t hitting Sheila but the daughter’s doctor noticed signs of sexual assault, and she put a camera in her room. The dad’s been sneakin’ in and abusing her.”
Several growls ring out in the room, and Kodiak slams his fist down on the table. Blaze just holds up his hand and waits.
“I know all of you would love to dump this bastard in a hole somewhere but it isn’t the priority. Now, Sheila’s got a sister in Florida who’s coming up to meet them but we gotta get her in a hotel until then. We can’t leave that little girl in that house any longer.”
“Why are we waitin’ till tomorrow, then?” Fuzz asks, looking downright murderous.
“Husband is off work today but goes in for a twenty-four hour shift at the firehouse tonight so she’ll be safe until tomorrow.”
Fuzz is silent for a moment but finally nods. Blaze passes out assignments but I tune it out, ready to get out of here. I need time. Time to get my shit together and time to plan my attack because there is no way in hell I am going to let this shit continue. The past may haunt me but he doesn’t get to, and I will do whatever it takes to end this.
Chapter Eight
Alison
“Go find a table, and we’ll get your drink, Hon,” Carly says, motioning to the various tables littered throughout the club, and I nod, hoping I can find one nearby so I don’t have to maneuver through crowds of people on these crutches. The swelling in my knee was down today but I still couldn’t put much weight on my leg. I’m just hoping that I can walk by Monday morning because I don’t want to start my new job like this.
Thankfully, a table opens up close to the bar, and I hobble over to it as fast as I can, throwing myself into a chair and letting out a sigh. Looking down at my knee, I can’t help but smile when I think about Storm carrying me into my house and bandaging me up. I was so tempted to text him last night and this morning but I had no idea what to say. I guess I could pretend like I needed something but I really didn’t.
Oh, God, what am I thinking?
I don’t date. But no matter how many times I remind myself of that, I can’t help but think of Storm anytime I have a spare moment. Maybe I need to get laid. Then, I wouldn’t have lost my shit at the first handsome man I’ve seen in awhile.
“A cosmo for the lady,” Izzy says, setting my drink down in front of me, and I offer her an appreciative smile before taking a sip and looking around the club. The music pumps through the club, and couples grind on the dance floor as I wrinkle my nose.
“Remind me why we came here?” I ask, and Izzy shakes her head.
“Uh, ‘cause we’re celebrating the fact that you two got an amazing job.”
“We could have just ordered pizza and watched movies at my house.”
Her eyes widen, and her jaw drops for a second before she sighs and rolls her eyes. “Oh my Jesus.” She drops her head to the table with a thud, and I laugh at her while Carly rolls her eyes with a smirk on her face. Izzy lifts her head again and points a finger at me.
“No. We need girl time so we can talk about what happened with your hot as shit neighbor.”
I shake my head, my gaze roaming around the club. “I already told you what happened.”
“I think you’re keeping things from me. I almost had an orgasm from just walking into that kitchen so there’s no way nothing happened,” she protests, taking a sip of her drink.
“Listen real carefully,” I tell her, and she leans in, “absolutely nothing happened. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Got it?”
She studies me for a moment before a smile slowly creeps across her face. “Oh, man, if that’s true, when you two finally bang, it’s going to be…” Her voice trails off as she makes an exploding motion with her hands, and I laugh, Carly joining in.
“Bang? Seriously? What are you, a dude? And who says we’re going to have sex?”
“Oh, Honey, I saw you two together. That man’s gonna be getting it in before the week’s over.”
I snort and shake my head. “Thanks for your vote of confidence.”
“You can deny all you want but the chemistry was literally off the charts. I’ve never felt anything like it.”
I hold my hands up in surrender, needing a distraction from the reminder of what it felt like to be around him. “All right, enough about me. What about you, Iz? Got a new flavor of the week?”
“Yeah,” she says, scowling into her drink, “but I think it’s time to end it.”
“How long did this one last?” Carly asks, a knowing smile on her face.
“Two days.”
I choke on my drink as laughter bubbles out of me, and when I’m finally done coughing, I grin at her. “That a new record?”
“Yes. I need to stop being so interesting and good in bed, and maybe they’ll last a little longer. Two freaking days of mind blowing sex and this guy is telling me that he’s falling in love with me.”
“Always so humble,” Carly mutters, and Izzy flashes her a grin. I smile and look over to the dance floor, my face falling when I make eye contact with Troy and he waves at me. He starts moving closer, and I turn back to the girls.
“Shit,” I hiss, and they both look at me with concern. “Troy is here, and he’s coming over.”
“Troy?” Izzy asks, and Carly fights back a smile.
“Troy from date number one?” she asks, and I nod, wishing a hole would open up and swallow me. Izzy starts smirking, and I glare at both of them.