Chapter Three
Rowan
“Thank fuck,” I whisper, turning down the classic rock I’ve been jamming to in an effort to stay awake, as the lights of Lubbock, Texas, come into view. I rub at my tired eyes and merge over into the right lane, exiting at the first exit I find with a lodging sign. I’m in desperate need of something to eat and somewhere to sleep. Hell, at this point, I don’t even care if it’s an actual bed or a couch or a floor somewhere as long as I get to close my eyes and drift off to dreamland. It’s almost eight in the evening and I am on day five of my cross-country road trip which means I’ll be in Baton Rouge tomorrow but as far as I’m concerned, it can’t get here soon enough. I’ve been driving ten plus hours a day and I still have another ten to do tomorrow.
Yawning, I scan the buildings on the side of the road, looking for the first semi-decent looking motel I can find. Lincoln would have an absolute fit if he knew I was looking for somewhere cheap, especially after he insisted on sending me money for my trip. When I checked my bank account and saw the one thousand dollars he had deposited, I almost had a heart attack and I have been trying to avoid using it. It’s too much and I fully intend on giving it back to him as soon as I get to Baton Rouge. Besides, I see no reason that I need to spend more than sixty dollars a night on somewhere to sleep. I finally spot a motel that fits the bill, sporting a sign that advertises forty-five dollar rooms and pull my car into the lot, parking in front of the small office at the front of the building before jumping out. A man with long, greasy hair looks up from behind the desk as I walk in and I smile but he doesn’t return the gesture. His gaze rakes down my body before dragging back up to my face with suspicion in his eyes.
“Can I help you?”
I nod, keeping my smile in place. “Yeah. I need a room, please.”
“King or two queens?” he asks, looking bored as he glances down at a notebook on the desk in front of him and I arch a brow. What the hell kind of motel doesn’t have a computer? I glance down and notice a map of the entire hotel laid out in front of him with a giant “X” over some of the rooms.
“King, please.”
“Smoking or non-smoking?”
“Non, please.” I pull some cash out of my pocket and wait for him to tell me the price but he takes his time looking through the available rooms before picking up a pencil and puts an “X” over a room near the front of the building. He glances up at me before his gaze drops to the money in my hand.
“Sixty.”
I scowl. “Your sign says forty-five.”
“And I’m sayin’ sixty,” he answers with a shrug and I study him for a moment before nodding and turning toward the door. As much as I want to go to sleep as soon as possible, I’m not willing to let this ass take advantage of me.
“Never mind, then.”
“I guess I could do fifty,” he replies as I grip the door handle and I roll my eyes as I turn back to him. Sure, I could push the issue but this way we both win and I’m not willing to argue over five dollars. Nodding, I walk back to the desk and slap fifty dollars down in front of him. Sighing, he scoops it up and grabs a key off of a hook behind him before sliding it across the desk to me. “Room ten, it’s the first door on the right.”
“Thank you.”
He nods, turning back to the magazine he was flipping through when I walked in and I shake my head as I walk back out to my car and climb behind the wheel. Maneuvering around the office, I drive to the other side of the motel and park in front of a green door with a giant ten in the middle. The parking lot is fairly empty so hopefully it will be a quiet, uneventful night and I can get enough rest to make it the rest of the way tomorrow. I am so ready to be done driving and it’s highly likely that I refuse to get in a car all together for the next month, at least. As I climb out of the car, I throw my arms over my head and stretch before grabbing my bag out of the back seat before walking up to the door and unlocking it. Everything else I took from the apartment fit in the trunk so I don’t have to worry about hiding it from would-be thieves. The air of the room is stale and it has a generally drab look to it but it’s absolutely perfect for crashing in for the night.
As I toss my bag on the floor my stomach growls and I sigh as I glance over my shoulder at the door. I passed a couple of fast food places on my way here and there is no way in hell I’m getting back in the car so I guess I’m going to walk. Grabbing my wallet and the key to the room, I step outside again and lock the door before turning toward the little burger place I saw about a block back as my phone starts ringing. Lincoln has been obsessively checking up on me since I left Alaska and as sweet as it is, I need the man to realize I’m a grown woman and can take care of myself.
“I’m still alive,” I answer.
“You’d fucking better be,” he growls, annoyed, and I grin. “Where are you?”
“Lubbock, Texas. I’m stopping for the night.”
He sighs. “Okay, good. I was worried about you driving in the dark.”
“Lincoln…”
“Don’t you even start with me, Rowan. You are the only family I have left and it’s my goddamn right to worry about you.”
I roll my eyes as I kick a rock across the parking lot. “I’m not your only family. What about Tate and the babies?”
“You know what I meant,” he shoots back before sighing and I swear, I can feel the stress that has been weighing on him for most of his life.
“Yeah, yeah. I know but try to chill, will you? The last thing I need is you to have a stroke because you can’t calm your ass down. You actually are the only family I have left.”
He scoffs. “Bullshit. If I’ve got Tate and the babies, so do you.”
“I know,” I say even though I don’t quite feel it. I’ve met Tate once and spoken to her on the phone a handful of times but the truth is, I don’t really know her all that well. I can see that she makes my brother happy but also puts him in his place when he needs it so I know that she is good for him.
“So, listen, when you get here tomorrow, you will be coming to the clubhouse instead of our house,” he says, interrupting my thoughts and I scowl.
“Oh… well, if you guys don’t have room for me, I can just get a hotel room or stay out at your cabin.”
“Absolutely not.” There is no room for argument in his voice and a spike of irritation races through me. “Everyone is at the clubhouse and you need to be here, too… for your own safety.”
My eyes widen as I stop outside of the restaurant and plop down on a bench next to the front door. “My safety? What the hell is going on, Lincoln?”
“Look,” he sighs. “I didn’t want to say anything before because I didn’t want to scare you but… someone has been targeting the club and the clubhouse is the safest place for all of us right now.”
“You and Tate are staying at the clubhouse right now?”
“Yes,” he answers and my mind races as I watch cars race past me. What the hell is going on with all of them that they are staying at the clubhouse to keep everyone safe? “Look, Row… I’ll explain everything once you’re down here.”