“There’s a witness.” I jerk my head to the old lady, still sitting in her car, unmoving like she’s terrified.
Hurricane nods. “Bayou… go deal with that. You have a way with people.”
Jovie widens her eyes. “You’re not going to k-kill her, are you?”
Bayou chuckles. “No. Everyone has a price for their silence. I just have a way of figuring out what her price might be. She’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“We need to get you the hell out of here. The car’s totaled. Razor, get the plates and VIN numbers as best you can with what’s left of the car. We don’t want it traced back to the girls. We’re leaving it! Kevlar, can you still ride your bike?”
“Yeah, she’s good.”
“Hoodoo, the women good to go?”
Hoodoo gives Hurricane the thumbs up, and he dips his chin.
“Then mount up. You’re coming back to the clubhouse.”
I lean in, giving Jovie a quick kiss on her forehead before I walk her to the back of Ghoul’s cage. I help her and Savanah inside, then turn to Ghoul. “You keep your eyes peeled. There could be more of these fucking bastards. I have no idea where they came from.”
He bobs his head as Hurricane slaps him on the shoulder. “We ride… now. Those sirens are getting too fucking close. Bayou, you good?”
He leans his head out of the old lady’s car. She’s smiling so fucking bright as he shakes her hand. “Pleasure doing business with you, Martha.” He turns to Hurricane. “Yeah, pres, let’s ride.”
“You’re gonna be okay.” I smirk as I grip hold of Jovie’s hand.
She sniffles but doesn’t say anything back. It’s like she’s still in shock. Razor shuts the rear doors of the cage, then I rush over to my ride, pick my baby up from the ground, and start her. My eyes shift back to the chaos that I just lived through.
This could have been so much worse.
But honestly, I feel like this is only the beginning.
Hurricane rides off, and Bayou follows as I take off with them. Razor puts the cage into gear, and we start the trek back to the NOLA Defiance clubhouse. We may not have gotten back to Houston, but at least I feel like I have support now if more shit flies our way.
Let’s just hope like hell we make it back in one piece.
Because if we don’t, there’s going to be hell to pay.
KEVLAR
Pulling my ride into the compound of the NOLA Defiance clubhouse feels so fucking strange. I wasn’t sure I would come here again. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I would come to New Orleans again, and yet I did that, so I guess I may as well go all-out while I’m here.
I park my ride, feeling like fucking shit that we were intercepted on our way out of town. It means that whoever is coming after Jovie knows we’re here, and it’s more important than ever to get our asses out of town.
Sliding off my ride, my muscles ache, but I quickly make my way over to the rear of the cage. When Razor opens the back door, Hoodoo’s working on Jovie, and I just hope like fuck that she’s okay. She was more than a little quiet after the accident. I figure it’s just shock, but I want to get a full report from Hoodoo.
Jovie moves slowly, and I reach up to help her down. She’s favoring her sore shoulder from the obvious dislocation that’s now back in place. I try to be gentle with her as I hoist her to the ground, but she winces with the pain.
Hurricane helps Savanah down.
“Are you okay?” I ask Jovie, sliding a strand of hair behind her ear.
“This was all because of me! Sav… you… both of you could have been hurt or worse because of me.”
I pull her to me as we walk toward the tall doors of the clubhouse. “This is not your fault. But Jovie, the people after you...” I take in a deep breath. “We’re gonna need to know who they are. We are gonna need details. You don’t have to tell me directly if you don’t want, but if you’re gonna stay at the clubhouse in Houston, Zero, my president, is gonna demand to know. There won’t be any choice, especially after this.”
She gnaws on her bottom lip. “It’s my family.”
Everyone around us stops dead still as I stare at her. “Your family is after you?”
“Remember how I said they wanted me to join them? Well, it’s not just a family business. It’s something much, much worse.”
Hurricane runs his fingers through his hair. “I think we need to call Zero. Tell him you’re bringin’ someone who has trouble attached, brother. I don’t wanna hear it. I don’t wanna be a part of this shit, Kevlar. We’re here to help ya, we always will be, but I don’t want this mess endin’ up on our damn doorstep. You call Zero and get some brothers to ride on up here to escort you home. I need the three of you out of my damn clubhouse. Tonight.” Hurricane storms off.
I understand.
If Jovie is into bad shit, Hurricane doesn’t need Houston bringing chaos to his house.
Jovie’s face is forlorn as her eyes meet mine. “Maybe I should just leave? I don’t want to cause any more trouble than I already have?”
I reach out, grabbing her hand in mine. “I told you I would protect you, and I am keeping my damn word. I’ll put the call in to Zero and get a couple of brothers to escort us back. Hopefully, this time we will make it back to Houston without a hitch.”
Savanah exhales. “What do we do in the meantime?”
“We sit here and wait.”
Savanah rolls her eyes. “Great, just great.”
When I called Zero and told him what happened, he was initially apprehensive about Jovie and Savanah coming back to the clubhouse. He was of the same opinion as Hurricane.
Why should Houston need or take on unsolicited drama? Especially when we know now that people are looking and willing to kill for Jovie.
My counter-argument was when are we ever the type of club to give up on a fight? To let innocent people fend for themselves when we know we are able to help. To give them a home and offer them salvation when needed. Jovie needs us. I feel protective over her for some reason, and since I lost Em, I don’t want to lose another person I care about. I simply have to help her, there is no other choice. It only took me mentioning the fact that Zero took in Wraith when he was at his lowest point, and we helped him, even though he was a liability to the club, for Zero to change his mind.
So, he sent Nickel, Phantom, Frost, Slick, Ax, and Texas on bike detail with Blake in a cage to escort us home. Safety in significant numbers.
Hurricane was happy to see the ass-end of us.
I don’t blame him.
We brought chaos to his streets. And though we’re good friends, pulling in any kind of drama to N’awlins is not ideal for his house. He has enough of his own drama to deal with.
So, Hoodoo patched up the girls the best he could and gave them the all-clear to travel.
My ass started hurting around the five-hour mark into the ride. Nonstop, no matter who you are, is tough, so seeing the Houston clubhouse gates in my sights right now is like the heavens are fucking shining down on me, and God, himself, is singing the hallelujah fucking chorus.
As I approach the gate, it swings open automatically. Neon rigged the bikes so the gate knows when a club member is approaching, and they open automatically. Otherwise, Neon activates it for all other visitors. The system is now completely electronic, so we do not need a gatekeeper. I turn back to make sure Jovie and Savanah follow through in Blake’s cage, and they drive inside with ease.