All the people we’d seen today recognized them.
They were not afraid.
They’d been grateful.
All that added up to one thing.
The Vipers were good men.
I propped my chin on Ash’s shoulder.
He’d seemed surprised when I called him a softie, but I’d seen the way his eyes softened.
Rafe held up a hand, raising his fingers in a kind of hand motion that made no sense to me.
Bishop glanced at Ash, then me.
He pointed at the houses on his left.
I glanced each way.
Darkness coated each window.
Not a single light shone over the road or on a porch. Ahead, the stop lights blinked red in every direction.
“No power.” Ash sped up, catching up to Rafe. “Did you hear anything about this? The storm’s over. Why’s the power out?”
“No idea.” Rafe stopped several feet away from the white line at the closest red light.
It flashed over his face, the red blinking creating a dichotomy of crimson and bleakness in his rugged features.
The shadowed edge of his jaw tightened.
He gripped the handlebars, his body sitting low on the narrow seat. Booted feet shifted on the asphalt. “The stores are vulnerable.”
My breath hitched as I took in the dark storefronts that lined the road.
I hadn’t been in town enough to recognize any of the businesses, but they did.
And if I knew anything after today, they would not only know the stores, but they’d also know the owners by name.
“This is bad.” Ash patted my leg again. “We should get to the clubhouse and find out what’s going on.”
Rafe checked his phone. “No messages from the rest of the crew. Either this just happened, or they don’t know anything.” He turned his head toward the clubhouse road. “Let’s go.”
They moved slowly, taking in the darkness.
It crept around me, climbing my spine and raising the hairs on the back of my neck.
Noise cut through the sound of their engines. “What’s that?”
We turned into the side road, and the noise became evident.
A dozen or more men and women stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the clubhouse.
A single light shone in the window behind them, sending their shadows stretching across the ground.
Rafe stopped when his front wheel reached the closest shadow.
