Hearing Dani coming down the hallway, I move to the Keurig and pop in her Dunkin’ Donuts pod. We are the same, as neither of us are morning girls at all, so we gotta get caffeine in us as soon as we wake up.
“Hey, Sis, how are you doing today?”
Dani looks up like she was so deep in thought or sleep fogged so much, she forgot that I live here too.
“Oh damn, Dottie, you scared the crap out of me. I thought you might have wanted to stay with Halo last night. You don’t have to babysit me, Sis, I’m a grown-ass woman, just like you.”
Yeah, Dani definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed with her snippy self. I just smile while adding the creamer she likes in her gigantic coffee mug and pushes the button for the liquid of the gods to start. My sister is in desperate need of some Joe.
“So, Dani, see you’re your old chipper self this beautiful morning. What’s on your agenda for today?”
As we talk about our upcoming day, my eyes take in my sister. She looks so tired and, fuck me, I think she’s lost more weight.What the hell is going on with her?I think to myself. Need to pay attention to her as she’s all I got. Just as I try to think of how to get her talking about what is going on, Bowie comes thumping down the hall wagging his tail. He is such a good dog, and I see all of the intense training Enzo put into him. Bowie seems to be able to read both Dani and me, so he seems to always be in the right place at the right time. Hearing him whine, I look just in time to see Dani grabbing a leash and clipping it to his collar. Oh fuck to the no, she’s not walking the big baby alone. I grab a travel mug and take the coffee I just made, pouring it into the mug and putting the cap on it. I walk toward her, which has her shoulders pushing back and her eyes narrowing at me.
“Jesus, Dottie, I’m just going to run him out for a pee call. He’s a trained military dog who knows how to protect.”
“I know that, Dani, it’s just I want to hang with the two of you, so why not take a walk together? Come on, you might even have a little fun hanging with your big sister.”
She lets out a loud huff but doesn’t say a word or continue to whine. Bowie is shifting his head between Dani and me, and I can almost read his thoughts.Come on, I got to pee, quit with all the lip service, women.That alone brings a smile to my face. Dani and Bowie make their way down the front porch as I lock the door and set the alarm. Since the incident our cabinis probably safer than the White House right now. Raven and Freak went a bit crazy, but I totally get it. And it wasn’t just our cabin, all the small homes behind Tink’s massive ranch got upgrades on the security systems. Better safe than sorry is what Raven told us. Hearing Bowie getting excited, I look up just in time to see Benji leaning over to give our boy some pets. Bowie’s ass is wiggling all over until he gives in and falls on his side, rolling over to give Benji his belly. Both Dani and I laugh at the exact same time. Yeah, that twin thing is still going strong. The man lifts his head, first looking at my sister, giving her a brotherly smile. When his eyes meet mine that smile turns into something so sexy it makes me catch my breath.
“For shit’s sake, get a room already, you two.”
Hearing Dani’s words, I turn to her at the same time I try to take in a breath and end up choking. She lets Bowie’s leash go and starts pounding me on my back, which not only has me coughing even more, but damn, that hurts. Seeing the glint in her eyes, I give her a slight push to stop her from beating the ever-lovin’ shit outta me while I choke to death.
“Damn, that’s the thanks I get for saving your life, Dottie. Fine, Bowie and I are going to walk toward the main house, see if there’s any food. I know you and Halo will be following close behind us, so don’t remind me, big sis.”
With that snide comment she reaches for the leash that Halo is holding out to her. She says a soft thank you then starts to walk down the dirt road that will lead to the main house eventually. I keep my eyes on her for a minute so I can get my heart rate under control before I look into those dark eyes of Halo’s. It doesn’t stop him from walking toward me then getting in my personal space. Yeah, he’s been doing that a lot lately and, to be honest, I don’t mind, though I’ll never tell him that. Let him work for it.
“Hey, Dottie, come on, let’s keep our eyes on your sister. We have no idea who the intended target is between you two. It could be either of ya or maybe both.”
He gently grabs my hand, entwining our fingers, then pulls me next to him as we start to follow the road where Dani was a minute or two ago. The silence is comfortable and that’s one thing I’ve noticed; when the two of us are together there is no forced attempt to fill the silence. When we talk it’s about present time, or lately one or the other might mention something from our past or ask the other a question of shit that we’ve been through. It’s getting to be so comfortable to be around him. I think he feels the same as he’s smiling more freely. Even when he’s working here at Tink’s ranch or back at the Blue Sky Sanctuary, he seems to be more relaxed, which is good. He told me himself that for some reason this time therapy seems to be helping him. Personally, I think it’s the therapist because she’s so patient and never pushes, just carefully guides us over the mind mines and whatever we need to work through them. Thinking about the night he shared with me about what happened before his accident had tears pouring out of my eyes. This poor man has given everything to his country and got nothing in return. They literally threw him out onto the street without even a place to go or money to get there. The only thing our government gave to Benji was grief and finger-pointing, but guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
“Hey, Dottie, where’d you go? Been calling your name for a minute or so.”
Looking up I see he’s watching me, concern all over his face. Damn, didn’t I get lucky, kinda like one of Dani’s heroines in a romance novel. My hero actually found me in Bumfuck, Montana. I squeeze his hand.
“Sorry, Benji, my mind was taking a walk around memories. What were you saying?”
“Just asking ya how you think Dani is doing? Sometimes she seems like she is starting the long-ass process of moving on, but then other times she just looks so lost. Thank Christ for Bowie, he’s the one I think that is getting past all those walls of hers. And while on the subject, how are you doing?”
I think about that question for a few minutes and when we take the turn to the main house, I look around for Dani and can’t find her. Where the hell did she go? I pull my hand free and put my fingers in my mouth, letting an ear-screeching whistle out. It takes a few seconds but I hear her return whistle and the hair on my neck settles down. This shit has to stop. I feel like I’m losing my mind.
“What is it, Dottie? Hey, you’re not crazy as I feel it sometimes too, but if someone is watching us, it’s either a sniper in their hide site or a drone flying up high. Remember, Raven said that even with all the security and her hacking into satellites, it’s hard to pinpoint when a drone is flying. Freak is working on trying to pinpoint it while Dallas and Chicago are reaching out to some of their contacts in certain bureaus for some help under the rug. Try to relax.”
I stop walking which has him stopping too. I pull my hand from his and put both hands at his waist, reaching around him and giving my best hug to him. After a few seconds, he wraps me up, placing a kiss on my head as we stand together comforting each other. That is until Bowie comes running toward us, his tongue out and tail wagging. Behind him I see Dani jogging to try to keep up. Damn, this is the first time I’ve seen my sister smiling so freely in a long-ass time. For some odd, fucked-up reason another time pops into my mind’s eye. Right before we escaped our family’s—nope, not our entire family—just our father. I was out in the fields picking some of the crops when there was a loud ruckus with screaming, and then I heard my father swearing right before Dani was running straight for me, ahandprint on her cheek and tears streaming down. When she reached me, she fell into my arms and couldn’t get even a word out, she was so upset. When our father and his group of friends reached us, he tried to grab Dani, but without thinking I took the garden tool in my hand and whacked his outstretched arm with it. The immediate silence was so overwhelming and scary, but I didn’t care. I was done letting him brutalize Dani and didn’t care what he did to me. Or I thought that. In no time at all the group of men had both of us contained and they literally dragged us back to the one place I never wanted to go to ever again—the sheds behind my parents’ house. Nothing good ever came from those wooden buildings. When I was younger, I would hear the cries and screams coming from there, but Mom would tell us both to ignore them and never bring it up in front of our father. When I was, don’t know, nine or ten, I found out what was going on. No, it wasn’t unlike me, as they say curiosity kills the cat. So, I snuck out to try and investigate what was going on and wished I hadn’t. Three of my father’s friends had one of the young girls in there and they were doing what the animals would do in the fields. She was beat to shit. As I watched, one of the men got carried away and, right before my eyes, I watched him strangle her to death. I never told a soul, not even Dani, because I didn’t want to put her at risk. That is one of the many nightmares I’ve had since that night, though some of the others are from the scars and burns that were put on my body. Feeling hands running up and down my back, I try to push away until it hits me that those are Benji’s hands. Damn it, I’m losing my friggin’ mind. When he lets me go, I step back and see Dani watching me with a sad smile. She always knows when my head has wandered back to the past. She walks right to me, arms extended out. I walk right into them as we both put our heads together. As we stand like this, I feel his heat first before his arms wrap around the both of us. I’m shocked Dani allows it but he is quicklybecoming very special to the both of us. To my sister I think she looks at him like an older brother, while when I’m thinking about Benji, the last thing I think of when I look at him is a brother. Maybe, and this brings a smile to my face, I’m more like my sister than I thought. I think of Benji ‘Halo’ Dawson as my hero, though he isn’t on a white stallion. That brings a snicker to me, which has Dani looking at me. Without a word she starts to giggle, which has Benji looking between the both of us.
“Okay, that’s not fair how you two can talk without saying a word. Not sure about you, Bowie, but I’m feeling left out, my man.”
As we all start laughing, I grab Dani’s hand with my left hand and then grab Benji’s hand with my right, and the three of us, with Bowie on the other side of my sister, walk down a dirt road to our prez’s main house to maybe get some breakfast and sisterly company. What we end up walking in on is beyond anything I could think of.
THIRTEEN
DANI
After recently watching my sister and Halo together, I already know, even though she might not, Dottie has found her person or a better way to say it, her soul mate. The way they look and watch each other is just like one of the many books I’ve read. Her personal hero popped up right in front of her so they can have their HEA. Before I forget my thought, I pull my phone out and dictate a few notes, as I’m in the process of trying to finish a project I’ve been concentrating on, though God only knows how long this will take me. Life has gotten into a bit of a routine between Dottie and me. Between all of our club’s companies which include the working ranch, The Wooden Spirits Bar & Grill, the Handmaidens Fitness & Holistic Center, and finally my favorite, the Devils on Wheels—the club’s trucking company—which to my utter surprise after working my ass off, I’m the head mechanic now. There are a few more businesses in the works like the coffee shop, which doesn’t have a name yet, and then the Labor of Love which, from what I’ve been told, is going to be a place for folks to find or do their hobbies with liked-minded people. Some of the sisters are working to get that business up and running since they already have shit in mind to get the place hopping.
Recently Tink, Glory, and Shadow called both Duchess and me into a meeting at the clubhouse. I was worried and panicking. Not only am I a prospect but also the quietest of all the Devil’s Handmaidens sisters. Peanut used to be pretty quiet until she spoke up for Heartbreaker during all the shit that went down. Anyway, Glory explained that the club’s trucking company, Devils on Wheels, just secured a contract with a government agency and that the plan is to add at least five or more tractors to our fleet. She also said that Duchess would be in charge of hiring more mechanics, even if they aren’t up to our skills but are willing to learn. We’ll start then with the easy work until they are fully trained. With that said, Glory turned to me smiling while telling me I was being promoted to head mechanic. Both of us would be getting a raise and some additional benefits, including more contributions to our pension plan. Damn, Dottie and I hit it out of the ballpark when we decided to hook our stars to the Devil’s Handmaidens. These thoughts are running through my head as I pull up to the security gates at work. Entering my personal security code, the gates slowly start to open and I drive my cage around the garage to the back, where Duchess and I both park. I see her beat-up pickup truck but not Kitty’s vehicle. Since the weather up here in Montana can sometimes be turbulent, most of the sisters have been driving their cages just to be safe, me included, as I don’t need Dottie up in my business yet again. Once my cage is parked, I grab my insulated travel coffee cup, and get out of the vehicle. Since we’ve had issues before at all of our operations, Rebel and Freak have upgraded all the security at each of our businesses and they are on a constant stream. I know both Rebel and Freak have home offices with a room full of monitors and, along with a few prospects from both our club and the Intruders, they keep a pretty constant eye on the streams, not to mention there are alarms that go off if something goes wrong. Not sure how Rebelor Freak know how to write software coding, but they do. As I put my finger to the pad then enter my code, I hear the lock disengage and pull the door open, letting it swing shut on its own.
Immediately, before I even take a step all the way in, I feel that something is way off. It dawns on me that when Duchess beats me here, she usually has her music blasting throughout the shop. At the moment it’s so quiet you could probably hear a mouse let a fart drop. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see something flutter then move, right before something hits me on the other side of my head instead of right in my face. Immediately, Shadow’s voice is in my head, telling me what to do, which is ignore the pain in my temple. My training kicks in as I crouch down, dropping my cup on the cement floor, letting my shoulders drop down and loosen, while my hands form fists. Seeing two legs off to my right side, I reach up with my left hand, instinctively knowing where to inflict the most pain by grabbing this bastard’s balls, making the intruder squeal like a gutted pig. Glancing up, I see him pulling his arm back so I quickly let go. Shifting and using my head, I plow right into his gut, knocking us both down. Having the advantage of knowing we were gonna hit the ground, I jump up, bouncing on the heels of my feet. The intruder staggers to his feet and, shit, he’s a big motherfucker.Goddamn it,I think to myself, trying to figure out what to do next. Shadow and Raven’s voices are rolling in my head, telling me to relax and breathe. As he moves forward, I back up, hearing Raven telling me to remember the bigger they are the harder the asshole will fall. Just before my hand moves to throat punch him, a gun goes off, followed by a woman’s scream of pain.
