I take a deep breath in and let it go, relief flooding my system. My body is crashing, not just going stiff from the long drive and sitting still too long, it’s the adrenalin surge of doing something that could ruin not only my career, but my life.
Chapter Eighteen
Eli (Handlebar)
That last phone call has finally yielded some results. I’m caught in two minds about what steps to take next. Carnies, by nature, are suspicious people. Even people they once trusted won’t be easily let in, they won’t give up information freely. If I want to find out anything, there is going to need to be a lot of finessing.
My first instinct is not to tell anyone and go alone. Liz is a hard enough nut to crack and won’t take kindly to seeing me. I never left without saying goodbye but she made damn sure I knew she wasn’t happy about it. This is going to be hard.
And not because I’m seeing the first place where the people made me feel welcome after spending three years running from my past, alone, untrusting and in desperate need. Liz helped me the most. She trusted me, I’m not so sure I’ll get that same courtesy now.
The way things ended with Cassie is playing on my mind. I was caught between waiting for her to get out of the shower and leaving the same way Mace did. The things I said to her in the garage were contradicted in epic fashion by what I did that day and the need to explain was overwhelming.
Only problem, I didn’t know how to explain it. When she showed up with him, the rage consumed me and I did something I never do, I lashed out. There was some satisfaction that I caught him off guard and got a decent punch in but Mace didn’t back down.
Shaking out of my mixed feelings about how that whole thing turned out, I grab my phone off the counter and head outside, I won’t make this call in front of the guys.
We don’t have much time if I want to get to Liz. They’ve already been camped up for three days, five is their usual stay and god knows where they will head next after being two hours away from Sussex.
There is no point procrastinating, I dial her number and take off the cap I was wearing, rub a hand over my hair and then shove it back on. The phone rings in my ear and from behind me. It doesn’t register at first that it’s the same phone until the call cuts off and the ringing right by me.
“Eli.”
I freeze for a moment, then turn around. What is she doing here? Has she come to see me. My eyes trail over her body. She’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt with a leather jacket. I’ve seen her in her business suits, sexy dresses, and naked but seeing her wearing leather is doing something different to me.
“You were calling me?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask why she is at the compound but any hope it was to find me is dashed when she tells me she had a meeting with War.
“What is it?” she asks. “Why did you call?” There is no hesitation in her, she doesn’t turn away from me and is trying hard not to show she is any way affected by me.
Fine, we can be businesslike. For now. “I tracked down Sanderson’s.” When she frowns, I explain it’s the carnival we’re looking for. “They won’t be around much longer, if we want to find out anything it needs to be today.”
“Really?” Her body language shifts from cautious to excited. “Where are they?”
“Not too far from here.”
“What are we waiting for then?”
“We?”
“Yes Eli, we. This is a break we needed. I can’t believe you found them so fast.”
“Finding them isn’t the hard part, sweetheart.” The endearment rolls off my tongue far too easily and I don’t miss how it affects her. “They won’t talk to just anyone.”
“You think I can’t handle this? I work with this MC and I’ve dealt with people from all different walks of life in my job. I can do this.”
I shake my head with a wry smile. “Carnie’s aren’t like anyone you’ve ever met before. They won’t talk to you. They don’t know you and anyone who comes sniffing around asking questions will be shut out before you can even introduce yourself.”
“They trust you.” She taps her foot impatiently.
“Did trust me. It’s been sixteen years since I saw them. Hell, I don’t even know if the same people are still running with them. It’s the kind of lifestyle where people come and go.”
That’s not strictly true. A real carnie stays in the life until they die. Sandersons had people who’d been there over fifty years. Cassie needs to understand what she is walking into.
“Eli, we’re wasting time. Where are they? My car is over there, we can leave now.”
“I’m not getting in your car, Cassie. Showing up in that,” I point to her flashy Mercedes. “Is even more of a red flag to them.”
