“When would I have had time to pack anything?”
“Greeeat.”
“I didn’t make you come on this trip.”
“It’s been you and me since we were teens, and that’s not changing now.” We drove in silence for a while before Hunter asked, “What friend did you call for this?”
“Damien is meeting us there.”
“Thefelon?”
“He’s only a felon because he refused to snitch on me. If he hadn’t protected me, we’d both have been in prison for grand theft auto.”
Hunter had been around for that episode of my life, and I’d be grateful to Damien forever for protecting me. He’d gotten heavily into security and had eventually started his own company with investment from the pack. He used it to hire others who had rough pasts and struggled to get employment elsewhere. Honestly, they were damn fucking good at their jobs because they knew exactly how to get into places, so they could shore up any lapses for those who hired them.
“I know, I just remember him being scary as hell.”
“He probably still is.” I shrugged. “He’s a good guy, though.”
We followed winding roads into the desert. My parents had a ramshackle house out there in the middle of nowhere they’d used when I was a kid, mostly for drug running or other bullshit where they needed privacy. We had all of their legitimate addresses now, and the police had already checked them, and their credit cards hadn’t turned up any hotels or gas station stops either. That left this place.
A light flickered in the dark as we turned onto the nearest paved road before hitting the final route to my parents’ hideout. We pulled to a stop behind a car parked on the shoulder.
I shifted into park, turned off the headlights, and stepped out.
Damien greeted me with a back-slapping hug. “Good to see you’ve stayed out of trouble. Besides this, I guess.”
Another car was parked in front of his. “Who else is here?”
“I brought some backup. I can vouch for every single one of them. Hey, assholes, get out here and meet Logan.”
Three men slipped out of the vehicle, moving to flank him, and Hunter popped out of my car to stand by my side.
“You brought the rock star?” Damien asked with a laugh.
“Not a rock star anymore,” Hunter pointed out.
Damien shrugged and turned to introduce us to the others he’d brought. “This is Luther, Inferno, and Creed. How many are we going after?”
“Three, unless they’ve invited someone I’m not aware of.”
“Creed, you’re on recon.”
He nodded and vanished like a ghost in the darkness.
While we waited for his return, Damien equipped us with zip-tie handcuffs and Kevlar vests. Hunter looked like he was ready to pass out.
“You should stay here, rock star,” Damien told him. “There’s no room for hesitation with shit like this. Wait here. Call for help if necessary.”
“How do I know if you need help?”
Damien passed him a military-grade walkie-talkie. “We’ll let you know. Don’t talk to us, or you’ll give away our position. Wait for someone to reach out. Got it?”
“Got it.” Hunter nodded.
I hooked one of the walkie-talkies to my belt, and by the time I had psyched myself up to go charging in, Creed had returned, flipping up his night-vision goggles.
“Just the three of them, but they’ve got a fuckload of guns. I’d like to avoid a shoot-out if we can.”
