She walks out to the kennel with me, looking worried.
“You okay, Em?”
“Yeah, I’m just worried about so many of the brothers being in harm’s way because of me.”
“It’s not because of you. It’s because Brennan is a dangerous criminal and on the loose in our town. You didn’t do anything wrong,” I tell her as we approach the kennels. Mica is already there and lets Forge loose for me before turning his attention to his own dog, Sable. Forge runs to me and does a happy dance. She’s well trained, so she doesn’t jump all over me the way some dogs do. She does sniff Emily and then shoves her wet nose into Emily’s open palm. Smiling, Emily drops to her knees and pets Forge. Something about her open acceptance of my beloved pet hits me right in the feels.
I squat down to pet Forge as well. Emily’s next question catches me off guard.
“Can I come with you?”
My head jerks up and I stare at her because she acknowledged the mission was dangerous. I’m shaking my head before I realize it. “No, and hell no. I don’t want you tromping around in the wilderness with that asshole on the loose.”
She frowns. “I thought you were going to say that. But I wanted to ask anyway. It seems wrong to ask the brothers to risk themselves while I stay safe at the clubhouse.”
I’m honestly bewildered by her whole train of thought on this issue. “Are you trying to get me a beatdown by the brothers? Because I guarantee that if I tried to take my old lady on a fuckin’ dangerous wilderness hunt for a fugitive, they would beat my ass in a fuckin’ heartbeat.”
She rolls her eyes. “Dramatic much?”
I come to my feet and whistle to get Mica’s attention. When he steps closer with Sable pawing at his leg, I tell him, “I’m thinking about letting Emily tag along. What do you think of that idea?”
His expression closes down in a heartbeat and he responds tightly. “I think you’ve lost your goddamn mind. Do I need to call Jasper and Slate, or do you think you can get your head out of your own ass long enough to protect your old lady?”
I turn to Emily and raise both eyebrows in an expression that says I told you so.
“Fine, I’ll stay at the clubhouse. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
When she walks off, Mica comes to stand beside me, and we watch her walk back to the clubhouse. “The fuck was that?”
“I don’t know. If you ever figure women out, let me know.”
“We don’t need to figure them out, just give them what they want and need.”
A twinge of guilt builds in my chest. This is the way we were raised. My old man taught us to give our ma whatever she wanted, to make her happy. It was no great hardship because she never demanded more than we could comfortably give.
I rub my chest with one fist. “Telling her no doesn’t sit right with me, you know?”
Mica doesn’t answer, likely because he doesn’t have anything to say on that issue. Instead, he stoops down long enough to clip a leash on Sable. I don’t need to do that with Forge because she’s the best girl and trained to stay right at my side.
Mica comes to his feet and glances towards the garage. “You can think about that while we ride. We should attach the sidecars, so we can hit the ground running when we get our grid assignments.”
Damn, he’s right. We stalk into the garage and get busy. Those sidecars enable us to transport our trackers, and riding in the sidecar is Forge’s favorite activity, so she’s happy, jumping around and wagging her tail.
When I’m finished, I stuff my pockets with treats and make sure I have her bowl, a gallon of water, and a couple servings of food. Once Forge is strapped in, I quickly gear up at the armory and jump onto my bike. Mica comes out, and shortly after our phones buzz with messages from Striker with our grid assignments. We strap our handheld radios to our shoulders and take off.
As we ride away, I hear engines turn over one by one behind me. I’m proud to be leading the pack today. I remember how Emily’s grandfather used to say the early bird gets the worm. My old man used to joke back that there’s plenty of worms for everyone, so we don’t need to compete for them.
Chapter 17
Emily
Iwent back to our suite and took a long, hot shower. I’ll admit that I overreacted when Onyx refused to let me come with him to look for Brennan. Maybe I shouldn’t have wanted to go, but I did. I don’t want to let him live rent free in my head anymore. That’s why I wanted to be there when they tracked him down. To look him in the eye and show him I’m not scared.
Sure, I used to be afraid. But I’m a different person now. Watching the men and women swagger around this clubhouse, tall and proud, has unleashed something in me. I might not be physically strong like Onyx but seeing his mom and how she and Tessa rule the clubhouse and don’t take any shit, has shown me that it’s okay to speak up.
No more mousey little Emily.
Queenie invited me to breakfast and told me to wear something comfortable. She said they were having an old ladies’ morning together. I don’t know what that means or if she meant I should wear loungewear, leggings, or jeans. I chose a faded pair of jeans from my suitcase and a t-shirt from the donation bin in the laundry room with the club’s logo on the front. Of course, I wear my property cut. I wouldn’t fit in with the other old ladies if I didn’t. Plus, I like wearing Onyx’s cut. I like the way it sits on my body and makes me feel close to him.
