“Haven’t we all?” I asked, and Bear shot me a curious look.
“Anything we need to know about?”
“Nope, I’m an open book,” I replied sarcastically, and Bear laughed.
“Prospect, I call bullshit on that, but time outs all secrets sooner or later.”
“Isn’t that true? Veep, I’m on duty in half an hour. I’m gonna grab some food and get my flask filled.”
“How’s that working for you guys?” Bear asked.
The prospects had agreed that, instead of taking turns every two nights, we’d take a week at a time to guard the gate at night. As we all worked for the club, our day jobs would be covered. The new schedule turned out great. As there were seven of us, that meant we did our time every seven weeks and were free for six further weeks. Now I guess it would be once every six weeks, which was still easier than a totally disrupted sleep pattern.
“Better than what we were doing,” I admitted, and Bear nodded.
“Get what you need, have a good shift,” Bear ordered, and I moved away.
Considering what had occurred earlier, nobody seemed to be bothered by the fact that Runner had been kicked. Clark looked disgruntled, but none of the other prospects were fussed. Fanatic hovered close to Jinx, but not in an obvious way. The newly promoted brother clearly valued Jinx’s friendship.
Willow sat with Jinx, too, chatting away as he held baby Danny, who we all believed neutralised the Jinx Effect, as we called it. Jinx never actively caused disasters, but they happenedaround him all the time. I shook my head as I headed to the kitchen. What else would happen?
April
I yawned as I drove back to Clara’s house. This morning had been a nightmare in the ER. I’d been scheduled there for two weeks, covering for someone who was off sick. It appeared everyone who could have had a household accident, did.
The guy who’d severed an arm with a chainsaw had been the messiest. The fool was damn lucky to be alive thanks to his wife’s quick thinking. However, I winced at her method. She’d cauterised the wound before he bled out. It was doubtful surgeons would be able to reattach the limb, but that was their business, not mine.
As I headed home, I heard a hissing sound and frowned. What was that? A screech escaped me as a diamond-shaped head appeared between my legs. With a scream, I nearly crashed as I slammed on the anchors and swung to the side of the road. The rear end of the car flipped around as I flung the door open.
The snake struck and bit my boots as I yelled again and hopped out, falling to my knees and crawling away as I scrambled to my feet. A Harley roared, and then brakes squealed as it moved to avoid hitting me as I raced to get out of the way.
“Are you stupid?” the rider bellowed as he got off his bike.
“Snake!” I screamed.
“What?”
“There’s a snake! It appeared between my legs!”
The guy gaped at me as if I were crazy before he approached. “Holy crap!”
“Told you! A snake’s in my car!”
“Do you know what type it is?” the biker asked, and I looked at him in disbelief.
“How the fuck would I know? I’m a nurse, not a veterinarian!” I exclaimed.
He chuckled and stared into my car. “Well, I don’t think it’s poisonous. Lady, I’m going to snap a picture and send it to a friend.She is a vet.”
I stayed out of the way as he approached and snapped a photo. “Rosie will take a few minutes as she’s possibly with a patient. Anyway, I’m Smokey, Hellfire MC.”
“April, a nurse at the hospital,” I replied.
Smokey laughed. His phone pinged, and he glanced down at it. “Okay, Calamity, her old man, says it’s not poisonous, just grab it behind its head and yank it out.”
“Right, big man, off you go.” I waved him forward, and Smokey chuckled.
“Sure I won’t be stepping on your female independence?” he teased.
