“Thanks,” she called over her shoulder.
It only took her a few minutes to get situated in the recliner, laptop open, headphones on, and music blasting.That’s when she realized she didn’t know the Wi-Fi password.
“Hey!”She called for Billy after turning off her music for a moment.
“Something I can help you with?”Billy asked from where he’d flopped onto the sofa not too far away.
“Any idea what the Wi-Fi password is?”
“Not offhand, but Bishop will know, or Hammer.”
“I don’t know where either of them is.I’ll just use the hot spot on my phone for now.”That’s when she remembered she didn’t have her phone.Bulldog still had it.She couldn’t use her hot spot if she wanted to.
“You could call or text them and ask.”
“I’ve got two problems with that.”
“What is it?”Billy asked.
“Well, number one, I don’t have either one’s phone number.And number two, I gave my phone to Bulldog earlier.Hammer’s going to look at it.”She waved one hand, not wanting to go into details about how shitty her life had gotten with yet another stranger.
“Give me a sec.”Billy pulled his phone out and tapped out a message.Several seconds later his phone chimed.“sonsofsinphoenix, no caps, all one word,” he said after a moment.
“Give me a sec.”She pulled up the available networks and scanned the list.It wouldn’t be anything obviously Sons of Sin, not if they wanted to keep it secure.The network with the strongest signal, well, other than her hot spot, made her close her eyes and shake her head.Could it be?Had they really done it?She clicked on the connection that said “MarlboroMan,” entered the password Billy had given her, and waited.It didn’t take but a few seconds, and she was shaking her head.That movie was more than thirty years old.And yet, someone, probably the mysterious Hammer she had yet to meet, had thought it was funny to name the network for the clubhouse after it.It made her wonder if every time he saw the name, it made Hammer smile.
“Thanks,” she said before turning her music back on and focusing on what she needed to get done.
She was almost done with the list of things she needed to do today, at least for this author.She had another list of social media posts, newsletters, and graphics she needed to make for another author, but they weren’t expecting that for a few more days, so she had time to work on it.She sat up, arching her back and reaching over her head as she looked around and stretched while she mentally shifted gears.
Working as a virtual assistant to indie authors was time-consuming, but it paid pretty well, well, enough she could live on it, and it didn’t have the overhead of gas back and forth to a traditional job.And it gave her the freedom to work wherever she wanted, when she wanted, mostly.As long as she met the deadlines, her authors didn’t care when she got things done.That meant she could schedule social posts at 2:00 AM if she was having a hard time sleeping or even create teaser graphics sitting here in the clubhouse while her life was in shambles.
“There you are,” Bishop said as he approached her.She hadn’t seen where he’d come from but she smiled when she saw him.“I wondered where I would find you.”
“I’m right here, getting a little work done.”She motioned toward the computer on her lap.
“Got more to do, or are you done for now?”
“I can be done, are you wanting to do something?”
He lifted one shoulder and let it fall.
“I’m getting hungry again.Thought we might go get something to eat.”
She thought about it a second, then looked up at him.“
“What do you have in mind?”
“I hadn’t gotten that far.Is there something you want?”
Winter blinked.Was there something she wanted?Yes.Not to have to make the decision.She decided what to make and where to go three meals a day, every single day, and she was tired of it.But could she say that?
“What I want is for someone else to decide.I’m sure wherever we end up, I’ll find something I’m willing to eat.”She closed her laptop and put it in the backpack, then turned off her headphones and put them away too.“Let me just take this up to the room, then I’ll be ready whenever you are.”
She stood, picked up the bag, and swung it onto her back.
“Oh, I almost forgot.I put two boxes in the hall that can go with the rest of my stuff.I got what I needed to last me a while.”She tugged on one side of her cut, making sure he saw she was wearing it, as requested.
“Why didn’t you tell one of the prospects to deal with them?”
