Chapter Seventeen
Winter stood watchingthe Sons of Sin make last-minute preparations to head out for a couple of days, wondering what the plan was and where they were going.She’d been a bit nervous last night about a two-day trip on the bikes, but Bishop had assured her he wouldn’t make her ride on the Interstate.Now, she stood watching everyone wondering what she should do.
“Come on, I want to introduce you to someone,” Bishop said, coming up behind her and draping an arm across her shoulders.She adjusted the strap of the overnight bag he’d had her pack, and followed him toward the pickup parked to one side.As they approached, she couldn’t help but notice the old man fussing with something in the bed.He had hair gone mostly white, pulled back so she couldn’t tell how long it was.
“Hey, Wrench.I’ve got another bag for you,” Bishop called.
The older man looked up and a gap-toothed grin split his face.
“Looks like you might have more than a bag.Is this your patch rat?”
Winter crinkled her nose.She’d heard the term “patch rat,” but much preferred the “patchling” moniker her father had used.Bishop reached for her bag.She slipped it off her shoulder and handed it over.
“I told you last night, old man.I don’t like that term.And Bulldog has granted her Princess status, even if she’s not one of our own, so watch the way you talk to her.”Bishop scowled at the older man, but handed her bag to him.Bishop turned his attention to Winter.“Wrench is our head mechanic.He drives the tail truck when we do longer runs.I’m gonna have you ride with him until we hit the edge of town and get off the Interstate, then we’ll take a little break and you can ride with me, if you want.”
“What if I decide to ride with him all day?”she asked, just to see how he would react.
“If you’re more comfortable doing that, I won’t argue.I would have given you the option to stay behind but we’re only leaving a couple of men to guard the compound.Until we get the issue of your stalker straightened out, I’m not comfortable without more men here to keep you safe.”
“No problem.I don’t mind coming along.And I only asked to see what you would say.I’d love to ride with you.Once we are done with the Interstate.”
“I hope I passed.”He watched her for a moment.When she nodded, he bent and dropped a quick kiss on her lips before turning back to Wrench.“This is Winter.She’ll be riding with you for the first leg.Behave yourself or you’ll have to deal with me.”
Wrench rolled his eyes.Winter could tell the old man wasn’t afraid of Bishop.
“No worries there, I’ll treat your girl right.”Wrench shot her a grin and a wink.
Winter got the impression the old man was trying to get at Bishop, so she let it go.
“We’re supposed to pull out in the next five or ten minutes, go ahead and climb up and get comfortable.It will be nice to have some company that’s not another grumpy biker for a change,” Wrench said.He went back to arranging bags among the toolboxes and other things already in the truck, then securing them.“You come from this life, you know how it works,” he said dismissing them as he focused on finishing his preparations.
“How long is the ride today?”Winter asked as she followed Bishop back to his bike.
“Somewhere around four or five hours.I’m not sure where we plan to stop tonight.I know it won’t be Oatman.They don’t have enough rooms for all of us.And Styx is in charge of planning all this shit.He’ll lead us where we need to go.”
She watched as he finished arranging things in the hard cases on either side of his bike then stood.
“Come here and give me a kiss before we hit the road.Styx is gonna be calling for us to mount up soon and I’m gonna miss having you at my back.”
She stepped toward him, tilting her head back and relaxing into him as he lowered his head.Bishop brushed his lips across hers before coaxing her mouth open and giving her every bit of passion and hunger she’d always hoped someone would feel for her, and that she would feel for them.She forgot they were standing in the middle of the courtyard of the clubhouse, the rest of the club surrounding them as she relaxed, molding her body against him.
A sharp whistle broke through the haze of desire he’d stoked into flame from the ember that had been smoldering since she’d rolled out of bed and into the shower this morning.Bishop grinned down at her.
“That’s the two-minute warning before we mount up.Want me to walk you back to Wrench?”
“I can make it.I guess I’ll see you later.”
“Guaranteed.Let me know if Wrench pulls anything inappropriate.”
