All I saw was the outline of the bike. I knew someone had to be sitting on it, but for all I knew it was someone from that bullshit crew that tried to take us all out. My heart stopped in my chest. The hairs on the nape of my neck stood on end. I heard the front door close, but I couldn’t yell at my parents to get back inside and get down.
Would they start shooting at the house?
Was that my sister?
Had she escaped?
Were we about to die?
“Do you know who that is?” Dad asked as his voice sat close to my shoulder.
I jumped at his presence and my heart plummeted to my toes. “Jesus, Dad.”
He placed his hand on my shoulder. “Do you know who that is across the street?”
“So, you see him, too?” I asked.
He nodded. “I do.”
And as a set of feet moved that motorcycle out of the shadows, I got a good look at a remarkably familiar face.
“Jax?” I asked.
I wasn’t sure when the hell he had arrived, or how in the world he knew where to find me, but there he sat, with his jeaned-up legs straddling his motorcycle while the engine idled aimlessly. He perched himself across the street with his tight white t-shirt clinging to his chest, and I saw the bulge of his cigarette packet rolled up into his sleeve.
He raised his hand over his head and wiggled his fingers, and I smiled as I wiggled mine back.
“Mom?” I asked as I turned to face her.
She stepped off the porch and came toward me. “Yeah, princess?”
“Did you mean it when you asked me if there was anything you could do to repay those men for keeping me safe?”
She smiled softly. “Of course.”
“Who is that man out there?” Dad asked.
I turned my stare toward him and reached out my hand. “Come here.”
He stepped toward me and took my hand. “Who is that? What’s going on?”
“Mom asked me if there was anything you guys could do that would repay those men for taking care of me during all of this.”
“Is there?” he asked, threading our fingers together.
I nodded. “Mom said that you two owe those men for keeping me safe.”
He cupped my cheek. “She’s right, we do.”
I looked over at Mom. “And you mean that?”
“Yes,” she said, “now, what’s going on?”
I drew in a deep breath through my nose. “Let me go with him.”
Dad didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely not.”
Mom didn’t speak, though.
