The motor enthusiast in me wanted to go to it, take a closer look and appreciate the mechanics of it all, but the sunlight was shining against the windows, and I couldn’t see who was driving. Another tourist appreciating the fact they were stumbling upon a motorcycle club like we were the damn Sons of Anarchy? Another local out making sure we were behaving, keeping ourselves in line?
The window rolled down slowly, an arm and elbow appearing to rest on the ledge before I saw the familiar face staring back at me.
Winnie.
My stomach rolled with nausea, but I found myself moving anyway, making my way across the yard at a leisurely pacebefore I stood behind the gate and peered at her through the metal bars.
She looked different now. The hard edge to her features had gone, as had her bright red lipstick, replaced instead with a fresh-faced look that made her seem… human. Her eyes trailed up and down my body before landing back on my face, the bruises she’d last seen now gone, and only a few extra scars on my skin left as signs of the fights I’d been in my whole life.
“Nice car,” I said, nodding toward the hood of it as I folded my arms over my chest somewhat defensively. “I didn’t have you down as a Torino kinda woman.”
“What did you have me down as?”
“Something more… beige.”
“I see someone has healed just fine.” She raised a brow in return, her lips twitching.
“Getting there.”
“Was that a limp I saw when you walked over?”
I cleared my throat, hating the slow nature of my healing. “Nothing more than rusty morning joints still waking up.”
“Ah.” She nodded, not buying it. “The formidable Drew Tucker. He’s still as strong as ever.”
“Stronger.”
“That’s the message you’re wanting to put out there, right?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m quite happy to live under the radar from now on.”
“I bet.” She smirked, her eyebrows bouncing before she looked past me and to The Hut.
“Care to tell me what you’re doing here at this time of day?” I asked her, bringing her attention back to me. “I sure as shit hope it isn’t to stir up more trouble.”
“Trouble? The Hounds of Babylon? Never,” she mocked, her laughter somewhat light and carefree. “Don’t worry, Mr. Tucker—”
“Uch,” I groaned, cutting her off.
“Sorry. Don’t worry,Drew.You’re safe.”
“Yeah? For how long?”
Winnie smiled, her eyes narrowing as though she was contemplating her answer. “For as long as you behave.”
“Behaving ain’t exactly our style.”
“Not your old style. Something tells me that it will be from now on. You’re not a bad club, Drew. You’re a good club who always managed to find a way into bad situations. That’s a skill—one you might want to get rid of, but a skill none the less.”
“Gee, thanks, Miss Winnie.”
She chuckled again, her eyes drifting behind me. For a moment, I thought someone else may have been there, but when I glanced over my shoulder, the yard remained quiet and empty, the others in bed, unprepared to start their day so soon. When I turned back to Winnie, she was staring up at me as though I was a friend. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention, and my gut tingle with anticipation. With people like her, you never knew what was coming next, and I’d grown tired of surprises.
“I’m actually here to ask a favor,” she admitted quietly.
“What kind of favor?”
“I’m heading to Washington today.”
