“It’s about time you showed up,” Rachel said, kissing the man and smiling at the older one.
“It seemed like you had it under control. Who’s our guest?” he asked as he turned to face her.
Swallowing, she stepped forward. “I’m Tara. I’m searching for a man named Garrett Johnson.”
The man frowned and glanced at the older guy. “Why do you need to see him?”
“It’s important. I need to talk to him,” she insisted.
The man took out his phone and made a call. The woman smiled and steered her toward the kitchen. “Why don’t we see if Delaney made any treats while we wait? If not, you’ll have to deal with packaged cookies because I can only bake cornbread.”
“I’m fine,” Tara said as she sat at the kitchen table. Her hands trembled, and she placed them between her legs.
“I have soda, tea, juice, and water. You’re lucky I came in when I did. Usually, I work from home, but since we recently made some repairs, I needed the invoices. I’m Rachel. You met my fiancée, Matthew, and the older man is Mac.”
“Thank you for helping me. May I have a soda? Riley doesn’t buy it. It’s too expensive,” Tara said as she licked her lips.
“Sure. We’re in luck. Delaney made chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal raisin. She must be on a baking streak,” Rachel said, pulling cookies from a jar and putting them on a plate. She set them in front of Tara and returned for the drinks before sitting down.
“Thanks,” Tara said, taking one of the cookies. She bit into it and closed her eyes as she chewed.
Rachel chuckled. “I feel the exact same way every time I eat one.”
“I can’t remember the last time I ate a homemade cookieor a store-bought one, for that matter. It tastes amazing,” Tara said, opening her soda.
“Do you want to tell me why two bikers chased you here?” Rachel asked gently.
Tara set the soda down. “My sister’s in trouble, and it’s because of Garrett Johnson.”
Rachel’s eyes narrowed as she peered at her. “What kind of trouble?”
The kitchen door swung open, and a massive man with black hair and a beard strode in, followed by Matthew and Mac. He stared at her, appearing pissed.
Tara gulped and shrank in her chair.
“It’s all right,” Rachel told her. “He won’t hurt you. Matthew will kill him and bury him in the backyard, right, honey?”
“You got it,” Matthew said, peering at Garrett with his brow arched in warning.
“I’m Garrett. I hear you wanted to talk to me about something important,” he said with his arms crossed.
“I’m Tara, Riley’s sister. You have to help me,” she said. “Riley?—”
‘I already gave your sister money. If she sent you back here for more, I’m afraid you’re shit out of luck,” he said sternly.
“No. You gave her money, and she gave it to the bikers so they’d let me go. Now they have her, and I can’t get her out. The room doesn’t have any windows, and the door opens from the outside. They won’t feed her. They only gave me one sandwich and made me pee in a bucket. She told me to take the bus to Corpus Christi and to use my fake ID to get a hotel room. She got really mad when she found out I got one and it’s not like her to tell me to use it,” Tara blurted out.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, sweetheart,” Garrettsaid, sitting down. “What happened? Start at the beginning.”
Rachel rubbed her back and handed her a paper towel. Matthew and Mac took seats across from her.
“Riley works at The Taco Shack in town, and on the weekends, she works at the bar to make some extra cash. Dad showed up at our apartment and tried to take me home. I ran to the bar to tell Riley. One of the bikers claimed I scratched his bike and took me to their clubhouse. They held me there until Riley came with the money. They asked her questions about you. She told them you gave her the money because you hit her with your truck, but they didn’t believe her and tried to keep both of us. Riley distracted them while I escaped.”
“Where is this clubhouse?” Matthew asked, glancing at Garrett.
“I don’t know exactly. They took me by motorcycle the first time, and I walked back to Embers. I’ve kept off the main roads and hid to keep them from finding me.”
“Wait a minute. You walked to get here?” Garrett exclaimed.
