“I can walk,” she says as I lift her, but she lets her head rest against my chest.
Gently, I move her back into the shop, then sit her down on the counter. “Just tell me what to do to secure everything, and then we can talk about what just happened.”
She points to a series of switches on the wall. “All of those need to be down.”
Four clicks later, they are; the rumble of shutters coming down echoes through the shop. “What else?”
“Those sandbags need to be put in front of the door when we leave. I should go into the boathouse to be safe. But I need to lock up.”
It takes a minute to drag all the sandbags outside, and then I come back for Maren. She’s already dropped off the counter and is moving slowly.
“I’m gonna kill the motherfuckers who did this to you.”
She takes in a deep breath. “You won’t need to, because the next time I see them, I’ll be putting…a bullet through each of their chests with the gun I’m gonna get.”
“Easy there, Annie Oakley. Let’s get you through this storm, first.”
One of Maren’s eyebrows rises in amusement. “It’s only a Category Two.”
“Might be a three by now.” I scoop her back into my arms, and now that the immediate danger is gone, I appreciate holding her a little more deeply. Her body is warm and soft against mine.
“I’m only letting you carry me because I can’t run to the boathouse.”
“I’m only carrying you because I know you can’t,” I lie.
When I enter the side door to the boathouse, I see it’s nicer inside than I ever knew. The three airboats are floating in water, but a large shutter door has been brought down to seal the boats inside.
“Just leave me here,” Maren says, wiggling out of my arms. I’m sad to let her go, even as I want to run and save my bike by rolling it in here. “This building is poured concrete. Hurricane proof. And up there is a small studio. I’ll be fine. You can go.”
Out over the dock, things look treacherous. Trees bend at funny angles that nature did not intend. “I missed my window to get home five minutes ago. I’ll be back.”
And with that, I go to save my bike and try not to think how I’m gonna pass the next however many hours in a tiny space with Maren Caldwell.
8
MAREN
There is no doubt in my mind that I should be worried about the two men who tried to force information out of me. The first time they came, I wasn’t prepared to defend myself. The second time, I should have been and wasn’t. So, there’s a complicated mix of fear and embarrassment rushing through my veins.
I also always thought that if I was put in such a moral dilemma, I’d be the honest and noble person. That I’d stand my ground and never share the location of one of the only bikers I considered even remotely close to a friend. But when I tripped out of the bait shop, and the dirt of the parking lot cut into my palms, Jackal’s address danced on the tip of my tongue.
If Knox hadn’t arrived when he did, I’m sure it would have eventually tripped out.
And I also knew I wouldn’t be able to look Knox in the eye if it did.
Given I don’t know why these men want to find their friend or know what they intend to do to Jackal, I have no concept of how severe the penalty would be if I did or said the wrong thing.
And sometimes doing nothing is the right answer.
I’m sure there is nothing wrong with me that a hot shower, strong painkillers, and a good night’s sleep won’t solve. Then, tomorrow, I need to figure out how to protect myself from their return, because I’m certain they’re coming back.
The obvious thing would be to tell my father exactly what happened, then live through the whole “I told you so” plus whatever bonus lecture he decides to give me. It says something about my relationship with my father when I realize I’d rather face those two men alone than go to him for help.
I’ve just made it to the stairs when the side door to the boathouse swings open, and my heart misfires with the fear that it’s the two men. But it’s Knox who shoves the door to finagle his bike inside.
Once done, he seals the door shut, then runs his fingers through his soaked hair, throwing off the surplus water onto the floor. Every inch of him is drenched.
Delicious and dangerous.
