Jasper notices immediately. “Are you two together?”
Jinx answers before I can. “We’re still figuring that out.”
I go still, because I recognize what he’s doing. This is his way of standing up for me. He’s lending me some of his trust and status when I have none to offer for myself.
“That’s fine,” Jasper says smoothly. “Your old man’s been a thorn in this club’s side for a couple of years now. Do you have any idea why?”
I shake my head, unsure how to answer that. “My father doesn’t talk about club business with women. But I’ve heard him complain about the Sons of Rage for years.”
“What kind of complaints, petty shit or real beefs?”
“They don’t like how you hoard territory, keep other clubs from opening businesses, and some disagreement from a couple of years ago is still stuck in their craw.” That’s about as honest as I can be because I don’t know much.
Jasper explains, “The Hyenas tore up Jinx’s auto parts store and stole a bunch of expensive equipment a few weeks back. Do you know where they’re keeping our merch?”
“No. I told you, my father doesn’t talk club business around me. They have a clubhouse in an abandoned building in the hills above our house. It could be there, I suppose.”
Jasper gives me a long, hard look. “See, what bothers me is he’s been flyin’ drones over our properties and we shoot them down as soon as they show up. So, they’re wantin’ eyes on our clubhouse and can’t manage it. And suddenly his daughter shows up, asking for sanctuary. Do you see how this might seem like it’s either the best piece of luck I’ve had all year or the worst if you’re a plant?”
“I’m not a plant. I can promise you that,” I tell him.
“That’s for me to decide. I’m the one vested with protectin’ my club. I’m gonna ask some questions and I need you to be honest because that’s the information I’m gonna use to decide if you get protection or if I should just send you back to Coal.”
“That sounds fair, I guess.” It doesn’t really. It sounds like putting me on trial when I’ve done nothing wrong, but it looks like I don’t have a choice. If I want their help, I’m going to have to convince them that I’m not here to snoop.
Jasper leans forward and asks, “So. Why were Coal’s prospects runnin’ you off the road?”
I answer truthfully, “Because I ran away from home,” I say. “My father doesn’t like things he believes belong to him slipping from his grasp. He’s greedy that way.”
“What exactly were you running from?”
“A wedding.” I fling the words back, hearing the disdain in my own voice. “My father decided that I’d make a fine wife for one of his men. He wanted to marry me off to his VP. He’s more than twice my age and has a mean streak a mile wide.” I try to keep my voice calm although I’m screaming the walls down on the inside at the thought of marrying Stripe.
Jinx asks, “Why didn’t you just say no?”
I turn to look at him and shake my head, surprised that he has no idea what it’s like for a woman in an environment like the one I grew up in. “I did,” I admit. “I told him I didn’t want to get married to him.”
“Let me guess,” Jinx says bitterly. “He didn’t give a single fuck about what you wanted, right?”
Taking another sip of my cold water, I respond, “Yeah, that’s about the size of it.”
“So, getting the hell outta there was your only real option, right?”
“Yes, it was. I hoped that he’d forget about the idea, but instead things just got worse. I told my father I needed to go get stuff from the store. I packed my bag and left before the prospects he assigned to escort me arrived. My goal was to make it to the county line. The two prospects he sent after me got to me before I got away.”
Glancing at Jinx, I say, “You know the rest. Jinx saw what was going down. He saved me and brought me here, and now I’m on your doorstep, asking for protection.”
I take another sip of my drink before adding, “If you can’t or won’t do that, then all I ask is that you’ll help me get over the county line. I’m running scared and certainly didn’t come here to spy for my father or start some kind of club war. I just wanted to disappear.”
Jasper studies me for a long moment. “Slate, what do you think?”
One of the men sitting beside him is wearing a property cut that says VP. “I don’t think she’s tellin’ us everything, but I believe that she’s runnin’ from her old man.”
My heart rate picks up when he says that I’m not telling them everything. I’m not. But there’s no way I’m going to tell them I had to run because I found out I was pregnant. Instead Isay, “Are you some kind of mind reader? If so, it’s a good thing I’m not lying to you.”
“No,” Slate responds dryly. “I don’t think you’re lyin’ to us about anything important to the safety of our club. I’m not in the habit of punishin’ a woman for doing what she needs to do in order to survive in a terrible situation. Your old man sounds like an overbearing prick. I’m sure lying is a survival skill in his world.”
Jasper looks me in the eye. “I think that’s more than fair. I wanted to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth and not just from Jinx. Okay. You can stay. You walked in of your own free will. That means you can walk out the same way, you’re not our prisoner.”
