Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Chapter Six
Rancor
The old Harley’s carburetor currently lay in several pieces on my workbench. My work light over the table cast long shadows across the concrete floor. I didn’t need much light because there was no way I’d get much done on this thing. All I could concentrate on was Cora.
Three days since I’d seen her. Three days since she’d left with that fucking sage plant and an honest-to-God real-ass smile. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, real warmth spread through me like a spring thaw.
I’d texted her once, just to make sure she got home safe. She’d responded with a photo of the sage sitting in her kitchen window. Not much, but I didn’t like to talk much. Texting always proved to be a special kind of hell for me, but I’d do it for her.
My phone sat dark on the workbench beside me. Cora usually texted before she brought something. We had a scheduled delivery today sometime around three, but I hadn’t heard from her. I was trying to wean myself from the phone, but knowing I would see her soon had me wound as tight as a teenager going on his first date. I didn’t like that I couldn’t control myself with regard to Cora.
The door to my workshop slid open, spilling brighter light across my workbench. I didn’t look up, knowing one of my brothers likely came to check on me. “You see what time it is?” Knight asked, his voice pitched low despite us being alone.
I kept my eyes on my work. “Nope.” To be honest, I took pride in the fact I hadn’t looked at my phone since I’d started on this thing after lunch.
“Didn’t the old ladies do a grocery order for today?”
That made me look up. Knight stood in the doorway, his tattooed face serious in the half-light, his colored-in eyes impossible to read. But I knew the set of his shoulders, the way his fingers tapped against his thigh. He wasn’t upset exactly. Disconcerted seemed like a better description. Maybe even worried.
“Scheduled for three,” I said, setting down the part I’d been cleaning. “She’s late? What time is it?” I reached for my phone and glanced at the screen. “Four seventeen,” I muttered. “Fuck.” I unlocked the screen and checked my messages. Nothing.
“That’s not all either. Been some strange cars circling the compound today. Non-club. Non-cop, but moving with purpose.”
I wiped my hands on a rag, trying to hold back the sudden surge of unease. “What kind of purpose?”
“The kind that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.” Knight stepped fully into the workshop, letting the door close behind him. “I’ve spotted the same sedan three times, different drivers. And a van that’s made two passes.”
I stood, rolling my shoulders to release the sudden tension. And the very real worry something was wrong with Cora.
“She text you?” Knight asked, watching me carefully.
I shook my head. “No.”
“That normal?”
“Not really.”
“She’s not picked up the girls’ order, according to the app. And, of course, no one else will get it.” I quickly brought her name up on my phone and called her, not taking my gaze from Knight’s. “Straight to voicemail.”
Knight’s jaw tightened. “There’s something else. Tiny saw a police cruiser following a vehicle that matched Cora’s description about two hours ago. Heading east on River Road.”
I stared at the dismantled carburetor for a long moment, needing to think and not react. Everything primitive inside me wanted to take off at a dead run, find Cora, and annihilate anything threatening her.
“Do you think it’s possible she’s working with the police, Rancor?” Knight asked in a quiet voice. “She doesn’t strike me as the type, but…”
I shook my head. “Can’t deny it’s Goddamned convenient,” I whispered. The pain slicing through my chest at the thought of Cora betraying me nearly brought me to my knees. “Cora started coming here after we were basically blackballed from a fuckin’ delivery app. But why?”
“Since when do the police need a reason to keep close tabs on a compound full of ex-convicts?” Knight wasn’t given to snark, but even I could admit that was a stupid question.
“Get eyes on River Road,” I said, my voice steady despite the pressure building in my chest. “Check the route between here and her apartment. Call Knuckles.”
Knight nodded, already pulling out his phone. “What are you thinking?”
“Thinking someone’s taking an interest in our delivery girl.” I reached for my cut, the leather vest heavy with the weight of patches and memories. “And I don’t like coincidences.”
“You know this is about. Don’t you?” My gaze snapped to Knight’s. He’d been able to read me like a book since the day we’d met. Only this time, I hadn’t even acknowledged to myself I knew what was going on.
“Maybe. Can you get a look at whoever is in those vehicles?”