Again she was marching off in no direction in particular, mumbling under her breath about, “useless fucking men.”
“That one’s gonna be a handful man, you sure you can handle her?” Jag stood beside me, tall and broad, with a smirk on his face.
“I sure as hell hope so since I went and married her.”
It was as good a time as any to start telling people and Jag was my best friend.
“Holy shit, for real?”
“Yeah, but I don’t think it matters. I get this feeling she’s going to run. Rocky is a runner and she hasn’t felt welcome around here so she’s going to run. Scared and pregnant and alone.”
“So make her stay.”
“Just that easy?”
I didn’t believe that for one fucking second. Rocky had been on her own for a long time and I didn’t know if she was capable of leaning on another person, at least not when her life was in danger.
“Yep. If she wants to leave, go with her. If she wants to fight, let her yell and scream and then hug her and kiss her senseless. You might not get Cross to change his mind Lasso, but you have a decision to make, are you going to choose Rocky or listen to Cross?”
Sounded like two terrible fucking options to me but I got Jag’s point loud and clear. “Yeah, thanks man.”
“No problem. You need anything, call me.”
The only thing I needed now was time and space to figure out what the hell I wanted beyond saving Rocky.
Rocky. That’s what I wanted.
But first, we had to keep her alive.
Chapter 19
Rocky
I never should have trusted Lasso to keep his word about leaving the Reckless Bastards compound. Not only was I still there three days later but I was restless as hell and damn sick of the tiny apartment they had us staying in until further notice. I was going crazy and today I would leave this damn property even if it killed me. Lasso was out with a couple of guys checking on their property to make sure nothing had been damaged overnight. This was the perfect time to go.
I slipped a paisley print dress over my head and tucked my feet into canvas shoes. My intention? To look like a girl just out and about, not a woman on the run in case anyone here gave a damn. I was pretty sure they didn’t, but they’d promised Lasso to keep me safe and I suppose that meant something. To them.
To me, it meant my escape would be more difficult, but it didn’t stop me from slinging a patchwork hobo bag over my shoulder and creeping down the metal steps in search of keys. Lasso was on his bike as were everyone but the women lingering around the place. And dammit! I saw at least a dozen sedans in the parking lot. I needed keys.
“Lookin’ for something honey?” The guy had long black hair with a matching moustache that should have made him look creepy, but it didn’t. Those grey eyes made him look like a wolf. A big, sexy, teasing wolf.
“Yeah, uh, dude. I’m looking for a set of car keys.”
“Stitch, not dude. Please never call me dude from those sweet lips. Don’t tell Lasso I said that.” He winked, looking extremely boyish despite his manly appearance.
“Whatever. Keys?”
He shook his head. “No can do, babe. No one leaves without an escort.”
Escort? Sounded exactly like the prison it felt like. I didn’t like this, unable to move freely. It felt too much like my time with Genesis, which was how I got into this mess in the first place. I really needed to start making better decisions before I produced another generation of losers and quitters.
“Thanks for nothing, Stitch.”
“Sorry, those are the rules.”
I didn’t give a damn about rules, especially someone else’s fucking rules designed to keep me in check. I turned on my heels and stalked across the bar or whatever it was with pool tables, dart boards and other bar crap.
I pushed through the front doors, gasping as the sun hit my skin. I hadn’t stepped outside in a few days and the heat felt invigorating and life-affirming after hanging out in the dark apartment for days on end.