Blood & Bones - Dodge (Blood Fury MC 10)

He didn’t explain the reasoning behind it and she decided not to ask. But now, he pulled out a tin and a lighter from an inner pocket, popped it open and tucked what looked like a joint between his lips.

He rolled down the window a crack and lit it.

Immediately she knew it wasn’t pot, but tobacco. He turned his head away from her only for the seconds it took to blow the smoke out of the narrow opening. His dark brown eyes scanned the field, then came back to her.

“Later, gonna get one of the… uh… girls to bring out another box of food.”

“Girls?” Why did he hesitate like that?

“Yeah, like Angel did. Got a meetin’ in The Barn tonight. After that, if you guys wanna grab hot food at Pete’s, I can fit two of you in my truck. Can get Possum or Tater to bring you back here after you eat. Yeah?”

“Possum or Tater?” she repeated.

“You met Possum last night. Tater’s another prospect. They live here in the bunkhouse, so whoever’s comin’ back here first will haul your asses back. Sound good?”

It sounded fucking awesome and she wanted to once again ask why he was going out of his way to help them. It didn’t make sense that he was doing all of this just because he was simply “interested.” Especially since, so far, he had kept his hands to himself or hadn’t used his helping them as blackmail to get something more than she was willing to give.

“What about the other two?”

He took a long drag off his cigarette and blew it out of the crack again. Some of the smoke got trapped inside and swirled around them like a mystical cloud. He rested his hand holding the lit hand-rolled cigarette on the top of the truck’s steering wheel, then his rich baritone voice filled the cab again. “Can find someone at the meetin’ to bring them over to the bar since everybody’s gonna be there. Shade or Ozzy maybe since they don’t live here on site.”

The last part he said more to himself than her since she had no idea who she was talking about anyway.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bus approaching.

“Stay in the truck and stay warm while they get shit hooked up. Gonna go show them where to park.”

Within seconds she was once again alone with the heat still blasting.

She chewed on her bottom lip and watched him direct Eddie where to park. The dark-haired man with the dark eyes and the deliciously rich voice then stood there with his hands on his narrow hips as he supervised her bandmates while they worked to get everything hooked up.

She didn’t follow his order and wait for him to return this time. Instead, she climbed out of the truck and headed over to where they’d be parked for the next couple of nights.

When she joined them, there were two things she couldn’t ignore. The smiles on the guys’ faces because they knew they wouldn’t be cold or hungry tonight and…

Dodge.

After a few more seconds, he grumbled, “Will come get you later.” With a departing chin lift, he was gone.

Watching his truck head back out the same way they drove in, she suddenly felt a sense of loss and really fucking alone.

And that was just plain crazy.

“Just wanna throw a few words out there about what’s goin’ on up on Hillbilly Hill. Thought about just sendin’ a group text but since we suspended club runs for the season—unless there’s a freak day where we get lucky and it’s warm enough—we ain’t all in one spot often. I get we all got busy lives and our families are growin’, but we need to remain connected and informed. Long story short, this is why I called a meetin’.” Trip stood on the crate he normally used during church so he could be seen and heard.

Also like normal, Sig stood on the ground to his right, Judge to the left. Jury, Judge’s American Bulldog, sat on her haunches and leaned into the Grumpy Green Giant’s leg as the enforcer rubbed her ears.

From where Dodge propped himself against one of the pool tables, he could see the dog’s eyelids drooping heavily and figured she might be half-asleep. Since he heard no ferocious, ear-piercing yapping, Rook must not have Cujo with him tonight. Normally the little shit tried to take on both Jury and Justice, Deke’s bully, like he could kick their asses.

He couldn’t.

But the little asshole would die trying.

“So yeah, even though the shitty weather’s finally here, those motherfuckers seem to be preparin’ to settle back on that mountain. Scar, Bones and Castle are still takin’ turns headin’ up there to keep an eye on how things are progressin’. Just wanna make everyone aware to keep your sight balls and listenin’ flaps open.”