“You don’t have to worry about us,” Tanner said. “We’re just fine.”
“Why does hearing you say that not comfort me at all?” I asked.
“Probably because you know more about biker life than you care to admit,” he said.
I let out a breath. “Yes, I do. I know that shit like this doesn’t just go away until it’s dealt with.”
“Yep. I promise you though, Emma, none of us are hurt. But I can’t talk anymore. One of us will call you when we’ve got everything squared away, okay, beautiful?”
“Okay,” I said.
“Now, you get some rest. You sound tired. We’ll talk when we can.”
Tanner hung up the phone before I could say another word. If I expected that phone call to abate my worries, it hadn’t done anything to help. There was something very, very wrong with what was going on. Shootouts weren’t a regular occurrence, even in the biker world. Shit really had to be bad, and someone really needed to be pissed off for an entire crew to roll up on someone and have at it. My stomach rolled with nerves as I buried myself underneath the covers and pulled them over my head. I blocked out the sounds of my mother getting hers as I closed my eyes, allowing silent tears to roll down my cheeks.
I loved this life with everything I had, but sometimes, it fucking sucked.
CHAPTER 17
I woke up to the sound of a car horn blaring in my driveway. I heard my phone vibrating on my nightstand, adding to the noise that was already banging around in my head. My skull was pounding, and my eyes were puffy from crying myself to sleep. I prayed it was one of the brothers as I looked at the phone, but figured Lindy was a close second to who I needed to talk to.
Maybe she had heard something else about the shootout.
“Are you the one blaring your car horn in my driveway?” I asked.
“Yes. Get the fuck up. Today’s the day,” she said.
“Today’s what day?” I asked.
“The owner of the warehouse is back in town. We need to get over to the realtor’s office. He’s signing shit today!”
I shot out of bed like a bolt of lightning and started throwing clothes on.
“Give me fifteen minutes to get out there,” I said.
“Thirteen and I start blasting the horn again,” Lindy said.
“And if it wakes my mother, you get to deal with her.”
“Deal.”
I splashed some water on my face and threw my hair into a bun. I brushed my teeth and pulled on the first pair of jeans I found on my floor. Holy fuck, it was happening. Today was the first day of the rest of my fucking life. I grabbed my sunglasses and leaped down the stairs, holding onto my cell phone as I searched for my purse.
I grabbed everything I could and rushed out of the house toward Lindy’s car.
“Eleven minutes. A new record,” she said, handing me my coffee.
“Bless you. Now, let’s move. I’m ready to get out of this fucking house,” I said.
“Let’s go.” Lindy put the pedal to the metal and buzzed us across town. We ran yellow lights and red arrows trying to get
there as fast as we could. We chugged down our coffee and tried to put on a bit of makeup to look decent as we pulled in to the realtor’s office. Then we took a moment to collect ourselves.
We took a few deep breaths before we stepped out of the car. Even though we were frantic and ready to do this, we had to present a calm, united front. This deal wasn’t done yet, and we were two very young women. Anyone could try to step up and take advantage of us, so we needed to show that our heads were in the game.
Even though we were screaming like two drunken frat girls on the inside.
“There you two are! Mr. Castle, meet Emma and Lindy. These are the two women purchasing the building from you.”