st. Surprised, I looked up at the man. He was one of Seller’s men who had been added right after the first attack on Shane and Harper’s bus. I had talked to the guy several times and had even liked him. He hadn’t told me his name, but then again none of them really did that.
“Is this what you want to do, Miss Bolton?”
I felt the tension radiating off of Jet before I felt his heat. He stepped behind me, whether to intimidate me or the guard, I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t risk a fight breaking out. It would wake Emmie and Nik and who knew who else from the buses parked nearby. “Yes, I’m sure. Take care of them for me.” I gave him a smile and carefully pulled my wrist free before turning to Jet.
His face was full of that scary menace that he used when one of his MC brothers had pissed him off. That look was deadly. I put a hand to Jet’s chest and his face softened slightly. His pale, olive-jade eyes lowered to my face and he took the bag that I’d packed. “Ready?”
“Yeah,” I murmured and he gently clasped my hand in his as he led me away from the buses.
Reaching his bike, the same one I remembered riding on the back of over the years, he strapped my bag to the back and then offered me a helmet. I flinched when I saw my name on the inside of it. Jet had given me this helmet when I was seventeen, before he’d put me on the back of his hog for the first time and driven me to school.
Putting the helmet on, I watched as Jet straddled the powerful piece of machinery and put his own helmet on. Once it was in place, he turned to me and offered his hand. I ignored the zing of electricity that zapped from my palm up my arm and straight to that deep, dark place that only this man had ever touched.
Climbing onto the back of Jet’s bike brought back so many memories that it took me a few seconds to get hold of my emotions before I wrapped my arms around his waist. Only then did he start the Harley. I felt the rumble of the bike all the way to my core and instinctively tightened my hold on Jet.
Damn it, why did this feel so good? I was pissed and hurting from having to leave my newfound family. This monstrous man and his sexy-as-hell bike shouldn’t have been able to turn me on so readily.
Jet’s hands covered mine for a moment, his thumb caressing over my knuckles before I felt him blow out a hard breath. He shook his head and seconds later we were on the road heading toward Creswell Springs.
The drive back to the home I’d left more than a year before took less than two hours and by the time he pulled to a stop in the Hannigan siblings’ driveway, my legs were killing me. It had been too long since I’d been on a bike and the ride had been torturous.
As I took my time climbing off the back of the bike, I noticed that most of the lights were off in the huge house. The light over the kitchen entrance was on and the living room light as well, but that was it.
My feet were finally firmly on the ground, but when I took the first step toward the house my body protested and I couldn’t hold back the agonized groan that left me. Jet’s strong arms caught me around the waist when I would have stumbled.
“Easy there, babe.”
I shot him a glare. “Leave me alone,” I snapped as I jerked away from his touch, not caring that it made my body throb in protest of the quick movement. I glanced around the driveway, wondering who would take me home. Jet should have just dropped me off at my mother’s place on the way over, but I guess he wanted me to see Raven first.
“Hawk’s home?” I recognized the other bikes and realized that all the Hannigan boys were home. “Who’s closing the bar tonight?”
“The bar’s closed this week,” he told me with a shrug. “The new plumbing is acting up and that stupid plumber Uncle Chaz hired on has to redo the pipes in the men’s room.”
“Oh,” was all I could say to that.
Dread filled my chest as I glanced back at the house. I wasn’t looking forward to facing them. Sure I’d wanted to talk to Raven earlier that night, had been so desperate to hear my best friend’s voice that I’d actually called her, but talking to her on the other side of a phone was a hell of a lot different than coming face to face with her.
Hawk was the one I dreaded seeing the most, though. He hadn’t been too happy the one time I’d called him. He’d known what me asking that of him could mean, that if his brother agreed to my favor Jet could be risking the rest of his life—his freedom. Hawk had been so good to me after I’d lost the baby. We’d gotten closer than we’d ever been in the past, but I wasn’t delusional enough to think he had forgiven me for putting Jet at risk like I had.
“Are you hungry?” Jet asked as he opened the back door and held it for me, letting me go into the kitchen first.
“No.” My stomach was a nervous mess. I couldn’t have eaten if I’d wanted to.
“You must be thirsty. I should’ve stopped to get you something.” It was like Jet was talking to himself rather than me. He shook his head and opened the fridge. Pulling out a bottle of water, he opened it and handed it to me. “Here, babe.”
I took the water and swallowed a small sip under his watchful eye before handing it back since he still held the lid. “Thanks,” I muttered.
“Come on. I’m sure the guys are waiting up for us.” He caught hold of my hand again and held it carefully in his much bigger one as he tugged me toward the living room.
I heard the television and then a soft giggle, followed by the unmistakable deep laugh of Hawk Hannigan. Two other deep chuckles joined in.
“I call bullshit,” Colt Hannigan grumbled.
“Me too,” Raven agreed. “This shit is fucked up. I hate these paranormal activity shows.”
“Scaredy-cat,” Raider teased. “Hey! Don’t waste the popcorn.”
I stopped when I saw them all sitting on the couch and watching television. It seemed so natural, the way they were all sitting around, eating popcorn and teasing each other. No one would have known that this was a rare thing for the Hannigan siblings. They had never done this kind of thing in the past, anyway.