"Well, you're word is going to get you killed."
"Fine then! At least it will be my choice!" With a growl of anger she spun on her heal, barely stopping to throw the words at Joel. "I'll do it." And then she was shoving open the office door and moment later had disappeared outside.
Honey looked hopelessly around the small room but only silence greeted him before he to turned to follow after her but he'd taken barely a step before a slight but strong hand pressed to his chest stopped him.
"Sugar, just give her a minute, okay?" Hot Wheels looked at him, understanding and sympathy shining in her pale green eyes and it was almost his undoing but he took a deep breath, and then leaned back a little. Maybe Hot Wheels was right. Maybe he should calm down a little before storming after her. The others were huddled together, hashing out the details of the plan, he assumed. The knowledge was a bitter pill to swallow and he looked away quickly.
"You really care about this girl, don't you?" Hot Wheels asked, drawing his attention back down towards her. She was looking at him with her head tilted to one side, a sharp look in her eyes now. Honey shrugged.
"I love her." He answered simply and those pale green eyes widened before nodding slowly.
"I thought so." Hot Wheels grinned up at him, "I knew from the very first time that I saw you two together that that girl had you wrapped around her little finger. And damned if she didn't want you there, despite all her protests. She's different, Honey," She said, her voice suddenly growing serious, "But that doesn't make her weak. She's about as strong a woman as I've ever met, and I've met my fair share. You didn't see, but when she went up against Scorpion, she didn't even flinch."
Hot Wheels shook her head, looking inward for a moment before glancing up at him again, "Just, let me talk to her, okay? You stay in here and make sure they're not planning anything too crazy for her, alright?"
After a long moment, Honey finally nodded, that weight still crushing him but he knew he could do more good for Elle in here than he could running all over the farm chasing after her. He had a feeling she wouldn't exactly welcome him with open arms just then anyways.
"Just … Just tell her to be careful, okay?" He forced out the words and they sounded hoarse even to his own ears, but Hot Wheels just nodded solemnly before turning and leaving in the direction that Elle had went. He stared at the spot for a long time, lost in his own thoughts before finally jerking himself back to the present and walking over to where Joel and Carla, Tucker and Sparkplug were make the plan.
***
Elle didn't know where she was going, she only knew that she had to get as far away from that office as she could. It had felt like the walls had been closing in on her. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think. Claustrophobia had hit her like a baseball bat to the solar plexus and all she'd been able to was run away. Escape.
The moment she was out the doors she already regretted her decision to go through with Joel's insane plan. And it was insane, there was no doubt about that. Did he really think that she could pull this off? Make them believe that she's some hardcore biker? She'd never even ridden on a motorcycle in her life.
She shook her head as she leaned against the side of the greenhouse, well out of sight of the office and slowly slid down to sit on the cooler that they used as a bench when it wasn't in use elsewhere. Sometimes the farm seemed so peaceful, so quiet. Even after what had happened there yesterday with that thug Scorpion, it still had the power to calm her. Elle didn't know if it was the open air or the acres of land that stretched for miles out ahead of her but it did.
Elle chuckled to herself. Who would have thought that Elle Watson would ever feel at peace at a marijuana farm? It was proof, to her at least, of just how far she'd come in the past year, and it made the mission ahead of her seem just a little bit less terrifying. A very little bit.
That's where Hot Wheels found her a few minutes later. Elle was still sitting there, her eyes closed as she just breathed in the fresh air, marveling at the wonder of the moment, trying desperately not to think about what she'd just gotten herself into.
"Hey, sugar. That seat taken?" She asked, pointing to the right side of the cooler and Elle shook her head, scooting over a little bit to make room for the other woman.
"Are you here to talk me out of it too?" Elle asked after Hot Wheels was silent for too long. But she just shook her head, her white blond bob shaking with the movement.
"Hell no. I'm not going tell you what to do. I meant what I said. This is your choice and you have the right to make it. But I did want to tell you something."
"What?" Elle looked over at her curiously.
"Just that, well, just don't be too hard on Honey." Hot Wheels shrugged as she spoke, "He's scared out of what little wits he had to begin with because the woman he loves is putting herself in danger. He's wrong, but he's doing it because … well, because he loves you too much not to say anything. He wants to keep you safe. That's all."
"How do you know?"
"How do I know what?"
"How do you know," Elle swallowed hard, "that he loves me? Did he tell you?"
"Oh that?" Hot Wheels snorted, waving her hand in the air as if to wave away a ridiculous question, "Yes, he did. But I knew long before he said the words. I told you, remember? That you have the power to hurt him. Well, when you love someone, that power goes both ways. Just try to remember that he's only doing it because he cares about you, he's not just trying to be a complete asshole."
"Oh." Elle said, knowing that her reply wasn't particularly loquacious, but also not knowing what else in the world to say to Hot Wheels insights.
"Come on," Hot Wheels said, rising to her feet and holding out a hand for Elle to take. "They're figuring out the details of the plan, and we've got other work to do. Let's go turn you into a bad ass biker chic."
Elle snorted out a laugh, the first humor she'd felt since the attack yesterday and shaking her head, followed the other woman, trying to not to think too hard about what, exactly, Hot Wheels had planned for her.
Chapter 26
It had taken Elle an inordinately long time to pull on the skin tight leather pants that Hot Wheels had loaned her and now that she had the entire outfit on she couldn't help but feel … exposed. She took a minute to inventory everything. Besides the black leather pants that clung to the curves of her legs she was wearing a dark gray tank top.
At least, she was pretty sure it was a tank top. The sides of the armholes were ripped so low that the opening reached her bottom rib and the black lace bra that Hot Wheels had tossed at her was plainly visible from the side. The outfit was finished with a pair of surprisingly lightweight black boots and fingerless gloves that sat snuggly at her wrist. All in all, she felt utterly, completely ridiculous.
Not for the first time, Elle wished there was a mirror, but she had been pushed into the broom closet turned dressing room to get changed after Hot Wheels had done her makeup and teased her hair and hadn't had time to sneak to the bathroom upstairs to see if she looked as big of a fool as she felt.
Who was she kidding, she couldn't do this. She couldn't make anyone honestly believe that she was a biker. But she also knew that this was their only chance to stop the Nomads before someone got hurt, and she wasn't about to let that happen, not if there was even the slimmest chance of her being able to stop it.
"Sugar are you gonna come out here anytime soon? We kind of got things to do. Places to be. Leaders of biker gangs to fool." Hot Wheels voice was muffled by the heavy closet door but not enough to stop them from reaching her, and making her feel like a coward on top of everything. Here she was, cowering in the closet when they were all out there figuring out the plan, figuring out how to save the farm.
Come on, Elle. You can do this. You can be brave this once. The words were enough to have her hand moving, reaching for the door knob and twisting, pulling it open. But her feet were stuck in the doorway and she couldn't take another step.
"Elle, are you coming out or – Well, damn girl!" Hot Wheels said as she turned around, drawing out the word in a way that had Elle shifting uncomfortably once more. "Come all the way out so I can get a good look at you."
Hot Wheels waved her out but she still didn't budge.
"Don't worry, we're in the back and the door is closed. Nobody else is gonna see you right now except little old me." Hot Wheels said, then rolled her eyes, reaching forward until she grasped Elle's wrist and physically tugging her until she was standing in the middle of the back room, which had been converted into extra storage.