Beard Up(23)

-Mina's secret thoughts

Mina

"Silas, I can't just up and leave again. I just got my job back … " I hesitated.

I really, really wanted to leave, though. I'd leave right this minute if I could. If I had won the lottery, and it allowed me to pack up and get the hell out of here, I'd do it in a freakin' heartbeat.

"You're being harassed by a man," the phone went off on the counter again, and I ignored it. Silas didn't however. He picked it up and placed it to his ear without even pausing to see if it was okay.

"Yeah?" he snapped.

My lips twitched.

I loved Silas. He'd taken such good care of Sienna and I. Even Tunnel when he'd been alive.

Now he was like a grandfather to my daughter, and I didn't want to leave this place. But I also didn't want to deal with Josh's freaky self, either.

Ever since the ballgame, things had gone from bad to worse between Josh and me.

It'd gone from scary, to downright terrifying, and I was beyond relieved that Silas knew about it. Though, I expected that had a lot to do with the fact that his son and wife were on our porch the night that Josh had dropped me off.

When I'd refused to give Josh a kiss, Sebastian had not only seen it, but he'd also stepped in to stop it when I tried to pull away after Josh hadn't taken no for an answer.

Josh had pulled out in a huff, and Sebastian had given me a long, meaningful look, which told me everything he thought about Josh but had left without giving me the lecture.

But then Silas had shown up the next day, demanding answers, and now he was telling me that I was moving all the way to Mooresville, Alabama where another chapter of the Dixie Wardens were located.

I'd heard of them, of course.

The president of that chapter had died because he'd been shot by a gang banger.

It'd been big news everywhere because he was a law enforcement officer, but in our small town-where the majority of people were either members of the Dixie Wardens MC, married to a club member or were family members of a club member, it'd been huge news.

The Dixie Wardens were a tight-knit group of bikers, and it didn't matter that this man had been the president of another Dixie Wardens' chapter. If you were wearing the Dixie Wardens patch, then you were family regardless of where you called home.

And if something happened to family, then all of the Dixie Wardens were there trying to help out in any way that they could.

The six days that our club-no, Tunnel's club- had been in Mooresville, Alabama for the funeral had left Benton, Louisiana feeling like a ghost town.

I'd been asked if I wanted to go, of course, but since I was working, I had Sienna and everyone else was leaving, it didn't make sense for me to leave. I wasn't a really part of the club … not anymore.


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My husband had been, but I was just someone that they watched over at this point.

Like now.

Silas was speaking quietly on the phone, his voice a low rumble of sounds that sent shivers down my back. He was protecting me, just like he'd been doing since the day that Tunnel left this Earth.

"No," Silas barked. "This is the end of the line for you. You either leave now, or you get ready to receive the ass-whoopin' of a lifetime. I will personally dish that punishment out if you don't leave her alone."

My eyes closed.

That wouldn't work. Josh was relentless. I knew that now, better than anyone, after the last week of his constant calls, unannounced visits and insistence that I do whatever he wanted.

The one thing I could say was that at least he hadn't forced me to have sex with him.

I'd thought it was going to happen last night, but something had happened outside and Josh had left instead. I locked the door and then huddled in my house the rest of the night, scared to death that he would be coming back to finish what he'd started.

But he hadn't. And now Silas was telling me that I was leaving.

With a startling realization, I knew that I wanted to go.

Maybe getting away from this place-permanently-would be enough.

He hadn't followed me to Uncertain like I thought he would. Maybe that was the trick. Get far enough away that the thought of pursuing me would be too much of a bother.

Silas hung up the phone and handed it back to me.

"You'll get that changed once you get there," he ordered me. "There's a house set up for you. The old ladies of that chapter have banded together and have already set up everything that Sienna will ever need in one of the bedrooms. You'll only need to bring your clothes. There's a job waiting for you at the hospital there, as well as the clinic in case you would rather work there instead."