“Listen up,” Erik said. “Kaity saw the plates. We can track the car down.”
“What did you say?” Miller asked as he pushed by Nate and Jace.
Gaige was right behind him, a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
“You heard me,” Erik said.
Kaity looked at the group of bikers coming at her. Miller grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. She tried to move back, but Erik was right there, keeping her close.
“You better not be messing around,” Miller said.
“I swear I’m not,” Kaity said. “I wouldn’t lie. I saw it.”
“How clear?” Gaige asked.
“Give me pen and paper,” Kaity said.
Miller looked to Erik. “You trust this one?”
“She took a bullet for me yesterday,” Erik said.
“Where?”
“The leg.”
Miller looked back down at Kaity. “How’s your leg today?”
“Sore,” Kaity said.
“I bet Erik took good care of you,” Gaige said, smiling.
“He fucking better have,” Blaine called out. “She denied me last night.”
The small group all hooted and whistled.
“Get pen and paper,” Miller said. He looked hard at Kaity. “I’m going to give this number to the police. If it doesn’t track down the car that came here this morning, you’re not going to have a good day. Understand?”
Kaity nodded. “Yes.”
“You’re that confident that you know the number?”
“I’ll wager my life,” Kaity said.
Miller smiled. “You already did.”
Miller walked away and Kaity turned. She was shaking with fear. Erik looked at her and gritted his teeth.
I’m not the bad guy… please…
Erik touched her arms for a second and then nodded. “Go write.”
Kaity turned and walked to the table. She saw the severed finger again and gagged. Erik moved to her right side and turned, blocking her view of the finger.
“Write it down.” Gaige tossed a pen and paper to the table.
Kaity closed her eyes and pictured the car again. Her lips moved. She thought of the sentence her mind instantly created when she looked at the car. A few seconds later she opened her eyes, wrote down what she had seen on the license plate, and then lifted it to Miller. He tore it from her hands and said it out loud. Kaity’s finger sizzled with pain from a paper cut thanks to Miller being so aggressive. She wanted to ask why he was so angry. It wasn’t his finger, right?
“You’re sure about this?” Miller asked.
“Positive,” she said. “I wouldn’t lie. I’m just trying to help.”
“Save the help bullshit,” Miller said. He turned and asked, “Where’s Griffin?”
“Inside,” Gaige said.
“I want a meeting with Griffin and Gaige. We’re calling Chief Jerry and figuring this out.”
“What about the rest of us?” Blaine asked.
Miller jumped up on the table. It moaned under his weight. He reached down and grabbed the finger. “The rest of you get something to eat and drink. Be ready for the call when it comes. This shit has to stop.”
“I’ll take the finger,” Blaine said. “Keep it safe.”
“He’ll stick it up his ass,” Jace said.
Everyone started to laugh, including Miller. He tossed the finger in the air. Blaine got under it and caught the finger in one hand. It, again, made Kaity feel sick.
Erik took Kaity by the hand. “Let’s go back inside. We need to talk.”
To talk.
Kaity wondered what that meant. Maybe they’d go right back to the bedroom and pick up where they left off again.
Inside, the clubhouse was filled with the smell of food. A small kitchen behind the bar bustled as two men wearing white aprons and ball caps on backwards cooked with music blasting.
“Go to the room, I’ll be in with food,” Erik said.
His voice was suddenly soft. Perhaps he regretted how he spoke and acted.
Yeah, right.
Kaity went back to the bedroom and found herself standing at the edge of the bed. The sheets were a mess. Kaity wasn’t even sure what had happened between them. It wasn’t sex as much as it was fucking. Even still, even if Erik simply used her, it was still damn amazing.
Erik came to the bedroom with two plates of food and orange juice. He put a plate down on the nightstand and nodded to it.
“Eat.”
Kaity took the plate and tried her best not to think about the severed finger. She nibbled on some bacon, trying to hide her disgust.
“It’s time we be a little honest with each other,” Erik said. “You give me some information and I give you some.”
“Okay. What do you want to know about me?”