Page 51 of StoryTeller's Tale

I take the tablet again, and this time with that key, am able to confirm. My blood heats as I recognise him. “So?” He’s miles from here. By the time I was mounted up and riding, the chances are he’d be miles away. Anyway, Chaz had said, we weren’t to go hunting. Now if I were still a nomad, I could take off if I want. But I’m not.

Legend widens his eyes. “You forgotten so quickly, Bro? Austin is where Sheri Secord comes from. It’s her fuckin’ hometown.”

I still. That puts a different complexion on things. “You think—”

He cuts me off. “I think he can’t get to you, so he’s going after her. He would if he believed she was your ol’ lady.”

Pinching the brow of my nose, I grimace. “Austin’s a fuckin’ big place.” It’s a bit of a stretch to think he’s just cruising around looking for her. And that’s if it’s even his intention.

Legend shrugs. “I found her, Bro. We might not think much of the Dominators, but they’ve got experts who can work with info just as well as I can.”

Jesus.He’s right. Or at least, I’d be wrong to dismiss the possibility. If Knuckles is still looking for me, then locating the woman he thinks is mine would certainly get my attention if she really were my old lady. Turning, I start to pace, the thought of Kelly coming into my mind, or the girl who slit her wrists even knowing rescue was imminent, what happened to them being so awful they’d preferred to have died. If Knuckles takes Sheri for a second time, he’s not going to hold back. Something warns me if he can’t use her to get to me, he’ll make her wish she was dead.

My hands clench as I realise I’ve no option. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to her. And if Knuckles is planning to get my attention, I could turn the tables on him, and put a bullet in his head.

“I’m going to Texas,” I tell Legend.

He half smiles. “Thought you might. Think you ought to clear it with Prez first though.”

I should. Unlike when I was a nomad and could make decisions for myself, I now have to get permission. Not for the first time, I resent having the charter rocker on my cut.

“Oh, and ST?” Halfway out the door, I swing around. “I’ve got Sheri’s home address, but not much else. Don’t know her phone number to track her.”

I raise my chin. Sure, that’s a start, and hopefully closer than Knuckles has got. The thought I might already be too late spurs me to move faster.

As I approach Prez’s office, my gut rolls as questions I didn’t ask Legend start revolving in my head. Like, how long has Knuckles been in Texas, could he have already found her? And what will I do if Chaz doesn’t sanction me leaving at this time?

I knock at the door. After getting no response, I spy Bull and ask him if he knows where Prez is, getting the answer he’s outside. I find him with his head stuck under the hood of his precious car.

Clearing my throat, I try to get his attention.

Seeing I’m there, he swings around. As I open my mouth, he holds up his hand. “Legend told me you’d be coming.”

Well, Legend hadn’t told me that. “He tell you why?”

Chaz dips his chin. Closing the hood, he leans up against the Mustang and folds his arms. “It’s been two months, ST. Can’t believe you’re still strung up on the girl. And Knuckles being in Austin might be a coincidence.”

As his eyes bore into me intently, I scramble to get my thoughts into some kind of order. Shrugging, I try to brush off my interest. “Don’t want Knuckles to get his fuckin’ hands on any of the women again. I’m worried he might be targeting her.”

Equally offhandedly, Chaz responds, “If she’s fool enough to let herself be taken for a second time, then that’s on her head. That’s if, she means nothing to you, ST.” Suddenly he swings around, his laser sharp eyes piercing into me.

My mouth opens and shuts. The lie that Sheri means no more than any other bitch I’ve ever been with can’t escape through my teeth. Even knowing Chaz will take advantage and mock the hell out of me, I decide to tell him the truth.

“She got to me.” Placing my hand over my heart, I show him how. “Fuck knows why. I know nothing about her.” Shaking my head, I let him know how much even I don’t understand it.

“You fell for a woman once before, ST.” He frowns. “And what a shitstorm that was. Cost us a brother and sent you out on the road.”

Chastised, I look down at my feet. “Fi betrayed me just as much as Custer.”

“Yeah, she did.” He brushes back his hair from his face. “But whether she encouraged him or not, Custer shouldn’t have gone there. That’s why I had your back.” He sighs heavily. “Don’t want you bringing another bitch in to cause trouble.”

“Sheri won’t,” I tell him fast. “She’s not like that.”

He raises a brow and scoffs. “You only knew her for five minutes.”

“Yeah.” I snort. “And what a five minutes they were. She had my back, Prez. She was willing to take a bullet for me.”

“But she didn’t choose you. She stayed with the rest of the bitches.” Again, his hand brushes over his temples. “I was fuckin’ there, ST. I heard you offer to have her on the back of your bike.”

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