Page 102 of Back in the Saddle

“For sure,” Harlow said.

“It’s on me,” I said.

“Then, yeah,” Jinx said.

I knew the girls would keep their ears to the ground even if we didn’t buy them lunch.

But everyone needed to keep up appearances.

This was their version of that.

No skin off our noses.

In the end, it was Arthur who’d pick up the tab.

We’d learned he was good at reimbursement.

* * *

I’d been thereenough times, I knew before we even stopped at the camp, shit was not right.

What I hoped was that it didn’t have anything to do with the line of shiny black Denalis at the curb.

Or, more precisely, the work vehicles of the NI&S team.

We got out of the Sportage and immediately heard shouted, “Help! Help! They’re kidnapping me! Help!”

Thus, we all, as a unit, reached back into the car to nab our Tasers.

And then we all, as a unit, raced into the encampment.

Last, we all, as a unit, skidded to a halt when we got to the screaming old lady who was surrounded by a semi-circle of hot guys standing with feet planted and hands on their hips.

Eric, Cap and Knox had been joined by Mace, Roam, Gabe, Liam and Brady.

The whole Phoenix crew vs. one old lady.

Overkill, but even so, it looked like the old lady, huddled on top of a milk crate, clutching a scrawny tiger cat who had to be a hundred years old, was winning.

Homer and a bevy of other men from the camp had fanned out behind the lady.

A lady I assumed was Mary.

I pushed through the guys and demanded, “What’s going on here?”

Homer and all his buds looked at my Taser.

Mary pointed a bony finger at Mace and shouted, “He’s trying to kidnap me!”

I turned to Mace, who actually wasn’t very near Mary, and I processed the hit his extreme good looks dealt me (I had practice with this, I’d been doing it with all of them for months—as such, at that juncture, I knew not to take them all in at once, or I might not be able to function for days).

Having Mace’s attention, I asked, “What’s happening?”

“We’ve explained to her three times that we have temporary accommodation sorted for her until we can find something permanent,” Mace explained.

“I’m not getting in a car with a stranger, I don’t care how good looking he is,” the lady declared. I turned to her, and she finished, “I know what happens after that.”

She drew a line across her neck.

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