Page 17 of Brick's Redemption

“Ginny with you? Right now?”

I didn’t like the urgency in his tone. “Yeah.”

“Good. Got Dagger watchin’ the road.”

“What the fuck’s happening, Judge?” Sometimes, I slipped and called him by his road name. We’d known one another since we were kids, and old habits died hard, even harder when you rode on two wheels and your life belonged to the patch on your back.

“Crimson Skulls in the area. We picked them up on camera around town. They keep circlin’ like they know somethin’.”

“Or someone,” I guessed. “More like lookin’ for three specific people.” Me, Dagger, and Ginny.

How the fuck did they find us? At the very least, they knew what area to watch.

“It’s too fucking close to your location. Might be moving you soon. Don’t like the heat.”

That made two of us. “Should I be ready to leave?”

“Get shit sorted with Ginny. Make sure you’re ready to head out and have bags packed. Not sure how this’ll go down.”

“Don’t send anyone else. Dag and I have it covered.”

“Way ahead of you. Less ways for shit to go wrong.”

He had that right. “I’ll keep my cell close.”

“Brick?”

“Yeah, Pres?”

“Watch the river. It’s the one place you’re vulnerable.”

Fuck. “Yeah, I hear you.”

We ended the call, and Ginny stared up at me, her expression betraying a hint of fear.

“Hey, I got this. You’re safe.”

“For how long? It sounds like the Crimson Skulls have already found us.”

“No. They’d be here if they knew,” I assured her, “which means we play it smart. Stay hidden. Don’t do anything to put us at risk. Yeah?”

“Brick, Judge mentioned Redwood Creek. Should we stay away from it for now?”

I hated to take that away from her. The gazebo and the river were her happy spaces. “For now.”

Judge had been too loud over the phone. I should have walked away so Ginny couldn’t overhear every word he said.

“Should I be worried?”

I took her hands in mine, holding them so my warmth covered her chilled skin. “We take precautions and prepare. Pack a couple of bags. Be ready to leave if Judge gives the order.”

She pursed her lips. “But what if running sends us right into them?”

I already thought of that. “We won’t be leaving the way we came.”

She blinked. “What do you mean?”

“If we’ve got to go, it’ll be on the water.”

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