Page 56 of The Biker's Brother

He kept a watchful eye, but felt they were at least as safe as they’d been stopping for dinner in town. Maybe more.

Motel kid was right. The sand was soft enough to reshape itself around any butt pressed against it. As for the music, he’d never tell Cami, but he was gradually accepting that some of it wasn’t that bad.

Every now and then, he would forget what he was supposed to be doing and fall into the spell of a magical evening. Sitting next to a spikey-haired blondeon the white sands of an ex-missile testing site, listening to country music under a full moon seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

For the second day in a row, he woke facing a motel door with a warm and pliant body plastered to his back like she’d been superglued. Feeling her braless breasts crushed against him had his hand reaching down to brush morning wood. It wouldn’t take much to get him off, but he didn’t really want to take the risk. In his head he ran through the humiliation of having to explain. “Oh, sorry, did my jerking off wake you?”

He eased out of bed, went to the window, and pulled the curtain back far enough to check the parking lot. It was still dark, but would be light soon. Everything looked quiet.

He’d checked the map before going to bed and settled on a route. He figured there was less mountain driving if they went south toward El Paso, but cut west at 506 to head for Austin via Carlsbad, long before they came anywhere near the interstate. There was sparse population out there, which made it safer for Cami. He figured they could make it to Austin in ten hours.

He felt a little surge of excitement about getting home and about getting Cami home safely. But in order to make that happen, he had to get her up.

Grabbing his pillow, he threw it at her head, but maybe not quite as forcefully as the first time.

“Rise and shine,” he said, scratching his balls on the way to the bathroom.

Her only answer was a groan.

“You can have the shower in three minutes if you want it. We’re out of here in fifteen.”

She sat up looking tousled, sleepy, and… adorable, until she started yelling. “Fifteen minutes! I can’t shower and get ready to go in fifteen minutes. Even suggesting that is barbaric.”

“One person’s barbarian is another person’s bodyguard.”

“Witty, Brandon. Comedians are supposed to come out at night.”

“Two minutes.”

“Ugh!”

While she was in the shower, Brandon called his dad to check in and let him know the situation.

“We’ll be there by dinner so you need to have a place ready for Ms. Carmichael.”

“Ms. Carmichael? Jesus, Brand. You haven’t let the girl out of arm’s reach for two days and you’re not on a first name basis?” The pause spoke volumes to Brandon’s dad. “Jesus Christ, Brandon. Did I really need to say that clients’ daughters are off limits?”

“I haven’t touched her.”

“Okay then. My bad. Read that wrong, I guess.”

Edge emerged from his room at the club. He walked by Brant’s office on his way to the kitchen to get breakfast. Brash was leaning against the door jamb.

“They left Alamagordo. He says they’ll be back tonight by supper. They’re headed toward El Paso, but cutting off at 506 to Carlsbad.”

“That’s close to…”

“Yeah,” Brant said. “I’ll breathe a lot easier once we get your brother back here. I’ve been uneasy about giving him this job. I love him, but he’s a paper pusher. Not ex special ops.”

“Maybe not, but he’s resourceful. It’s in his blood.”

“Not a time for self-congratulations, Brash. I haven’t slept a wink. Haven’t told your mother either. I don’t like hiding things from her, but I suspect I’d get an earful if she knew what he was doing.”

Edge eased behind Brash so quietly he never knew he was there.

“We have to go to the McDonalds for breakfast and get those things you told me about!”

“Do you have to go to the bathroom?”

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