Page 34 of Blood Revealed

In the hall I hear boots getting closer. “Maryanne,” I whisper. “Someone’s getting close.”

“Just give me a few more minutes.”

“I don’t know if we have a few more minutes,” I reply as I press my back against the door with more force. The boots walk past Tommy’s door and I let down my guard. I shouldn’t have let down my guard. Almost before I have time to react, the doorknob begins to twist.

I grip it and make sure we flipped the lock when we got in here.

“Maryanne?” It’s the voice of the woman at the desk. “Are you still in here? I didn’t see you come out. I’m gonna get in ten kinds of trouble here.”

We keep quiet as church mice. Isn’t that how the saying goes? Well, that’s us. The knob rattling continues until it stops abruptly and we hear her mumble. “I guess I missed you then.”

That was way too close.

“C’mon. We gotta go.” I urge my friend to get a move on.

Maryanne closes down the computer. We shut off the lights and I unlock the door. We poke our heads out to make sure the hallway is clear then slip out, lock the door back up, and try to make our way back to the reception area without being seen.

The woman who’d been looking for Maryanne isn’t behind the desk when we get to the rest of our group. We take advantage of the busy office and sneak out. We meet back at the trucks and decide what to do next.

“I found quite a bit,” Maryanne says. “Let’s find someplace to go so we can make a solid plan.”

“That truck stop outside town?” Caitlin suggests.

“We’ll meet you there,” says Frankie. Then we all climb back into the two trucks and head in the direction of the truck stop about three miles outside of town. It only takes a couple minutes to make the drive. We pull in more toward the back of the lot just in case any of the brothers pass by and recognize our trucks.

Heads turn when our large group of women file in. Caitlin points out out the biggest booth closest to the restrooms. The lot of us make our way there to sit. The waitress comes to take our drink orders. After she leaves, we get to work.

“Okay,” Maryanne says. “They’ve tracked the plate heading west. It looks like they’re heading for Illinois. So that’s the direction we need to head.”

She stops herself from saying more when the waitress brings our drinks and asks if we’re going to order. I’m not particularly hungry, but once we get on the road, there won’t be time to stop and eat. I order scrambled eggs and waffles. The other women put in their orders and once we’re alone again, we get back down to work.

Brinley pulls up a map on her phone. “If they cross over into Illinois, there’s a Riot compound here.” She points her finger to the spot. “I had to go there with Dad a few times. Disgusting place.” Then she moves her finger just over the border to Missouri. “But there’s a large Lords chapter here.” She places her finger on another spot. “I don’t think this guy is getting anywhere near Missouri. So best guess, he’s making a trip south.”

That’s a good point. I’ve visited with the Missouri men on several occasions over the years when they’ve showed up for rally events or passing through. “What route do you think they’ll take then?” I ask.

She draws her finger down the map. “My opinion, he’s gonna cross into Tennessee and keep going south to cross over into Arkansas around Memphis. If he’s trying to head back to Texas, it’s the best route to get him free of the Lords.”

“I’m amazed you know so much about club locations,” Liv says. “I was raised with the Lords and I don’t know as much as you.”

“My dad used to drag me along for his business. I’m willing to bet your Lords weren’t in the same business as the Pythons. They got into some nasty shit and so needed to know how to avoid the clubs they didn’t have alliances with.”

I’m simultaneously proud of my sister and saddened that I left her to deal with that for most of her life. I should’ve taken her with me. I—

“Don’t,” Brin says, reading me the way only she and Blood have ever been able to do. The other women look at her, but she’s looking right at me. “You had to do what you had to do to survive. I don’t blame you, so you don’t blame you. We got out.”

I hear what she’s saying, but I still don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself. Instead of arguing, I simply answer, “Yeah.”

That seems to appease her for now.

Our food arrives and the lot of us tuck in, not taking any more time to gab. We have to eat and get the hell out of town before we’re discovered by the brothers.

When we’re finished each of us pays our bills and then, again looking to see if the coast is clear, jog to the trucks. This has to work. It has to.

Before we go, we make a quick stop to drop Maryanne back at her place. It’s a risk heading back into town and it’s no secret how badly Maryanne wants to get her best friend back, but she’s also eight months pregnant. We don’t know what we’re going to face, we can’t put her unborn baby in harms way. No matter how much she protests. And she protests, right up until Caitlin and I drag her from the truck up into her house. That done, we commence with Operation: Find Elise.

Thankfully, with Brinley’s beautiful mind putting the pieces together, we take the interstate south to cross over into Tennessee. Best to get out of the state as quickly as possible. The brothers won’t expect us to leave the state.

We’re only about ten miles into our trip when the first ‘holy shit’ moment happens. The truck we’re riding in is literally forced off the road by a Horde. What are we supposed to do? Caitlin shuts the engine off and reaches across the seat to open the glovebox. She pulls out a Baby Glock and holy shit! The woman is packing some heat.

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