Page 122 of The Heart We Guard
“Hey, Em,” Quinn says. “If you’re calling to tell me I was right about what happens in chapter twenty-seven, I’m ready to hear it.”
Of course, the book club organizer would think it was about books.
“Quinn, it’s Greer. I’m with Ember. We’re being chased out of town by someone who tried to abduct me. The men are in church. Please drive over there and tell them we’re headed their way.”
“Jesus. Let me grab my keys. Stay on the phone.” I hear Bones bark and a door slam. “Tell me details.”
“Which route are we headed?” I ask Ember.
She glances at me as if I’ve lost my mind. “The only road there is. This isn’t the city.”
We hold each other’s gazes for a second, and then, she chuckles. It’s a mix of nervous energy and humor.
“I’m on the way. Gimme five,” Quinn says.
I’m pretty certain, from the night we visited, it’s at least a ten-minute drive. “Please. Drive safe. Tell Butcher it’s Gauge. He’ll know what you mean,” I say.
“Shit, he’s gaining on us,” Ember says, looking into the rearview mirror. “Fire a warning shot so they know we’re armed.”
I look over my shoulder and see the truck chewing up the asphalt like a predator after blood. “If I knew how to do that without killing you or me, I would. I’ve never fired a gun.”
“Hold on,” Ember says, yanking the wheel hard so we make the next turn with lots of skidding and zero brakes.
I remember the road we’re flying down. From the night I came here alone. And from the ride I made on Butcher’s bike.
But as of today, I’ll always remember it for this moment.
I look at the weapon in my hand. And I think about what Gauge said, about my brother causing trouble. I think about the fact he’s wearing my brother’s necklace. And I wonder if he isn’t the very reason my brother is dead. Why else would he be wearing it?
It felt personal, the way he spoke. Not like a man pissed that my young testimony put his president in prison. Not even that I heard the confession of a young man scared he was going to die.
But as a man who had been individually inconvenienced.
“I’m nearly there,” Quinn says in my ear. Then, I hear a brief clatter and her squeal.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“I just broke the barrier up to the clubhouse and probably scratched Smoke’s truck.”
“Please. Just get help,” I say.
I look up in time to see Ember veer again, making a desperate left onto the rural back road. Branches slap at the windshield until Ember centers the truck. The wipers do double time, trying to thrust the rain away.
“Come on, come on,” Ember shouts, trying to coax more speed out of the truck.
But it’s no use. Gauge’s vehicle surges forward, ramming the rear bumper, and the truck lurches.
We both scream.
“Fucking bastard,” Ember shouts, trying to hold the wheel steady.
The second slam makes us veer even harder. There’s the unmistakable sound of metal smashing up against metal.
“Are you guys alright?” Quinn asks breathlessly. “I’m running into the clubhouse, now, I—Smoke.Smoke!It’s Ember and Greer. They need help.”
“Quinn made it,” I tell Ember.
She looks over at me, this young woman who is going to be my baby’s sister. Who is pregnant, like I am. She reaches for my hand across the console and squeezes it hard.
