Page 48 of Lawless
I packedup Gunner's tent and bedroll, putting everything away in his saddlebags when he brought me a tin mug of coffee and a bowl full of scrambled eggs, baked beans, and bacon bits.
"Jandro told me you’re with him today, sly bastard. I gotta be faster next time."
"Just as long as you don't interrupt my beauty sleep to ask me to ride with you first," I joked.
"Wouldn't dream of it, baby girl," he said softly. Those bright blue eyes looked into mine long enough to make my stomach flutter. "Damn, Reaper has no idea what he's missing."
"What?" I blinked.
"Nothin'. Have a good ride." He reached out and stroked his thumb along my chin. "Wave at me if you want to switch off." Almost exactly like Jandro earlier, he paused as if considering something before walking away.
My stomach was doing almost too many flips to keep my breakfast down. What the hell was going on? Not just with them, but with me?
After finishing my food and washing out my dishes with sand, I spotted Hades as I approached Jandro's bike, which was conveniently parked next to Reaper's.
The dog waited patiently next to his master's front wheel, looking at me with a cute head tilt as I pulled on my riding gear.
"Hey, good boy," I whispered.
His ears pricked forward as his rear end lifted off the ground. Wagging his stub of a tail, Hades only made it a few steps toward me when a high-pitched whistle stopped him in his tracks.
We both looked to see Reaper and Jandro walking side by side in our direction. Like usual, the former wore his signature scowl, the latter his flirtatious smile. Reaper walked right past me without even a glance, even ignoring Hades' puppy eyes for affection as he mounted his steed.
"Ready, Mari?" Jandro's fingertips lightly grazed my back as he moved in front of me.
"Yeah," I smiled back but he seemed to sense my uneasiness.
"Don't worry about him," he nodded up ahead to his president. "It's not you. He's stressed about this deal working out. Nothing should go wrong, but we need to tread carefully."
"What should I do?" I placed my hands tentatively on his waist as he sat in front of me. Although just as solid, his body was broader than Gunner's so I couldn't reach around as far.
He answered me by lacing his fingers through one of my hands and throwing me a look over his shoulder.
"Just be you."
* * *
The mountainsin the distance grew larger and larger until the highest peak blocked out the sun. At the head of the pack, Reaper gradually slowed as the road became narrow and winding.
"Are those..." I squinted at the sight up ahead, nearly resting my chin on Jandro's shoulder as I tried to get a closer look. "...palm trees?"
"Haven't seen those in a while, have you?" he chuckled.
"I don't think I've ever seen a real one before."
"It's tacky as hell to see 'em now in the fuckin' desert," he yelled over his engine. "But they used to be signs of an oasis, a place for rest and relaxation. Resorts planted them so you could see them from miles away."
"Is this place a resort?"
"Used to be."
The road took us between the two skinny tree trunks standing out like sore thumbs. We soon came to a building at least six stories high and dotted with many balconies and large windows. It made the Old Phoenix service center look like a rundown shack.
Reaper slowed to a halt and everyone else stopped behind him. Leaving his bike running, he dismounted and nodded to Jandro, who looked over his shoulder and nodded at Gunner.
"The three of us are going in first," he slid off his bike with a gentle pat to my leg. "Shadow's got our backs. Watch him if anything happens."
"Why, what's gonna happen?"
