Page 28 of Talon
“No.Nothing new has happened.I have no new information either.I was watching to see how you’d react about what I said about my brothers.They’re not for everyone but then, neither am I.You seem to like me just fine.”He shot her what she thought of as his cocky grin.
She moved her hand in his until she could weave her fingers in with his and shot him a grin of her own.
“I do like you just fine.Let’s see how much I like you after I meet these men you call family.”
He squeezed her hand in his.“You’ll do just fine.”
Madison tilted her head to one side and watched him for a few seconds.“What do you mean by that?”
He shrugged.“You’ve got spunk.You’re not about to let anyone run all over you just because they’re bigger or stronger.You’ll stand up for yourself when one of them says something not entirely appropriate.They’ll respect that.”
She frowned at him, not saying anything for several minutes.He wished he could hear what was happening in her brain.
Alittleovertwohours later and with sunset swiftly approaching, they pulled into the yard at the ranch.Madison didn’t say anything, at least not at first, and Talon found himself wondering what she was thinking.
Before he had a chance to ask, the bunkhouse door opened, and Lurch stepped out.He waved at them, beckoned them out of the truck then turned and went back in side.
“Who’s that?”Madison asked.
“That’s my boss, Lurch.”
“Lurch?”she asked.She thought she’d misheard the name when he’d said it before.But apparently she had heard right after all.
Talon nodded.
“You guys have some weird names.”She shook her head and opened her door.“Should I take my bags in?”
“Not yet.I’m not sure where he’s putting us yet so better leave them here.I’ll come out and get them once I know more.And you know Talon’s my real name.The rest though, those are road names.You’ll have to ask them how they got them.I don’t know most of the stories.”
“You don’t know how they got them, but you call them by these weird names?”She frowned as if the idea was foreign to her.
“Do you know why your parents named you Madison?”
“It was my great-grandmother’s name.”
Talon smiled.“That’s sweet.But how many of the people you meet do you tell that?”
“Point made.But my name’s not something weird like Lurch.”
“If you think Lurch is weird, wait till you meet the rest of my brothers.”
Madison opened her mouth as if she was going to say something more but shook her head and closed it without saying anything more.Instead, she turned around and climbed down from the truck.Talon wasn’t about to let her meet his brothers without him at her back, so he climbed down and met her at the front of the truck.She stared at the open door to the clubhouse with what he interpreted as a bit of trepidation.He took her hand and started for the door.
“They’ll help us.I promise.”
She stared at him for a second as if she wasn’t so sure.But she followed him, she’d trusted him so far, there was no reason to stop now.He took a deep breath, prepared himself for the million questions he had no doubt were coming and went inside.Might as well get it over with so they could figure out what was going on and he could be sure she was safe moving forward.
22
MadisonheldontoTalon’shand, following him into the long building the other man had stepped out of for a moment, then gone back inside.Her stomach churned.What if they told her it was all in her imagination or that there was nothing they could do, like the police had?What would she do then?She didn’t feel safe alone in her apartment, not anymore.She’d just have to find another job somewhere else.Leave Newcastle and find something farther away from Billy to go.But where?She didn’t know hardly anyone.
Newcastle had seemed doable because it wasn’t that far from her home.The only place she’d known for so long.She’d felt like if anything happened, if she couldn’t cut it in the real world, she could always go home.Now, with everything happening with Billy, she didn’t feel safe there any more than she did in her apartment.She didn’t know what to do and hated feeling lost and helpless.
The hand holding hers, tugging her along with him reminded her she wasn’t alone.At least for now.No telling how long he would hang around, but she’d take what she had, for as long as it lasted.
As she followed him through the open door, she found a large open space that had a kitchen off to one side, a long table with benches on either side along one wall.The other side of the large space had a couple of sofas, and several recliners arranged around a large TV mounted on the wall.
Several men sat around the room, and she would have expected them to be watching some sporting event or playing video games, but the TV was off, and they all looked toward the door, as if waiting for them.A few had women setting on their laps, but no where near everyone.Considering the man who’d stepped outside and motioned them in, that shouldn’t surprise her but for some reason it did.
