Page 71 of Clean Hack
“I can see that,” he said and gave a half smile as his eyes flicked over to Derrick. There was something knowing in his look but he didn’t say anything.
“Are you alright?” I asked even though I already knew the answer.
“I will be.” His eyes glazed over as he stared off to the side at nothing in particular. “I’m going to take some time off.”
I couldn’t help the look of pity that overtook my face. His eyes snapped to mine and I knew he’d seen it.
“I’ll talk to you soon enough,” he said as a way of saying goodbye, then he retreated to the back stairwell. I let him go because I had no idea what else to do.
After a moment, Derrick urged me on. I couldn’t help but look for Burke once we hit the street. But I knew he was gone, like a shadow lost in the night.
“Ready?” Derrick said as he picked up the last of my things along with his bag. He held out his hand to me and I slipped mine into it without hesitation.
“Yes,” I said looking up at him with a new kind of hope in my eyes.
Things were going to be alright. I was sure of it. And as long as he was by my side, I knew I’d be able to make it through anything.
We took the long way to Moon Hill. As in, Derrick found every excuse to stop along the way. I knew he wasn’t a fan of staying in motels or hotels. It wasn’t that he’d said that out loud, but the closed-eyed, tight-lipped face he got every time we stopped told me all. There was also a deep inhaled breath that he held in for a good long minute before we entered the room. But he did it for me. Just like when he saw some cool place to stop and check out, I pushed down my anxiety and got out of the truck for him.
By the time we made it to Moon Hill, the backseat of his truck was just about loaded down. Like no joke. We bought crap at every little tourist attraction and shop that caught our attention. I’d say it was mostly junk, but there was something about those little odd bobbles that made me smile. So, I cherished the cheap crap, but it wasn’t the items that warmed me inside, it was the memories made around them.
“So what now?” I asked as we pulled off the highway.
I immediately saw the garage that was owned by the Steel Paragons. It was so strange seeing it in real life, and as a whole. I’d only seen a few angles of the building and it seemed to put a warped sense of how I viewed the place. Yeah, this was really weird. I had never really thought of it before, you know, my reality versus the real one.
“I was thinking that we should stop by the clubhouse. I should let them know we’re here out of respect and all. Also, it’s the best place to find out where they might be.”
“Right,” I said and bit my lip.
The clubhouse was usually pretty full at any given time. That was where half of the men lived and most of them hung out. And I didn’t even want to think about how strange it would be seeing the place for myself. Oh, and there was that little thing where I’d kind of been spying on them for years. I wasn’t sure if they knew it was me, but I also felt like I couldn’t go in there and not tell them.
It took a long moment before I got out of the truck. I pretty much stuck like glue to Derrick’s back and he let me this time.
“We didn’t call you,” someone said from across the room. “Or is there something you know that we don’t yet?” The voice was dark but I sensed a tiny hint of joking in his tone.
I couldn’t help it, I peeked around Derrick’s body to lay eyes on which one it was. Diesel. The former Enforcer. Now he was the Sergeant at Arms, promoted at some point after they’d lost the man that held that position before him.
He gave a tight-lipped smile and a knowing nod once he saw me. Then he pointed in the direction of a house in the middle of town. The two of them shook hands and patted one another on the back. There was something there, I could see it. Like maybe Derrick and Diesel had a deeper connection. Maybe even a friendship. I would ask him about it later because my curiosity was definitely piqued.
Axe was out the front door and pounding his sneakered feet down the front stairs before Derrick could even cut the engine. Once Axe realized who it was, he seemed to relax a little. Yeah, there was most certainly a protectiveness there.
“I don’t think she’s ready.” Was all that he said to me looking like a man that was going to fight for that point.
“Lulu?” Allison called out as she stepped onto the porch.
Then she was running at me full force. Axe was just barely able to step out of the way before she crashed into me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I held her tightly.
The men eventually herded us inside and Allison tried her hardest to regain herself. I held her hand and told her that it was alright, that if she needed to cry then she could. She just shook her head and wiped her tears.
Then she introduced me to the cutest little kid I had ever seen.
“Can you say hi to your Aunt Lulu,” she cooed at him as she picked him up and held him close.
The little kid lifted a chubby hand and waved at me.
“Lulu,” he said taking me in with wide, intense eyes.
I held him and played with him for a while. He was so adorable it made me think about having my own for just a split second. Then that sent me into I crazy head-spin because I had no idea what Derrick saw for his future. But I quickly shook that off and focused on Allison and Neiryn.
