Page 20 of Sapphire's Gem
“Wouldn’t have blamed you for that. Please keep me up to date with how Rose does,” Hatton said and handed me a card.
I took it gingerly, wondering if this was some trap. Ever since we began setting up base here, Hatton had been watching us and after us. Now he was offering… what?
Confused, I pocketed the card as Hatton nodded in Wylde’s direction.
“He’ll be the lead on Rose’s case. If there’s anything you wish to know, contact Detective Wylde. Thank you for your time, Sapphire,” Hatton said and dismissed me.
My ego could handle that, although some probably couldn’t. Hatton walked back to the two uniforms, said something that made them look at me and wince, then left.
“If Rose is awake, I’ll take her statement.” Wylde approached me.
“Sure,” I replied as Nun strutted into the waiting room.
“Where is she?” she demanded.
“You can go with Detective Wylde; he’s going to hear what she has to say,” I said to Nun and gave her Rose’s room number. They were keeping her in overnight to monitor the concussion she also had.
I choked back a laugh as Nun moved past Wylde and drew eyes to her. She wore a black bustier, a pleated miniskirt, and knee-high boots. Her hair was drawn back in a bun, and she had a man’s white shirt hanging just past her ass cheeks.
“Holy crap,” a guy murmured. “She’s hot.”
“Too hot for you, stud,” I said as I began to walk away.
“I’d like to try, though,” he replied, and I laughed. So would many other men!
Chapter Five.
Sapphire
Ilooked up as Vengeance banged on my door. “Are you ready for the ride?” she asked, opening it.
“Yeah. I was going over the applicants for prospects. There’s absolutely nothing. Even worse, two were undercover cops. I could sense it,” I replied with a roll of my eyes.
“They don’t learn.” Vengeance’s eye roll matched mine.
“Nope. Come on, let’s ride. Twilight planned a good route, and with this weather, it’ll be beautiful,” I said. I got to my feet and headed out.
While I never policed my sisters about what they wore, on a ride, I did. Because we rode for several hours, I always made sure they were wearing full riding leathers. I didn’t care what the weather was. They also wore helmets and eye protectors. In town, they could ride however they wished—shorts, skirts, heels, whatever made them happy. But there was more risk on a long ride, and I wanted them protected. Road rash was no joke.
Once I was happy they were all covered, we headed out of the clubhouse towards Bristol, an hour and a half away, where we’d stop at a diner. From there, Twilight had planned for us tojourney to Wolfeboro, and we’d check the resort before heading back home. It was a long ride, and I was aching to get on my Lowrider.
There was nothing that could replace the feeling of being on the back of a bike. The sense of freedom, of being one with the road, was addictive, and I was an addict. With a grin, I swung onto my bike and revved. My sisters did the same, and they put up their hands to say they were ready. With a roar, I pulled out in front, as the president should. I knew we were a sight to be seen, an all-female club on large shiny bikes, and people always stopped and stared.
Let them.
I smiled as several of the townspeople raised their hands to us, and we waved back. Smiles crossed their faces, and I inwardly gloated that we weren’t the outcasts the police made us out to be. For a moment, I saw Maid’s Hog flash into view, with Rose as her passenger, riding bitch. Rose had been released but couldn’t ride, and none of us thought she should miss out. The patch still covered her eye, and we’d had no further updates yet.
Not that it mattered because Stitch had every intention of healing Rose. No way would she allow Rose to be blind. She was slowly healing Rose so as not to alert anyone that something other than natural healing was happening. We didn’t want the government looking into us. And we wanted a conviction.
Gradually, my worries and concerns fell away as I became one with the road and my club.
We were nearing Wolfeboro, ten minutes out from the resort, when I felt the first pang of pain. I wobbled as agony shot through my skull, and I began to pull over. Shit, I had a minute, maybe two, before the premonition hit. I barely made it before the second shot of pain hit me. I was about to have an episode, and it was going to be a doozy as a third agonising strike knockedme on my ass. Vengeance was there within seconds as the others parked and crowded around me.
They weren’t crowding me to listen in, but to protect me from prying eyes. My eyes unfocused as I stared at the images starting to flash through my mind.
“A fire burning out of control. It’s on Market Square, and a restaurant has gone up. Not ours; I think it’s the Mexican Hat. I see four, no, five men laughing as it burns. There are people trapped inside who’ll die. The fire exits are blocked from the outside. Someone wants them dead, and this is a warning to everyone else. There’s the smell of burned flesh, and I can see gasoline, which will explode. It’s going to happen soon.”
The images were so vivid that they were draining my strength. Each was sharp and in bright colour, which hurt to witness.
