Page 53 of DOG Part 2
“Relax!” she screamed. She was losing it. Kim’s life was falling apart, and for the first time I felt for her. Knowing she resented her father and the outlaw motorcycle club he belonged to, as well as all of us members, a day like today made her perspective understandable. Just a few days ago she and her mother were going about their lives as usual, and then in a split second, everything went to shit. I knew what that shit was like too.
“Yes, Kim. Take a breath and calm down. What I mean by on the run is I’m taking you someplace that no one in Rugged Angels MC knows about.”
“What about the others back there? How do you know they’ll be all right?”
“They’re capable. Trust me. We’ve been through situations like this before. Some were much, much worse than this. They’ll be fine.”
“This is all so crazy,” she sighed, sounding exhausted.
I chanced a longer glance at her. She was looking down into her lap, her hair draped over her face. Damn, she looked vulnerable. It made me want to reach over and move it out of her face so I could look at her, or kiss her until she calmed down. She probably needed some comforting right about now, or more sex. I could use some myself.
“It’s not always like this.”
“Right,” she answered weakly. “When you’re not fighting gang wars you’re running businesses as a cover up for a crime boss. That sounds perfectly All-American to me.”
I nodded and faced forward. What she said was true. It was the life I chose, and I had no regrets. There were also aspects of being with Rugged Angels that were great, and a perfect fit for me. I was not going to spend a second debating with her.
“You’re probably thinking I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about,” she said softly, reading my mind.
“You’re right. Thatiswhat I was thinking.”
She crossed her arms and looked out her window.
“Your father was at the clubhouse when it was hit this morning. He wasn’t hurt.”
I regretted saying that the second the words slipped out of my mouth. It was clearly not the right timing to add to the bad news.
Her forehead wrinkled and she turned to me again. “What? You mean he’s not at a hospital?”
“You know he can’t go to one of those places.”
“Oh, you mean those places where he would have a chance at making a full recovery? Those kinds of places? I can’t believe you people!”
She was seething. I didn’t say another word. Not for a long while. The silence stretched on like the road in front of us. I waited for Kim to mete out whatever she still had on her mind, but she was completely mum. Much of the Tucson area countryside was completely behind us now. The traffic was very light. I glanced at the gas meter. It was half-full, but we had not eaten, so I figured we could stop somewhere to fill the tank and grab a bite.
“Are you hungry?”
She snorted. “What do you care?”
“I promised your old man I’d keep you safe.”
She shook her head and stared out at the desert. “That’s what he always said about my mom. Look what happened to her.”
