Never Love An Outlaw (Deadly Pistols MC #1)(125)

“You had a bad nightmare, Jackie. There's no men, no –“

Brass shot me an angry look. “Don't bullshit the girl, babe. Tell her the truth. We're on the road and we're not coming back here 'til it's safe. I'm protecting you both.”

He was right. Guilt swelled in my chest, and I grabbed my sister's hand, trying to find the strength I'd had just a day ago. Watching Serial nearly rip her to pieces had sucked it out of me – hopefully not forever.

“We got attacked,” I said with a heavy sigh. “It's okay now. Brass and his friends got us out...we're on our way somewhere they can't hurt us anymore. It'll be all right, Jackie. I swear.”

Can you really make those promises? Doubt swirled in my brain. I wanted to believe I could, wanted to keep her safe...but if it wasn't for the other men, even Brass wouldn't have been able to save us this time.

“Stop talking to me like I'm a f*cking kid!” Jackie screamed, shoving me in the shoulder.

“Jackie!” I grabbed her wrists, trying to hold her down.

She was surprisingly strong for a teen. Brass' knuckles went white as he gripped the steering wheel, trying to ignore the screaming match going on inside the truck.

“I've been through the exact same crap as you, sis. It's like you've forgotten,” Jackie said, tears sliding down her red cheeks. “Daddy died and screwed up big time, leaving us money we never deserved. I get that. I know it's the reason these men captured us. I can put two and two together, Missy. I'm old enough to handle this.”

You shouldn't have to, I wanted to say. But she was right – and it hurt for me to see the cold truth. All this hell we'd been through forced my little sister to grow up before her time.

“It's my job to make sure you don't have to,” I snapped. “And...and I think I'm f*cking failing at it. You want the truth? I don't know what tomorrow's going to bring anymore. I want to find a way out for both of us, and I keep digging, trying to find the light...but there's just more darkness ahead. Even when Brass is in the lead. There's so many things he can't control. No one can.”

“Whatever.” Jackie covered her face, turning away from me and burrowing into the worn seat.

“You said your piece,” Brass said, glancing at me as he drove. “Let her get some rest. We had a close f*cking call back there. We'll all feel better by morning.”

I looked through the darkness at him, annoyed. I shouldn't have needed any advice about how to handle this...but shit, what did I really know about this life? What did I know about my own sister?

“You told her the truth, babe. That's all you can do, and all I expect. I'm gonna tell you straight too – the next few weeks are gonna be rough. Don't know where it's gonna end. As long as everybody's open and honest, we'll get through it. Right now, my whole focus is keeping you two safe while we get into Oregon. Then I'll figure out the rest, soon as I hear from Blackjack.” He turned away, keeping his attention on the road. “I love you, babe.”

The words hit me in the chest like an icepick. It was too much to process after everything that just happened. I couldn't speak, so I reached for his hand, gingerly placing my fingers over his on the wheel.

Brass flashed me a knowing smile. For now, that was all I needed.

Jackie slept through the entire trip. Not that I minded one bit. I was feeling pretty drowsy myself by the time we rolled into Klamath Falls after about three hours on the dark, mountainous roads.

We parked the truck and found a hotel with vacancies after a quick stop at a local department store. He sent me in to pick up fresh clothes. He changed before we went into the hotel, doing it in the pickup part, stuffing the bloody clothes in a black bag in the back. Everything except his cut, which would be easier to clean up.

When he was done, we headed inside. Jackie sulked in behind us while Brass got everything set up, then we followed him to the room. He threw me some cash to order a pizza.

We were outside on the main deck, next to a crappy looking pool. I heard him outside talking on his cell. It sounded intense. Jackie was taking a long shower, anything to lengthen her time away from me right now, so I stepped out too.

“Jesus Christ. You've only got half the numbers, Blackjack,” he growled into his phone. “Fang's gonna call in other charters to defend his own ass. The cartel war won't matter with the reinforcements he'll bring to Redding.”

The other voice on the line was gruff, determined. I couldn't quite make out what he was saying.

“Really? Fucking who? Me and ten other guys aren't nearly enough to stand a chance of dethroning that motherf*cker when he'll have double the brothers there in a week.”

More rough orders from Blackjack. More tension on my man's face. I leaned in and squeezed his arm.

Suddenly, he tore himself away from me, stumbling to the edge of the pool. “You gotta be f*cking shitting me, Blackjack! You're really talking about treason now.”

There was a long pause. I could practically see his jaw hanging on the floor before he finally responded.

“Shit. Fuck. It's just...working with the f*cking Prairie Pussies?!” He paused, taking a long, slow breath. “Okay. Yeah, I'll call her.”

I crept up behind him as he ended the call, moving my hands on his shoulders. “What's wrong? Don't drop the phone in the pool now...”