Have Gun, Will Travel (The Bare Bones MC #5)(21)

“He’s not in Prescott?”

“I doubt he’d hide in plain sight like that. He’s got too many other hiding places, mountain hideaways, hideaways that are literally underground. Putting a tracker on his vehicle would be the best idea. But listen. Lytton just left here. He and June want to have us over to their house near Mormon Lake for dinner.”

Another couple in the lifestyle, and they wanted us—as a couple?—for dinner! This excited me beyond belief. “That sounds fantastic! I love those two. They might even be able to tell us about some munches we could attend.” Munches were lunch events at restaurants where people in the lifestyle mingled to meet others. I’d been to a few, but none since meeting Roscoe.

Sax brought up Roscoe now. “Will your Sir let you go, though?”

My heart fell, but quickly rose again. “He won’t get angry if he doesn’t know about it.” Even as the words came out of my mouth, I knew I was rebelling against my agreement with Roscoe.

It was obvious Sax could tell I was being naughty, too. One corner of his mouth lifted, making him look rugged. “Good. I’ll be back here in an hour or so. Shouldn’t take long to snoop around a salon full of women.”

I frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want me going to the salon? A big, manly brute like you, with or without your cut, is going to arouse suspicion among women who are already suspicious to begin with.”

Sax looked as though that hadn’t occurred to him, but he quickly wrote off the idea. “No. I’m not taking that risk, Beatrix, and don’t you even f*cking think it. You should be in hiding, not getting into even more dangerous fixes. It’s just possible Tormenta knows about the bounty, especially with Santiago Slayer stumbling around after him, and knows which women are involved. He’s not a great lover of women, Bee. When you’re not with me, you should be with Maddy or June.”

“All right,” I said timidly. It did make me feel good to be protected like that. I’d never felt protected or safe before. I was attracted to bad boys all the way, and they weren’t famous for giving women a sense of safety.

Sax nodded briskly and turned to stalk out the door toward the parking lot. I enjoyed watching him exit, the globes of his ass nice and shapely beneath his jeans, his many keys dangling from a chain at his waist, the well-worn cut in the shape of his broad shoulders.

A strange, unknown feeling rose in my chest. I had to analyze it a few seconds before realizing I respect Sax Saxonberg. I had no respect for Roscoe. I feared Roscoe, so of course I obeyed him, but I didn’t respect him. I wondered if respect for a man could give you the urge to obey him. It was a completely new emotion for me.

The enthusiastic Wolf Glaser was instantly at my side. “He’s a man’s man.” I didn’t know what that meant, but of course Wolf went on. He thumped his chest with his fist. “He’s the sort of guy you’re proud to follow into battle. I’ve never met him until today, but the stories I’ve heard, hoo boy, it’s enough to make a choir boy weep—oh, sorry.”

“No sweat.”

“I mean, before he went nomad, the truces he arranged, the brotherhood he creates between The Bare Bones and other clubs. Clubs that have since become our enemies, like the Cutlasses, the Dotards. Can you believe we used to be brother clubs with those *s? Back when Sax was Veep we’d do the Four Corners run together with those dumbshits.”

“Wolf.” Ford was standing next to us, putting some kind of handgun into the back of his jeans. “One more thing. I want you to get in touch with Tobiah Weingarten. You’re gonna need his technical savvy to run down Tormenta. He can put a tracker on any vehicle you can find, and he’s got some new drone spy planes that’re pretty cool.”

Wolf’s face turned to stone at the mention of the IT guy. Tobiah was the business manager for Lytton’s Leaves of Grass pot plantation up on Mormon Mountain. Although not a patched member, he’d been doing all kinds of high-tech spy stuff for the Bare Bones brothers. “Tobiah Weingarten? That bowl-headed nerd? I can’t work with that guy, Ford. That dorkwad had too many atomic swirlies or something and it’s gone to his brain.”

Ford didn’t seem in the mood to have his authority challenged. He sighed. “Why do you hate that guy so heavily, Wolf? You act like he stole your girlfriend from you or something.”

Wolf held his hand to his chest. “Girlfriend? What girlfriend? As you know, the club is my girlfriend, Ford.”

“Good.” Ford clapped Wolf on the shoulder. “Then you won’t mind working with him. Can you scoot up there now? He’s waiting for you.”

I chuckled as Ford split and Wolf grumbled to himself. I followed him to the stairs that led to the parking lot.

“God damned gaywad. I’d like to give him a few purple nurples and tittie twisters myself.”

I was amused. “Because of a girl?”

Wolf made an exaggerated face of disgust. “Girl? No, why does everyone keep saying a girl? I don’t have time for a girl.” Wolf held the door open for me. “Where the hell are you going? I thought we were supposed to protect you, for you to stay with Maddy at least.”

I shrugged as I jogged down the metal staircase. “Oh, nowhere. Time to get my nails done. Isn’t there a salon near the weed dispensary?”

“I guess so. You can ask August. He’s the ganjier at the pot store. Are you sure this is safe? Let me check with Sax. Wait, what’s his phone number?”