A rattling behind the Jeep caught their attention, and Sig’s eyes narrowed, then he muttered a, “Fuck.”
Teddy saw what he was looking at and waved a hand around again. “Oh, those whack-a-doodles drive the shittiest cars and only come off that mountain once in a while. My fiancé hates dealing with them!” He shuddered.
Autumn’s heart began a slow thump in her chest and she turned her head just in time to see a rusty Buick sedan creeping by behind them. She couldn’t turn far enough but what she could see... who she could see behind the wheel looked like Vernon and in the passenger seat was Tomlin. And they were looking right at her.
“Sig,” escaped her on a hitched breath.
“Fuckin’ son of a bitch.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Teddy said, unaware of the problem. “They don’t stick around town very long.”
“We gotta go,” Sig said quickly, rounding the Jeep and climbing into the vehicle without him even taking the time to turn his cut inside out. Something he always did when she’d been in the SUV with him going to the doctor.
He had explained anytime an MC member got into a cage, which is what he called a car, he turned it inside out because he was part of an MC and “an MC wasn’t a car club.” It was a sign of respect for the club’s colors.
Sig took that seriously, so for him to jump in without removing his cut or flipping it inside out scared her even more.
“Tomorrow!” Teddy called, giving them a finger wave even though he now wore a worried look on his face.
Sig shoved the Jeep into reverse with his bandaged hand and jabbed the gas, making her head jerk back. He jammed it into first gear and hit the accelerator so hard the engine screamed as he raced out of the diner’s lot and headed the opposite direction from where the Shirleys went.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he shouted, his eyes bouncing back and forth between the windshield and the rearview mirror.
Autumn couldn’t help mask the shake in her voice when she asked, “Do you think they saw me?”
“Yeah, they fuckin’ saw you! Never shoulda taken that fuckin’ hat off!” He was pissed.
“S-sorry.”
His jaw got tight and his lips became an angry slash. “Told you to keep that fuckin’ thing on.”
“It fell.”
“Yeah, baby, you said that.”
“I couldn’t reach it.”
“Yeah, you said that, too. Only hope they have no fuckin’ clue who I am and where we live. But if they saw my cut, they might.”
He raced down some side streets in town, taking corners faster than he should. Then he turned onto County Line road. She had no idea what road the farm was on. She never asked and also never paid attention.
“Are they following us?” She couldn’t get a good look in the passenger side mirror.
His eyes flipped up to the rearview mirror one more time. “No. Don’t see those fuckin’ assholes.” A muscle in his jaw jumped. “Shoulda left you back at the farm.”
“Now they know I’m still in the area.”
“Yeah, baby, they know you’re still in the area,” he echoed flatly.
“I should leave...”
“Gonna get you back to where you’re safe. That’s all. We’ll be good. It’ll be good.”
“Sig...”
He shoved the shifter into another gear, then reached over and snagged her hand, giving it a squeeze. “We got it covered, Red. We’re gonna handle it. And once that kid’s born, shit will be okay.”
“But I have two more months to go!”
“We fuckin’ got this. It’ll be fine. Gonna make a plan.”
“Who?”
“The club.”
“To do what?”
“To handle shit.”
“To handle the Shirleys?” Her voice went almost as high as Teddy’s.
“Yeah, Red, just to make sure they don’t ever touch you again.”
“They only want the baby.”
“Brysons will cover that.”
“I mean before it’s born.”
“And we’ll cover that.” He pulled her hand over to his lap and pressed it against his thigh. “Baby, we got it. You’ll be good.”
She hoped he was right.
Because right now, she wasn’t feeling so certain about it.
Chapter Seventeen
She asked. And whatever Red asked for, for some reason, Sig had a hard time saying no.
Maybe it was those big hazel eyes, maybe it was that girl-next-door face, maybe it was her situation, maybe it was the fiery attitude which became stronger every day, or maybe it was just everything about her.
So, when she wanted him to sleep in his own bed, when she wanted him sleeping next to her, he didn’t say no.
He wanted to be there, anyway.
Most nights, when she wasn’t too uncomfortable, she asked him to hold her.
He did.
And doing that made him question his sanity too many fucking times.
When the fuck had he ever wanted to sleep with a woman without fucking her? He asked himself that countless times. And the answer was always the same...
Never.
And the answer was still never since he wanted nothing more than to fuck Red, too.