He gritted his teeth. “I’ve got an entire clubhouse to protect me.” He heard her snort. “Ally?”
“An entire clubhouse to protect you and yet you’re sending me away. It tells me that for as much as you trust them, you don’t think they’ve got what it takes to help me.”
“I’m their leader, Ally. You’re not.”
“I’m just the woman you decided to keep for your own entertainment. Don’t worry, Lord. I know my place.”
This wasn’t what he wanted to talk about. She was more than just a plaything. He knew that and he bet most of The Skull Nation knew that as well. Rather than argue with her, he remained silent for the rest of the journey.
He turned down a dirt road, going in the direction of Rancher’s. Several cars were parked in the driveway and the man himself was already waiting.
Without a word to Ally, he parked the car, climbed out, and grabbed her case. Rancher was already walking toward him, holding out a hand, which he shook. “I didn’t think I’d care for your ugly-ass face, but damn it is good to see you.”
Ally climbed out of the car.
“Wow,” Rancher said.
“Please, take care of her.” He handed the case to Rancher as Ally joined them. Without another backward glance, he climbed into the car, and left the ranch, knowing he’d made the best decision he could. He couldn’t let Ally go, but for now, he could at least keep her somewhere, he knew she was safe.
****
The following day, Ally made herself useful by helping Betty with the daily chores, which included laundry, cleaning, and cooking. Rancher didn’t work alone. He had a small workforce. All of which Betty cooked for, including their three kids. Ally tended to the vegetable garden.
Betty talked nonstop all day and Ally enjoyed the distraction, but for now, she wanted peace and quiet to be able to reflect on the past twenty-four hours. She wasn’t in the best of moods, that was for sure.
She’d known embarrassment and humiliation her entire life because of her father. The way Lord had treated her yesterday, well, she had no doubt he wanted to be rid of her. He hadn’t kissed her goodbye. He hadn’t said anything to her. She was nothing but a hindrance.
“I don’t know what my runner beans have done to upset you, but if you’re not careful, you’ll ruin the entire crop,” Rancher said, pulling her from her thoughts.
She didn’t even realize she’d been brutalizing the tree before he started to talk. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Don’t worry about it. Runner beans are quite resilient.”
He perched against a small wall that enclosed the garden.
“I was only trying to help.”
“And stay out of Betty’s way. She said so.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that,” she said.
He chuckled and held up his hand. She noticed his arms were covered with ink and some peeked out beneath the collar of his shirt.
“My wife knows she can talk better than anyone. I swear she could have been a lawyer. The woman knows how to keep on talking.”
“She’s really nice.”
“And sometimes you need to escape to be able to think,” he said.
“I hope I haven’t upset her.”
Rancher shook his head. “It’s impossible to upset her.” The smile on his lips as he thought about his wife made Ally slightly envious. He clearly loved her.
“I never said thank you yesterday. For taking me in and for the lovely room. The food. All of it.”
“It’s not every day Lord calls. In fact, this is the first time since I left the club that he ever has.”
She glanced down at the bucket of runner beans. “I don’t mean to be trouble.”
“You’re not the trouble, Ally. Those assholes that want to take out the club would hurt you.”
“He didn’t move out any of the other women,” she said.
“That’s because they don’t matter. Half of the women are there for the easy life. All they’ve got to do is give up their bodies to the men, and they don’t have to do anything.”
“Apart from what they’re told,” she said.
“Again, not a bad life considering the alternative. The women know the score there. They’re not victims. They seek out the club, not the other way around.”
“I didn’t seek out the club. I was taken. Lord was supposed to kill me.” She squeezed her hands together. “I don’t know if I was supposed to tell you that.”
“Instead, Lord fell for you?”
“Lord didn’t fall for me. I’m…” Her cheeks started to heat. There was no way she could tell this stranger what uses Lord had for her.
“I can imagine what my good friend would say and do to get what he wanted,” Rancher said. “Lord’s rough around the edges. There was a time I didn’t think he had a heart, then I was proven otherwise.”