“Might be in late. Want you naked in our bed when I get there.”
Our bed. Our room. I loved it that he always made a point to say that.
“So demanding,” I complained with a laugh.
“Sasha?”
His tone lost the playfulness and became serious. “Stay at the Crossroads. You on your way?”
“I can be.”
“Do it. Need you there. It’s important.”
“Alright.”
“See you soon, baby.”
He hung up and I tried not to dwell on his words. Sometimes Bodie was cryptic but I knew he was limited on what he could share because of the club. I didn’t fault him for his secrecy. I knew who he was when we met. No delusions there.
I kind of loved the fact that he protected me from the worst of it, especially since the kidnapping. In the last two months I’d finally gotten to a place where I didn’t have nightmares anymore and wasn’t tempted to glance over my shoulder every minute of the day. Nothing like being taken against your will to kick up a little paranoia. Of course, I was the stupid one who went on my own free will. All to save my best friend. They would have killed Trish if I didn’t listen to their demands.
I didn’t regret my choice. We were both alive and that was what mattered.
Since Bodie wanted me at the Crossroads, I packed a couple of bags with extra clothes and did a load of laundry, sticking around for another two hours before I was finally ready to leave. One the way out, I bumped into the neighbors on the right. A single mom with two young kids. My friend Gina, Rev who was ten, and his younger sister Olivia who was seven.
“Sasha!” Olivia called out, waving from the backyard.
Rev was jumping up and down on their trampoline. “Hi, Sasha!”
“Hey, you two.”
“Mom is working all weekend,” Rev complained.
“Can we come stay with you?” Olivia asked, giving me a pleading look.
Shit. I hadn’t seen these kids in weeks and felt bad that they were alone so much. Gina worked two jobs to make ends meet – during the day at the same dental office where I was a receptionist and then at night as a waitress. She was the one who initially told me about the job and put in a good word.
“Tell you what, I’ve got to take care of a few things tonight but I’ll be by tomorrow. We’ll spend the day together. How does that sound?”
Rev did a flip and landed on his back as the air was knocked out of his lungs but he was right back up again. “Okay!”
Olivia seemed d
isappointed. “Will you bring pizza?”
“Of course, Liv. I promise.”
She smiled timidly. “Okay.”
“And root beer!” Rev added.
Laughing, I agreed. “Sure. You both stay together and in the house. Call me if you need anything tonight. I can be here in fifteen minutes.”
Rev gave me a thumbs up and Olivia nodded before she ran to the trampoline, shoving her brother out of the way as she began to jump in the middle. He bounced to the side and shook his head but didn’t get mad. He was patient with her and I wasn’t too worried. Those kids did alright on their own.
It wasn’t my place to judge if they were home alone often. The kids had school which kept them out of trouble. They listened to their mom on the weekends and helped out around the house. Responsibility far too mature for their ages but life wasn’t always as easy as we liked. I snagged the last bag from the house and waved to the kids again, wishing there was some way to do more for Gina.
The SUV was packed when I went back to lock up, double checking that I set the alarm Bodie insisted was installed. He never said much but I was certain the club kept an eye on the place, even when no one was home. One of the bikers was a whiz with computers and technology. I hadn’t spoken to Xenon much but he struck me as incredibly intelligent and inventive.