“Yeah.” Ally pretended to fan herself. “It was better than some of the porn Doug downloads on a Saturday night.”
“It made me hot,” Naiya continued. “I’ve never felt like that before. And when I look at him … even all bruised and beaten … he’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. But it’s stupid. We just met. He’s hurt—”
“Not where it counts.”
Naiya snorted a laugh. Ally was nothing if not direct. “And he’s on a quest for vengeance—not just against Viper and the Jacks, but the Sinners, too. I thought he’d go back to his club, and they would help me, but he’s gone rogue, and I don’t want to get dragged into something that’s going to put me right back where I started. I need to hide from Viper and then I need to find a job so I can have a nice, quiet life and maybe meet someone stable to settle down with.” She squeezed her hand around her ring. “Did Maurice … give Doug a note or did he ask me to call?”
“No, honey.” Ally’s nose crinkled in disgust. “He asked Doug to tell you it was over, the little shit. I always knew he had no balls, but that just proved it to me. He couldn’t even tell you to your face, or at least do it over the phone.”
“It’s okay.” Naiya grabbed a pillow off the floor and hugged it to her. “I’m not that upset, just … I didn’t really expect it. Now I’m losing a friend.”
“You don’t need friends like that,” Ally said. “You need friends who are there for you when you need them. Doug called in a favor to get someone to cover for him today. He didn’t think twice about it. You need us. We’re there. And a real boyfriend would have been here before us. Hell, he wouldn’t have let you go to Devil’s Hills alone.”
The door flew open and Holt burst into the room, chest heaving. “Jacks are coming. I heard their bikes coming down the mountain. We got seven, maybe ten minutes at most. Grab your stuff.” He raced out of the room and Naiya followed him down the hallway.
“How did they find us?”
“Viper probably had someone watching your friends.” Holt pushed open the door to their room and grabbed the duffle bag Ally had stuffed with clothes for both of them. “And your work, your gym, any hang outs … It’s what we … the Sinners, would have done.”
Dammit. She should have thought it through. Holt had warned her, and now she’d put Ally and Doug in danger.
Holt checked the gun holstered beneath his shirt, while Naiya balled up his cut. She’d stuffed it under her shirt when they escaped the Black Jack clubhouse and she wasn’t about to leave it behind now.
“You go with Ally and Doug.” He handed her the bag. “I got business with the Jacks.”
She stared at him aghast. “But you can’t fight. You’re still injured. You barely made it into the parking lot with Doug. It’s suicide.”
“I got a gun, darlin’, and today I’m gonna kill me some Jacks. I lived through those last three months for only one reason—revenge. And it starts right now.”
Ally banged on the door, and Holt yanked it open. “She’s ready to go. Get her out of here. Fast.”
“What about you?” Doug took Naiya’s duffle bag and stood to the side as she stepped into the hallway.
“Got shit to do,” Holt said to him. “Not something I want to share with a cop.”
Doug stepped into the room, pulling the door behind him, and their conversation dropped to a hushed murmur.
“We’ll take you somewhere safe.” Ally gave Naiya’s arm a squeeze. “Let’s go. Doug will meet us at the car.”
If it had been yesterday, or any day in the last thirteen years since her grandmother died, Naiya would have followed her friend. She had learned the hard way how to survive in the biker world, and those lessons included running from danger at the earliest possible moment and never looking back. Easy to do when it had only been her, but this time she had someone else to think about. Someone who was still suffering the effects of months of torment. Holt had saved her from the dungeon as much as she’d saved him. How could she abandon him now?
“He’s going to kill himself, Ally.” Naiya looked back over her shoulder. “He couldn’t take on even one Black Jack in his condition much less the number I’m guessing Viper sent after us.”
“You have to think about yourself.” Ally tugged her hand. “Holt’s a big boy. He knows the score. You have to respect his decision.”