“Who got hurt?” Train stood up, knocking his stool into Razer who was working behind him.
“The old woman. Killyama put her hand on the gun’s chamber, and then twisted it out of her hand. From what I can hear, she’s screaming that Killyama broke her thumb.”
Breaking out in cold sweat, Train used his foot to slide his stool back under him. “Is she okay?”
“I don’t know. She’s still yelling at Killyama.”
“Not the old woman.” Train’s voice rose. He didn’t even notice that the workers had stopped to eavesdrop on the one-sided conservation. “Killyama? Is she okay?”
“Oh, yes, she fine. The old woman is crying, though.”
“Crash, I don’t care about the old woman!”
“Brother, stop yelling at me. She’s helping the old bitch get into the SUV. They’re leaving. I’ll call you back when I know where they’re going next. Later.” The line went dead.
He was going to stra—He was going to yell … Dammit, he wasn’t even going to be able to yell at her because he didn’t want her to know he was watching her. She would be the one strangling him if she found out.
“Trouble?”
Train turned toward Razer who was openly curious. In fact, several of the other workers were waiting attentively for his answer.
“No. Killyama must have caught a fugitive, and she pulled a gun.”
“She pulled a gun on a fugitive? I didn’t know bounty hunters could carry a gun?” Razer’s expression filled with concern.
Train didn’t know if Razer’s concern stemmed from worry of another brother’s woman or Beth’s.
“No, the fugitive pulled one on Killyama,” Train explained, beginning to understand Crash’s predicament of explaining the incident.
“I’m glad she wasn’t hurt.”
“The fugitive or Killyama?” Train tried to joke off the fear he had felt when he had heard a gun had been pulled on her.
She was going to have to find another job. He didn’t give a shit that she worked with Hammer and Jonas. There had to be safer jobs she could do; ones that didn’t involve guns, knives, and old women who wanted to shoot her.
“Killyama wouldn’t have hurt the old woman. That’s her weakness.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because, she takes trays of cookies to women living in nursing homes every Christmas. She even sends some to Beth to bring to the one in Treepoint. She also gives Lily coats to give to the elderly women who come to the church store needing them. Killyama told Lily to tell her when she runs out of them so she’d buy some more.”
The woman was beyond unbelievable. She came off as a bitch and a shrew, yet she was so tenderhearted, not wanting elderly women to miss out on Christmas or be cold. Train had been a big believer in actions speaking louder than words, and she was proving him correct.
He didn’t want to change the woman; he just wanted to become a part of her world so she didn’t feel the need to hide that part of herself. She had let Beth and Lily in. He hoped she would let him in, too.
When Crash called again, he said they had taken the old woman to the E.R., and then drove her down to a restaurant where they were now feeding her.
Train shook his head as he went back to work, wondering if Killyama would also take her shopping before jail.
When Jewell walked past his workstation, he asked her if dinner could be an hour later than usual. He wanted Killyama to be there, and with the detours she was making, she was going to be late.
He was getting off work when Killyama texted him to say she was coming, but she would be late. Train tucked his phone away after texting her not to eat dinner, that it had been delayed because they were getting off late.
After showering, he raced to get dressed then went downstairs to hang out with the brothers until Killyama arrived.
Lily and Beth had decorated the dining room with balloons and had set up a table where everyone could place their gifts. The table was mainly filled with liquor from the brothers, and the wrapped ones were from the women. All of the gifts would be inexpensive—free gas cards or free dinners at the local restaurants.
He was looking forward to seeing what Killyama would surprise him with. She knew it was his birthday; that was why he had made a big deal out of her being there. He had even picked out what she would wear tonight.
The leather tool roll had to have been ordered in advance for his birthday. Train wished she would have given it to him in person and let him thank her for it. It was a gift he would treasure, especially knowing it was from her.
He took a bottle of whiskey that Shade had given him off the table, carrying it to the club room. It would stop the complaining from the men about when they were going to eat.
The bottle was empty and Train was about to go get another one when Killyama walked through the door with a plain brown bag in her hand.