Read Online Twisted Mercy (Red Team Book 4) by Elaine Levine - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Elaine Levine
Ads: Link
asked, uncowed.
“What difference does it make? You saying business from my kind is unwelcome here?”
“As long as you don’t make problems, then we’ve got no issue.”
Max showed his teeth. He straightened and scooped a few pickle jars off the shelf, sending them crashing to the ground, spraying vinegar, pickles, spices, and glass everywhere. “And if I feel like making problems?”
A man stepped to one end of the aisle. Kit. Max looked toward the other end. Greer. He turned and faced the shopkeeper, giving him a nasty grin. “Called in bouncers, did you, little man? They won’t always be here.”
He grabbed his basket and his girl, and walked out the end of the aisle by Greer, shoving him aside with his shoulder. At the checkout station, only one cashier was in place. No other customers were nearby; he wondered what hidey-hole they’d been put in.
The manager followed him to the front. He waved the cashier away and took his place. Greer held a position at one end of the conveyor belt. Kit stood at the other. It was all Max could do not to smile. He opened his wallet and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, shoved his own groceries into a bag and led Hope out of the store without waiting for his change.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Mad Dog built a blazing fire in one of the fire pits in the campground. He set a grate over it and laid out their potatoes, buttered and seasoned. Hope looked at the yellow and orange colors that danced across his features as he squinted at the flames.
She felt bad for the grocery store proprietor and his customers. She and Mad Dog had blown into town, took what they wanted, and left a mess behind before they blew out again. A little voice reminded her that he had paid—overpaid, in fact—but that did little to soothe how much of a bully he’d been.
Guys like Mad Dog gave bikers a bad name. If she were her real self, she would have dropped him at the knees, told him to take a hike, then helped the staff clean up the mess. As it was, she couldn’t even scold him.
She looked into the flames, reminding herself that this wasn’t for real. She was here to find her brother and get out, not reform bikers.
She’d be glad to see the back of Mad Dog.
She looked away from the hypnotizing motion of the flames, burying her gaze in the distance over Mad Dog’s shoulder. Dusk softened the desolate grounds. The trip into town had taken over two hours. Peach-colored clouds floated by leisurely. The compound was in the shadowy pit of a wide valley, circled by evergreen-covered hills, making it seem darker than it was. Lights inside and outside the various buildings were switching on.
As she watched, a kid walked across an open field and entered a building. She straightened, searching the grounds for more kids or an idea of where he might have come from. Her friend had implied that her brother lived with a group of boys here on the compound, not in the general population of the club.
“What are you looking at?” Mad Dog asked.
“There was a kid over there.”
“So?”
“What are kids doing here at the compound?”
He gave her that lopsided smile that was no smile at all. “You think bikers don’t procreate?”
“I had no thoughts about that whatsoever. It just seems strange to see a kid here.”
Mad Dog shrugged. “There’s a school over there.”
“Where?”
Mad Dog looked at her, his eyes narrowing as he studied her. “What’s your interest in it?”
She met his gaze. “Curiosity.”
He poked the fire. “Curiosity ain’t a healthy thing here, sweetheart.”
A chill brushed over Hope’s arms. She rubbed them, trying to convince herself her reaction was from the cool evening air and not Mad Dog’s hard eyes. “I’m going to get my sweater.” She climbed over the big log bench and retreated to the picnic table where they’d set their purchases. His bike was parked nearby. She took her zip-up hoodie out and pulled it on. She’d been lucky her current
“What difference does it make? You saying business from my kind is unwelcome here?”
“As long as you don’t make problems, then we’ve got no issue.”
Max showed his teeth. He straightened and scooped a few pickle jars off the shelf, sending them crashing to the ground, spraying vinegar, pickles, spices, and glass everywhere. “And if I feel like making problems?”
A man stepped to one end of the aisle. Kit. Max looked toward the other end. Greer. He turned and faced the shopkeeper, giving him a nasty grin. “Called in bouncers, did you, little man? They won’t always be here.”
He grabbed his basket and his girl, and walked out the end of the aisle by Greer, shoving him aside with his shoulder. At the checkout station, only one cashier was in place. No other customers were nearby; he wondered what hidey-hole they’d been put in.
The manager followed him to the front. He waved the cashier away and took his place. Greer held a position at one end of the conveyor belt. Kit stood at the other. It was all Max could do not to smile. He opened his wallet and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, shoved his own groceries into a bag and led Hope out of the store without waiting for his change.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Mad Dog built a blazing fire in one of the fire pits in the campground. He set a grate over it and laid out their potatoes, buttered and seasoned. Hope looked at the yellow and orange colors that danced across his features as he squinted at the flames.
She felt bad for the grocery store proprietor and his customers. She and Mad Dog had blown into town, took what they wanted, and left a mess behind before they blew out again. A little voice reminded her that he had paid—overpaid, in fact—but that did little to soothe how much of a bully he’d been.
Guys like Mad Dog gave bikers a bad name. If she were her real self, she would have dropped him at the knees, told him to take a hike, then helped the staff clean up the mess. As it was, she couldn’t even scold him.
She looked into the flames, reminding herself that this wasn’t for real. She was here to find her brother and get out, not reform bikers.
She’d be glad to see the back of Mad Dog.
She looked away from the hypnotizing motion of the flames, burying her gaze in the distance over Mad Dog’s shoulder. Dusk softened the desolate grounds. The trip into town had taken over two hours. Peach-colored clouds floated by leisurely. The compound was in the shadowy pit of a wide valley, circled by evergreen-covered hills, making it seem darker than it was. Lights inside and outside the various buildings were switching on.
As she watched, a kid walked across an open field and entered a building. She straightened, searching the grounds for more kids or an idea of where he might have come from. Her friend had implied that her brother lived with a group of boys here on the compound, not in the general population of the club.
“What are you looking at?” Mad Dog asked.
“There was a kid over there.”
“So?”
“What are kids doing here at the compound?”
He gave her that lopsided smile that was no smile at all. “You think bikers don’t procreate?”
“I had no thoughts about that whatsoever. It just seems strange to see a kid here.”
Mad Dog shrugged. “There’s a school over there.”
“Where?”
Mad Dog looked at her, his eyes narrowing as he studied her. “What’s your interest in it?”
She met his gaze. “Curiosity.”
He poked the fire. “Curiosity ain’t a healthy thing here, sweetheart.”
A chill brushed over Hope’s arms. She rubbed them, trying to convince herself her reaction was from the cool evening air and not Mad Dog’s hard eyes. “I’m going to get my sweater.” She climbed over the big log bench and retreated to the picnic table where they’d set their purchases. His bike was parked nearby. She took her zip-up hoodie out and pulled it on. She’d been lucky her current
Similar Books
