meet this Taxi asshole.”
“You can’t. You’re not supposed to know he exists.”
“This is total bullshit.”
“I know.” He sighed. “We’ll figure it out.”
“This Taxi guy isn’t really gonna make you inform for the FBI, is he?”
“Don’t look at it as informing, Pebbles. Doc’s onboard, mostly because Dalton—”
“Who the hell is this Dalton guy?”
“He’s a friend to the club. And a friend to me, so I trust him. He’s got my back.”
“Oh, really?” I challenged. “So, he was the one who allowed you to be hooded, drugged, and kidnapped?”
“Well, no, but I’d bet you twenty bucks, he’ll call me tomorrow with an apology.” As if on cue, his phone buzzed in his pocket, and he slid it out. “Speak of the devil. Don’t make a sound,” he said, then answered the call. “Rabbit.”
“Jesus Christ, you okay?” Dalton asked.
I bit my lip to keep from making a sound.
“Yeah. Slight headache from the ketamine, but other than that, I’m fine,” Rabbit said.
“Shit. Sorry, man,” Dalton said. “I bet you’re ready to kill Taxi.”
“Plead the fifth on that one.”
“I’m personally gonna have a conversation with him about his procedures,” Dalton said. “This won’t happen again.”
“I’d very much appreciate that,” Rabbit said. “Did you talk to Doc?”
“Yeah,” Dalton said. “We’ll debrief tomorrow.”
“Okay, brother, I appreciate that.”
“Again, I’m sorry,” Dalton said.
“It’s done,” Rabbit said, although, I wasn’t feeling much like it was done.
“We’ll talk tomorrow,” Dalton said again, then hung up.
I wrinkled my nose. “It’s not really done, is it?”
“It will be,” he promised. “Let’s go get some food.”
I nodded and followed him downstairs to find my girls had arrived and rushed me.
“Holy shit,” Jasmine said. “You okay?”
“No,” I admitted. “But I will be.”
“I got your text earlier, but Gator was with me and wouldn’t let me come,” Willow disclosed.
“Same edict from Mo,” Jasmine said. “So, something major must have been going down.”
“Yeah, but no one will tell me anything,” I lied, my stomach roiling as I did.
I had never been good at lying, and this nearly killed me.
“Well, they do that,” Jasmine said, her tone irritated.
“Welcome to the club,” Willow said, and I grimaced.
“I’d like to change the subject now,” I said, and forced a smile. “Tequila?”
“Tequila,” Jasmine agreed, and we headed to the bar.
“Can you give us a second, Jazz?” Willow asked, grabbing my hand. “Be right back.”
“I’ll get shots,” Jasmine offered, and Willow pulled me into the empty bunkroom.
“How long was Rabbit gone?”
“Four hours,” I said.
She pulled me in for a hug. “That must have been terrifying.”
“Very.”
“Well, I know you know what’s going on—”
“Will—”
“You don’t have to tell me, but I know that Rabbit filled you in because he always fills you in.” She met my eyes and smiled gently. “You’re also as bad a liar as I am.”
I sighed. “I wish I could tell you.”
“I know, honey, but we get it.”
“Jasmine hates being lied to.”
“She’ll get over it.”
I bit my lip. “I hope so.”
Willow grinned. “Come on, let’s go find that tequila.”
I nodded and followed her back out to the great room. Rabbit found me, wrapping an arm tight around my waist and kissing my temple. He stayed close all night, and I appreciated that more than he could possibly know.
I took two shots of tequila, then sipped a margarita for the rest of the night. I just wasn’t in the mood to get wasted. I was also working something out in my head, and I wanted to be clear.
When Doc came over to check on me, things clicked. Every single man in the room wore some kind of ring. Most of them were skull rings of some form, and chunky in nature. I faced Rabbit and gripped his cut. “Your ring.”
“My ring?”
“Your skull ring. You can put a tracker in it.”
“It’s too small, baby.”
“You can create something.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Not really my forté,” he admitted.
“Figure it out,” I said. “For me.”
He sighed, leaning down to kiss me quickly. “I’ll see what I can do.”
I frowned. “Are you saying that so I’ll stop talking?”
He chuckled. “I would never.”
“Hmm-mm,” I hummed.
“You ready for bed?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m exhausted.”
“Me too, Pebbles. Let’s head up.”
I nodded, and after saying goodnight to our friends, we made our way to bed.
* * *
Rabbit
The next morning, I was summoned to Doc’s office before Parker was even awake. I pulled on clothes, left a note for her, then headed downstairs. Walking into Doc’s office, I expected to see Dalton Moore, but Doc was alone.
“Where’s Dalt?” I asked, closing the door.
“We’re meetin’ in neutral territory. But you and I need