Knuckles (Dragon Riders MC #4) - Savannah Rylan Page 0,11

face and her face buried against my shoulder, as if she were using me as her own personal hideout. It was a bit disappointing, I had to admit. But that brought about another round of questions.

Did she just not sleep well anymore? Or had old habits really died that hard?

Still, as soon as the sun started streaming through the window, I eased out of bed. I needed a shower, I needed to brush my damn teeth, and I needed to get out of here. I was already a day behind on recon because of everything that had transpired, and I needed to make up for lost time. So, after a hot shower so Simone’s clothes could steam one last time, I got dressed and made sure I had Skeleton’s picture pulled up on my phone.

Then, I shook Simone awake.

“Hey, S.”

“Hmmm?”

“I’m heading out to do recon. I should be back before dinner.”

Her left eye peeled open. “All day?”

I nodded. “Yep. All day.”

She sighed. “Okay, yeah. Stay safe, JayJay.”

I kissed her forehead. “Always. You get some more rest. Want the television on?”

She turned onto her stomach and fanned out. “Weather, please.”

I grinned as I scooped up the remote to the television. And after finding the good ol’ trusty weather station, I turned the volume down a bit. It was good to know that some things never changed, like me and my coffee milkshakes or Simone and this obsession she had with sleeping to the weather channel. I ran my fingers through her hair and watched her relax almost instantly.

So, I perched on the edge of the bed and kept up the ministrations until her snores filled the room.

Damn it, the girl could pull in some curtains from the other side of a fucking mansion.

Still, it made me smile. And it let me know that she was finally sleeping the way she needed to. I stood up and reached for my helmet, patting myself down to make sure I had everything. Phone with the picture, wallet with my card, my gun holstered on my hip.

Both of my knives slid into both of my boots.

“Ready,” I murmured.

By the time I got on the road, it was almost nine in the morning, and I had a lot of places to hit up with Skeleton’s picture. I wanted to get a good idea of his steps. I wanted to try and retrace where he’d been to ever since purchasing that warehouse that was only ten or so miles away from the motel. But every fast food joint and diner I pulled into that was already open didn’t recognize the man in my picture.

And it wasn’t as if they were lying to me. I’d know if they were lying.

They genuinely had no idea who this guy was.

Odd.

Did the man not eat? Or go out for a drink? Or get some food to go? Something already wasn’t sitting right, and it was only eleven in the morning. I perched at a coffee shop and waited for the surrounding restaurants to open. Then, I walked in and asked management and staff if they’d seen that man come in at all.

And literally all of them said no.

“Fucking hell,” I sighed.

By the time I was done patrolling the part of the city Skeleton should’ve frequented, it was already well past lunch time. I checked my phone to make sure I didn’t have anything from Simone, and then it hit me.

I didn't leave my fucking number with her.

“Damn it,” I growled.

So, I dialed the front desk of our motel and left my number with the very kind woman on the other end of the line who said she’d deliver it to Simone. I even told her it was a message from “JayJay” so she’d know it would be safe to open the door for the lady.

Then, I set my sights on the next town over.

Even though going to get food or supplies over there would’ve cost Skeleton an hour each way, it would’ve made sense that he might try to throw us off by shopping in another town from his warehouse. It was a smart move, considering he knew the police were on his tail. That meant he’d have his guard up, so I needed to start thinking like a crew member under pressure.

Which was harder than it sounded.

The second I got into town, I showed his picture around to various people. Bar owners and restaurant managers and fast food attendants. I stopped people on the sidewalk and asked mothers in parks