that in my life. I couldn’t have been more wrong. With him at our side, we’d found a way to get through the chaos, and we were doing pretty well until Sam found that man in the alley. I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if Sam hadn’t overheard him talking about us. Everything we’d done would have all been in vain if he hadn’t been there.
My stomach was in knots as I glanced back in the rearview mirror to see if T-Bone was still there. Just like every time I’d looked before, he was trailing close behind us. It was almost two in the morning before Blaze found us a motel and got us a couple of rooms. I grabbed our bags and led the kids up to our room. They looked like little zombies as they crawled into their beds, and within minutes, they were both sound asleep. Once I’d taken a long, hot shower, I curled up next to Hadley and closed my eyes, quickly giving in to my own exhaustion.
Unfortunately, it was short-lived. After only a few hours of sleep, I was jolted awake by a terrible nightmare. When I couldn’t shake off the eerie feeling I’d gotten from the dream, I got out of bed and grabbed my jacket. As soon as I stepped outside, the chill of the early morning air snapped me out of my fog. It was still fairly dark and I was surprised to find Blaze standing out by the SUV smoking a cigarette.
I walked over to him and, seeing that he was fully dressed, I asked, “Couldn’t sleep?”
“I got a few hours in.” He yawned. “Enough to get me by. What are you doing up so early?”
“Had a bad dream. Thought I’d come out for a little fresh air.”
His eyebrows furrowed with concern as he said, “We’ve got a long drive ahead, Olivia. You need to get some sleep.”
“I will in a second. Just need a minute to clear my head.” I watched as he flicked his cigarette butt across the lot, then immediately lit another one and took a long drag. As the smoke billowed from his lips, I asked, “How’s your son? I … hope you don’t mind me asking. I just remember Clutch telling me that he was worried about him,” I explained.
He brought his cigarette up to his mouth and took a long drag before he said, “Nah, I don’t mind ya asking. Kevin’s doing alright. He was pretty sick there for a while, but he’s doing better now.”
“Sounds like a tough kid.” I smiled. “How old is he?”
“He’s six. Gonna be seven in a couple of weeks. The kid’s growing so fast I can hardly keep up with him, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“I bet he keeps you on your toes,” I laughed.
“No doubt about that. He’s always getting into something or another. Lately, his new kick is to get me to quit smoking. Always hiding my cigarettes and giving me hell every time he catches me with a cigarette in my hand. He’s persistent, I’ll give him that.”
“Might be easier to just stop smoking.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Should’ve never started in the first place,” he said as he tossed his cigarette to the ground. He nodded his head towards our hotel room and asked, “How are the kids taking all this?”
“They’re scared, but this time it’s different. This time they have Clutch.”
“He’s a good guy. He’ll do right by them and by you. Just hang in there. He’ll see you through all of this.”
“God, I hope so. I can’t go through all of this again.”
“You won’t have to. Clutch and the club will make sure of it,” he assured me. “Now go get another hour of sleep. We need to get back on the road soon.”
“Okay,” I told him as I turned and started walking towards our room. I’d only taken a few steps when I turned to him and said, “Thanks for keeping an eye on us, Blaze. It means a lot to me.”
He smiled and said, “Glad to do it.”
As soon as I got to the room, I crawled back into bed and, after a few minutes of tossing and turning, I finally managed to fall back asleep. It felt like I’d just closed my eyes when I heard a banging on the door followed by T-Bone yelling, “Rise and shine, sleepyheads. We’re rolling out in ten!”
Charlie groaned as he rolled over to face me. He rubbed