Heartless (Steel Demons MC #6) - Crystal Ash Page 0,71
shook his head and scribbled out a reply. Nah. T & D would have to learn it too. Then translate 4 me. This is easier 4 everyone.
“Still might not hurt to learn,” I said. “I had a book on ASL back in Sheol. Taught myself the alphabet and a few phrases. Didn’t really go deeper than that, though.”
Grudge’s mouth tightened and he shook his head. He clearly didn’t want to be pressed on the subject, so I dropped it, sipping whiskey next to our campfire as he turned to a fresh page.
Miss her?
I swallowed, wondering if there was another word for the uncomfortable pangs in my chest from not having Mariposa around. I missed her while she worked at the hospital for an entire day. I missed her when I was alone at night in the B&B, knowing I wouldn’t see her until morning while she was in the next room with her men.
But this feeling, like a tether stretching to its breaking point across the distance between me and her, felt different. It was deeper, sharper. A physical ache in my body that would only be soothed by having her near me again.
“Yes.” I opted to give Grudge the simple answer. “A whole fucking lot.”
Me too.
I looked at him across the campfire. Grudge often wrote his messages to be brief and to the point, which didn’t always make his thoughts clear.
“You miss Mariposa, or someone else?”
He waved two fingers, indicating it was the second thing I said.
“T-Bone and Dyno?”
He shook his head, then waved his hands in a way that seemed to illustrate feminine curves.
“A woman?” I lifted my head from the saddlebag I was using as a pillow. “I didn’t know you had one.”
He shook his head again, quickly scrawling on his pad to elaborate. I don’t. Just miss one.
“You should take the advice you gave me,” I said, knocking back the rest of my drink. “Just put it out there and be yourself.”
“Heh.” Grudge made a noise of disagreement and shook his head again, but didn’t write out another explanation.
We smothered the fire as daylight approached and took turns watching as the other man slept. When dusk began falling, we hit the road again.
Andrea and Big G doubled up on one motorcycle, taking the winding two-lane main road while Grudge and I kept them in our line of sight along the canyons above. Jandro had fitted our cafe racers with the thickest off-road tires and biggest damn mufflers he could find so we’d make minimal noise.
The two-day ride was a whole lot of nothing, with no direct contact with the other riders except for a quick flash of a mirror to let them know we were still there. It was late afternoon when we came within sight of New Ireland’s northeastern border. Although it wasn’t the border itself as much as we spotted the Irish flag flapping in the chilly wind.
Grudge and I rode to opposite embankments flanking the settlement. We were each a good hundred yards away from their perimeter, and would have no problem taking out anyone patrolling.
I parked next to some dense brush, took what I needed from my packs, and walked the bike into the bush. After grabbing some tumbleweeds and sticking them in at odd angles, I felt satisfied that my bike was adequately camouflaged. Ideally, no one would be walking around here anyway. I loaded the first of my rifles and made my way up to the top of the hill, crouched low and silent as a cat. Right before reaching the top, I lowered to my knees and crawled my way to the ledge until I had a clear view of the gate while lying on my stomach.
Big G and Andrea were, for the moment, out of sight. They were hidden at the base of Grudge’s hillside, preparing to approach the gate with their disguises. Grudge flashed me an okay sign, indicating he had eyes on them. Nodding in return, I turned my attention to the final obstacle Andrea would be facing.
Twelve armed guards stood in front of the northeastern entrance alone, while a Jeep filled with more soldiers made its way slowly around the perimeter just outside the gate. This kind of security seemed excessive, almost like they were expecting an attack. I could only speculate that General Tash made many enemies due to how swiftly he trampled over cities and territories. Small uprisings of those he’d conquered had to be expected.