Helpless (Steel Demons MC #5) - Crystal Ash Page 0,31

stood before the Collapse and were being repaired. I watched one man power washing long window panes on the side of a tall building, three stories high. As we came around a gentle bend in the freshly-paved road, my chest tightened at the sight of the word HOSPITAL on the adjacent side of the building.

We came to a stop about a quarter mile later at a four-way intersection. A man held up a stop sign as he waved a group of children to cross in front of us. Some of them wore backpacks and held the hands of adults leading the way. Once they crossed safely, the man lowered the stop sign and waved us through.

I lowered my chin to Gunner's shoulder and pressed my lips to his ear. "Did you see that?"

"Yeah." He took one hand off of the handlebars and squeezed my fingers at his stomach. "It's surreal to see something so normal."

I recalled Reaper talking about wanting a family before we left, and a flutter of warmth spread throughout my chest. Maybe here, if we decided to stay, we'd be able to make it happen.

The ride to the governor's house was a few more miles, with more stops along the way for crossing traffic. The whole place was teeming with activity. If not working construction or crossing guard, people had food vendor booths set up along the road. I spotted a few food trucks, and one guy had even dug a pit in the ground and was roasting a whole pig.

When the head of the pack finally stopped, it was where the paved street abruptly became a dirt road and a barricade blocked our way. Ahead of us, T-Bone leaned over to speak to Reaper, his hands gesturing and pointing. At Reaper's nod, T-Bone signaled for everyone to turn right onto a narrow, older road that hadn't yet been paved.

A clearing was carved out on the side of this road and T-Bone led the way, parking his bike under the shade of an overhang.

"We go on foot from here," he explained, after everyone started pulling in and cutting their engines. "They're paving the road up to the governor's house today, so we’re supposed to stay off of it. We can take a short walk up this hill, though."

"Gunner and Mari with us," Reaper called, swinging a leg over his bike. "Shadow and Slick, guard the bikes. Make sure no one wanders off or gets body-snatched."

Freyja wiggled out from her cocoon inside my jacket, then darted over to Shadow and hopped up into his empty bike seat. He smiled amusedly, reaching down to pet her.

T-Bone chuckled, wiping his mouth free of water after a sip from his canteen. "You saw those kids crossing the street, right, Pres? I assure you it's safe here."

"You can assure me all you fuckin' want. I'm still not taking any chances." Reaper cupped my nape, turned my head to plant a smoldering kiss on me, then released me and continued on. "Where the fuck are we supposed to stay here? I didn't see a single building that looked finished."

Gunner smirked at my side, then held my hand as we, Jandro, and the two other Sons followed T-Bone and Reaper up a gently sloping hill.

"There are housing developments going up on the side streets," T-Bone said, pointing further down the road we’d just parked on. "Houses with bigger plots of land for farming and raising animals are that way." He pointed in the opposite direction.

"Need one of those." Jandro came up to sandwich me between him and Gunner, grabbing my hand to kiss my palm. "Space for Foghorn and the girls."

Gunner puffed out his cheeks and began making soft clucking noises, earning a smack on the back of the head from his VP.

"Is the hospital in use?" I called ahead, ignoring their shenanigans.

T-Bone looked over his shoulder at me, slowing his pace enough for me to catch up. "It's in rough shape, was raided during the Collapse, but it’s slowly getting organized into working order. Four Corners has one doctor and a few medics working on-call for emergencies, but no full-time staff yet. They mostly treat construction accidents so far."

"Why is there so much construction?" Reaper wondered out loud.

"Governor Vance calls it ‘re-investing’," Dyno answered. "He poured his personal wealth into rebuilding people's homes and essential businesses after everything was looted. But if people wanted to stay here, they had to work for it."

"Every person coming into Four Corners must take on a job,"