He wasn't Thunder Bird.
He was a biker.
He probably forgot about her the moment he walked out the door of her apartment and then made himself at home with one of those women in the clubhouse.
"Who's that?" whispered Cami.
She looked at her friend and followed her gaze, finding a biker walking toward the car. "That's Chrischris. He works at the body shop and is the one who invited us to the party."
Before she could ask if Cami remembered seeing him during her rescue, Chrischris approached the passenger side door.
"Should I roll down the window?" whispered Cami.
She relaxed, knowing Chrischris was harmless. "Yes."
Chrischris popped his head in the car. "Aren't you staying?"
With a quick glance at Cami, Josie said, "I think we're going to leave."
"Nah, you can't go yet." Chrischris softened his voice. "Stay and have a drink or not. At least listen to the music and keep me company for a bit."
Knowing Cami's hesitation about being around the others and her desire not to be around Paco, she decided to tell him the truth. "It's not really our scene."
"Come and sit out back. There's a picnic table. I'll open the back door, and we can listen to music from outside. No use staying home on a Saturday night." Chrischris straightened, his head going out of view.
She shrugged at Cami. "Your choice."
"We can stay out back for a little while." Cami reached for the handle but the door opened before she could get her fingers around the lever.
Josie got back out and locked the car, walking with Chrischris and Cami around the building. There were several members huddled together on the side of the clubhouse, but they ignored them.
In the closed alley, she found a picnic table like Chrischris promised and sat on the end. Hopefully, Paco wouldn't see her hanging around outside. Though she was invited and he had no say in what she chose to do.
Chrischris stayed standing. "Drinks?"
She shook her head. "No, thanks."
Having lived seeing the destruction of alcohol on her people, she never touched the stuff.
"I can't." Cami sat down on the opposite side of the table, giving no other explanation on why she couldn't drink alcohol.
Chrischris propped open the back door. Music filtered out into the night, much softer than inside. He sat beside Cami and propped his elbows on the table.
"Ever been to a ZZ Top concert?" Chrischris looked at Josie when he asked.
She shook her head. "Mötley Crüe came to the Rez when I was a teenager. The, uh, casino hired a bunch of us from the school to help with parking, tickets, and stuff. That's the only band I've listened to in person."
Chrischris looked to his left at Cami. "How about you?"
"Aerosmith. I went last year with a friend." Cami looked down and then back up with a grin. "It was to celebrate my twenty-fourth birthday, so I don't remember all of the night."
Chrischris chuckled. "So, you do drink...sometimes?"
"Sometimes, but not anymore." Cami's hand went to her stomach without even realizing it.
"The baby." Chrischris nodded. "That's smart. I've watched my sister have three kids. Sharon, that's her name, she's a good mom, too."
Fascinated by what was happening or not happening in front of her, Josie watched the other two. She hadn't seen Chrischris talk more than one sentence at work, and he seemed truly interested in Cami.
The music changed. Cami asked him about his tattoo on his forearm.
Josie looked over at the open door, knowing Paco was inside. What was his deal?
For a guy who'd gone out of his way to help her, his rudeness seemed misplaced.
She chewed on her lip. While she'd fantasized about killing Askook, she had a good reason. She knew deep down that taking someone's life brought consequences in not only this life but in the next life. Any punishment would be better than Askook owning her.
But, Paco hadn't known her or that her dad sold her to Askook. He hadn't known Cami.
As she tried to understand his reasons for what he'd done, she also accepted her part in pushing him to help.
She slumped on the bench of the picnic table. She was responsible for him killing a man.
She swiveled on the picnic table to stand.
"Where are you going?" asked Cami.
Flustered that it'd taken her that long to figure out her part in what had happened, she needed to start making it up to Paco. "Inside. I'll only be a few minutes."
She hurried toward the door and walked down the hallway, knowing where she was going from the last time she was here. In the main room, the party was going stronger. Naked women danced around with each other. Some of the bikers paid attention to them, others not so much.
Scanning the crowd, she spotted Banks standing by a table with his arm around Mrs. Banks—who'd she'd met a few times at work, but talked to almost every day when she called to speak with her husband.
Going over to the couple, she stood back, not wanting to interrupt their conversation with the other bikers, and unable to hear what they were talking about over the loud music. While she waited, she looked around for Paco. It would be easier to go directly to him, but she had no idea where he'd gone.
"Hey, Josie." Banks backed up a step to include her. "I didn't know you were coming. Do you need a beer?"
"No, thanks." She took a deep breath. "I'm looking for Paco."
"I...nope, haven't seen him." Banks leaned toward the others, speaking out of her hearing, then looked at her. "Roddy said he spotted him outside about five minutes ago."
"Thanks." She walked toward the door, weaving her way through the crowd, and pushed outside.
Paco and another man stood in front of her car. He caught sight of her before she was halfway to him and stormed over to her. Grabbing her elbow, he led her to the corner of the building where there was no one around.
"You shouldn't be here." He ran his hands over her
