“You take Rook and go ahead. I’ll catch up.” Parker shot me an irritated look, and I fished my cell phone out of my pocket. I had no bars out here, and I shook my head roughly. “I can’t leave her here.”
“If she drove here, you can leave her here, Bruiser.” Parker’s tone was surprisingly harsh, but I glared nastily at him. Begrudgingly, he jerked his head in a nod, and I scratched my jaw roughly.
“Quit being a pussy. Go down the way we came up. You remember, right?” Snapping back at him agitatedly, I raked my hand through my hair absently as Parker grumbled to himself. Turning to my cousin, I threw a thumb over my shoulder at Parker. “You’re going with him. If neither of you has anything nice to say, don’t say shit.”
“Bruiser . . .” Groaning in foreboding, Rook scowled at me through the headgear even as he climbed his ass off my bike. I was gonna catch shit for this, I knew. Scratching my jaw hard as I walked back to my bike, I walked it over to the side of the road with glares slicing into my back.
The roar of an engine ripped through the frigid atmosphere, and I almost winced as it cut through the air. I held my breath as I walked back to the car; the woman had rolled the window all the way down and hung her head out of it, audibly gasping for air. Har car was running, the heat on blast, but her tank was going to be empty by morning if she kept this up.
“Hey,” Standing a few feet away, I cleared my throat when she made no move that she’d heard me, and she sniffled before her glassy eyes met mine. “You’re gonna run out of gas if you don’t turn your car off.”
“Y-you . . . you’re the guy . . .” she slurred heavily, her voice raw, and I leaned against a tree to cross my arms as she picked up her head a bit. “You were right. Why did I bring him?”
“I take it went badly?” She nodded, lips puffing out miserably as massive tears welled in her eyes, and my heart twisted. “How drunk are you?”
“Not very. I didn’t plan this out very well.” She faltered as if she realized how terrible she looked, but I tried not to judge her. “Good news, Tom’s stranded on the mountain with no way back. Bad news, I don’t know how to get down by myself.”
“Okay, do you want to follow me down? After you’ve calmed down.” She nodded, wiping her face with the sleeve of her jacket. Fishing my phone out of my pocket, I held my phone up a bit, and miraculously a bar showed up, so I dialed Parker’s number as relief slithered through my veins. “Hey, she’s not drunk. I’m gonna lead her down the mountain, but stop where you are, and I’ll meet you when I can.”
“Thank God, I have no idea where I’m going. I don’t have GPS out here.” Parker’s voice thickened with excitement and relief of his own, and I grunted with a nod. “So, we’ll meet up in a few?”
“Yeah. Sounds good.” We hung up swiftly, and I turned back to the woman as she stared at me sheepishly. “Let’s get you outta here.”
Chapter Seven
Bruiser
Pulling up to the tow shop's front gate, I waited for the chain link to pull back before walking my bike into the lot. Rubbing the back of my neck, I flexed my feet in my boots as tiredness dogged the backs of my eyes. Pulling my helmet off, I nudged Rook with my elbow and paused to let him off, and he stumbled back onto his ass.
“How’d it go?” Spyder rubbed the top of his head as he sauntered out of the office, and I grunted lowly in acknowledgment. He sized up my cousin, who looked so much smaller than him, and nodded curtly before holding out his hand for a shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Rook.”
“Yeah.” My cheek twitched at Rook’s despondent reply, and I parked my bike up against the bay door to climb off. Sniffling harshly, I glanced over questioningly at Parker, but he simply shook his head. “You got a couch or somethin’ I could sleep on?”
“You’re gonna go home with Parker. They got a room you can use.” I told Rook while twirling my keys against my palm, I glanced around the yard for my truck. “You wanna call your dad?”
“No, I just wanna sleep. You call him if you wanna.” I waved Spyder over before making my way to my truck at the back of the lot. Rook meandered to the building to crouch against it, holding his head in his hands. He looked so young, and I sucked in a sharp breath to stop my ribs concaving around my heart. Spyder tugged his beard thoughtfully on his way over, the hot, morning sun beating down on us and reflecting off the bulky curves of my truck.
“So, Minter offered a free shipment every six months, which is far more generous than I expected. Whatever happened, Rook must be in some hot shit.” Spyder’s brows rose in surprise before drawing down in thought, and I leaned against the tail of my truck to tap the wheel cap listlessly. “What do you want me to do, Spyder?”
“Take it. I don’t think that kid is worth that shit, but who knows what’s goin’ on? If Minter, the fuck, is that concerned, who’re we to bargain? Free shit is still free shit, Bruiser.” Spyder skewered me with his eyes, and I resisted the urge to scowl as I turned away. “What happened out there? Parker said
