by Kassanna
***
Nae placed her hands on her hips and stared out at the yard. There were no other homes near that she could see. She turned and studied the house she’d exited. From the outside, it appeared to be built into the side of the mountain. She knew that wasn’t the case since she’d stepped out the backdoor. There was a thin strip of grass between the large boulders and the exit. She’d followed that narrow piece of land around to the front of the building. It wasn’t what she expected a biker to live in. The structure was all clean lines with an almost art deco feel. Wild flowers, the shades of bright yellow and orange, filled the two small beds which flanked the walkway. Where the hell was the rustic cabin in the woods she thought she’d find?
She rubbed her temple. The migraine, which started above her eye, now spread through her head faster than a forest fire during dry season. El was a contradiction. He looked and acted all bad ass biker, but there was a high end SUV in his driveway. What the hell? If he could afford that, there was no reason to rob a bank. She pushed wisps of hair from her forehead. Maybe that was the problem. El was living so large he could no longer afford it. She needed to get back to her own vehicle; then, of course, she had to find and take down her bounty.
Shay was probably scrolling through flights now, and the last thing she needed was her cousin showing up, guns blazing, and screwing everything up. She strolled up to the truck, circled it, and tried the lever. The door didn’t give. He lived out in the middle of nowhere, yet he locked his vehicle. Nae debated about going back into the house and finding something to break the window. She rubbed her bottom lip with her index finger. All she had to do was hotwire his SUV. Too bad she hadn’t learned how to do that. Of course she could probably find a how to video on the net if she did a search. Urgh - she covered her face with her hands; some kind of bounty hunter she turned out to be. Amos trusted her with her first big bounty, and she was fucking up left and right.
Tears hovered in her lashes.
Out in the middle of nowhere, with no real clue where she was, she’d slept with her bounty, and he had her weapon. Hell, he was probably halfway to Mexico by now. She swung around and leaned on the fender and was surprised to find a man and woman staring at her. The man’s black hair had streaks of dark orange. Sunglasses hid his eyes, but his lips were pressed tightly together, and a muscle ticked in his jaw. He wore a similar vest to El’s, minus a few patches, over a T-shirt. Jeans and boots finished the attire. Nae figured it was some sort of biker uniform and glanced over at the woman. She was petite with sharp features, high cheekbones, and a pointed chin. Sable hair, with a large patch of white at one temple, flowed down her back, and her skin was the color of cinnamon. Since she too wore sunglasses, Nae couldn’t see her eyes, but when the woman smiled it was open and friendly.
She thrust out a hand. “Hi, El sent us. My scowling brother here is Trace. El thought you might need a lift to the bar. I’m Ursala, but my friends call me La.”
Nae took her hand, surprised by how fragile her fingers felt. “I would rather go to my truck if you don’t mind. I need a few things.”
Trace gave a quick shake of his head.
“Sorry, we were given explicit instructions to bring you back to the bar.” La shrugged.
“And if I won’t go?” Nae eased toward the grill of the truck.
La sighed before adding. “I think that’s why he sent Trace. My silent brother is the muscle. El said you might be a little stubborn.”
“Really?” Nae put a little more space between them. “How about you call your boss and tell him to go fu…”
“Ewww. Way too much info, there,” La interrupted. “Look, why don’t you make it easy, and come with us. Then, you can tell him how you feel personally.”
“To hell with that.” Nae took off running toward the back of the house. That criminal had to have some sort of weapon in his home.
All she heard was her two ‘would be caretakers’ arguing as she bounded around the corner.
“Well, don’t look at me. I didn’t expect her to run.” La’s irritated tone floated around to Nae as she ran up the steps to the sliding glass doors.
Silence.
“You catch her. If she has a scrape anywhere on that body, El will gut us, and personally, I like having my intestines.” La continued speaking.
Nae’s fingers slipped on the white coated indentation in the handle, and her nails scraped the metal. She should’ve taken the bastard in last night, instead of letting her hormones override her common sense. The glass slid on its track, and she slipped through the slim opening. She slammed the patio door and pressed her finger against the switch, which locked it. She spun on her heel and hurried to the kitchen.
A knock on the glass had her glancing up into the annoyed face of La. She yelled to make herself heard. “Seriously. We won’t hurt you. We can’t, our boss would like literally kill us, and frankly, you just ain’t worth dying for.”
“Uh-huh like I’m going to take the word of a bunch of bikers, who I’m sure are running some sort of criminal enterprise.” Nae shouted back.
La wiped a hand down the side of her face. “How long have you been a bounty hunter again?”
“How about this; tell El, if he wants me to come out of this house, then he needs to be the one to come in and get me!”
“Now you’re just trying to get us all in trouble. El will be pissed, and someone will have to pay for his anger. Can’t you act like a nice little human, and just come along quietly?”
“We can sit here all day, La. If El wants me, he’ll have to come and get me.” Nae sat down on a stool at the breakfast counter.
La placed her fists on her hips. “Urggg. Fine, but you can’t say I didn’t warn you. El will not be happy!”
Nae circled her index finger in front of her. “Whoopty-fucking-do. Tell your boss to get his ass over here.” She resisted the urge to smile. Getting her hands on her bounty might just work out after all.