Free Black Dogs Motorcycle Club: Full Series Box Set by Sienna Valentine Page B

her. “ Take
both of these. The shotgun stays by your bed, and the handgun is on you at all
times. No discussion. ”
     
    She carefully lay the 9mm on the counter
before using both hands to take the shotgun. It was heavier than it looked. “ I
never got to actually use the guns in our robberies, Henry. ”
     
    “Jase,” said Henry, and waved his
fingers. Jase hesitated only a second before he pushed through the group and
came to stand before Henry. “ Our
arrangement remains — you stay with
Maggie at all times, day and night. And you need to make sure she gets practice
with these. ” He pointed to the guns.
     
    Jase and Maggie looked at each other. He
seemed to look as tired and resigned as she felt. His anger from the night
before was completely washed away by something new, something deeper, but just
as dark.
     
    “I’ll take care of her. ” The words dropped from Jase ’ s
lips sincere and quiet. Maggie was glad he couldn’t see her eyes behind her
sunglasses.

 
     
     
     
    ~ SEVEN ~
     
     
    After
Henry had handed out some individual assignments to the MC, he adjourned the
meeting and all Maggie wanted to do was get back to bed. She had even procured
a few joints from Tommy, and she was looking forward to a day of lying around,
napping, and seeing Jase as little as possible.
     
    She waited at the bar, smoking and
finishing off her coffee until Jase came to get her and the new weapons Henry
had gifted her. She had no energy to deal with what had happened the night
before, or even to be feisty with him. She knew control of this situation was
no longer hers — if it ever had been. To
be frank, she was almost relieved to be letting someone else strong and
decisive take the wheel. Where had her own decisions led her to, anyway?
     
    A few other bikers followed Maggie and
Jase out to the parking lot, lighting up cigarettes and rumbling generally
about the shooting. Maggie let Jase take the shotgun and shoved the unloaded
9mm into the waistband of her pants. Still feeling the general vulnerability of
telling her story to all the men, she tried to distance herself from the group
when she noticed a woman walking to the porch from the parking lot along the
driveway. There was something familiar about the pattern of clothes she was
wearing, like Maggie had seen the outfit before. The woman held a box in her
thin arms.
     
    “ Hey, state your business! ” came a gruff male voice from somewhere in the group.
Instantly all the men turned and faced this potential threat. The woman froze
in her tracks, her eyes wide.
     
    Maggie started. “ Oh
my God-- Julie? ” She
said as she took a few steps forward.
     
    “ Maggie, stay back, ” said Jase.
     
    Maggie ignored him and continued towards
her friend. Julie stared at her in half-confusion, half-fear. She was a waif of
a woman with gorgeous bone structure and a sweet personality. Maggie hadn’t
seen in her in months. “ Julie, what are
you doing here? ”
     
    Julie’ s
eyes began to flit from Maggie, to the gang of bikers looking ready to pounce,
and back. The shotgun in Jase ’ s
hand couldn’t have been comforting. “ I-I
brought you some of your stuff … your
landlord called me to pick it up. He said he hadn’t seen you in a while and
your … friends … they
weren’t paying the rent. ”
     
    Of course ,
Maggie thought. Her whole focus had been on escaping Eagleton. She hadn’t
thought of what she was leaving behind — like
poor Julie, her emergency contact, having to pick up the slack. The landlord ’ s
threats of eviction in the week prior to her escape had been the last thing on
her mind. It occurred to her that this wasn’t the first time she had made such
a mistake. Judging by the feeling of eyes burning into the back of her head, it
was probably occurring to Jase at that moment, too.
     
    Maggie blinked a few times and looked
down, ashamed. “ Julie, I’ m
so sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you into this. I was … .
I had to leave in a