Free Wounded (Dogs of War MC Book One) by Monica Rossi Page A

in motorcycle clubs?” Sidney was incredulous. This was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. Next thing they were going to tell her that all of the Hell’s Angels were actually Angels.
    “No, not all shifters are in the Club, we’re just the… protection. We make sure everyone in our community stays safe and has what they need. If someone needs a roof, we put on a roof, if someone picks a fight with one of ours, we take care of it.”
    “So this, Three Rivers, is your community? How many werewolves… uh, shifters live here?”
    Red exchanged a look with Glory, they didn’t really like to advertise their numbers to people who weren’t one of them, but Sidney deserved her answers, “About 75 percent of Three Rivers is part of our family.”
    “Jesus Christ, are you serious?” No wonder no one had wanted to have anything to do with her, they might not be a cult intent on eating her at the apple festival but damn if they weren’t a close second.
    “Well, we intentionally built this town up so that we’d have a place to live in peace. Outsiders move in sometimes but they generally don’t like it very much. We’re a bit of a close knit group.”
    “You’re telling me,” she said wondering if even her freaky little assistant was a werewolf, “So what’s the deal with the Hellhounds, why are they fighting you if you’re protecting the community?”
    “That trash isn’t part of our community,” Glory spat.
    “They don’t live here, they want to live here, but we keep pushing them back across our borders.”
    “Why? If they’re shifters too, why not let them in?”
    He and his mother glanced at each other again, this wasn’t the conversation he wanted to have right now.
    “Drugs honey, drugs and human trafficking. They go to bigger cities and steal women they don’t think will be missed and sell them overseas where those perverts like having young white girls as slaves. We might not be quite on the up and up but we draw the line at slavery,” Glory explained.
    She’d been kidnapped by a shifter motorcycle club involved in the slave trade, it all made perfect sense now. Sidney rubbed her hand over her face, the day couldn’t get any more screwed up than it already was, “Ok, ok. Do you think it’d be possible for me to get a shower?”
    “Yeah, the bathroom is right down the hall.”
    “Wait,” she looked down at herself, “Are there people out there?”
    “Go on sweetcheeks, half of the people out there will be naked anyway, at least you’ve got a towel.” Glory picked up the bundle of clothes and handed them to Sidney, urging her out. Maybe she’d used up all the motherly care Glory had stored up at the moment.
    She followed Red to the bathroom, a surprisingly clean room with three toilet stalls and three shower stalls… none of which had doors or curtains.
    “Hey will you…”
    “I’ll stand at the door and make sure no one goes in.”
    “Thanks,” she shut the door behind her and turned the water on its hottest setting. It’d take more than hot water to cleanse away everything that had happened, but it couldn’t hurt to try. 

The clothes Red had found her seemed to be for someone three sizes smaller and with tastes that ran contrary to her own. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, she reminded herself as she pulled up the stretchy skinny jeans and the tank top. It wouldn’t leave much to the imagination but at least keep her covered.
    Red, true to his word was still standing outside of the door when she emerged.
    “Would you mind taking me home now? I know you’re tired too but all I really want in my life right now is to be in my bed.”
    “My bed will have to do.”  The blurry image of him pressing down on her in her own bed rose to the forefront of her brain and brought the blood rushing to her face, he probably knew exactly what she was thinking.
    “I, uh…”
    “Until we get the situation settled with the Hellhounds, I think you’d probably do better staying