didn't blame the woman one bit. "We're hitting the road, man. When he comes around, let him know Kellen will be in touch with a date and time."
Freak nodded. "Yeah. Stay safe out there, man." He tipped his beer back and drained it. "Think I'm going to go have a little of the bitch that took care of you."
Trip swallowed the rage trying to erupt from his gut. Rather than knock the fucker out as he wanted to, he offered a hand-clasp, and hoped like hell Tanya had found a good place to hide for a bit. He led the way out to their bikes and mounted up without a word to Stella. The more miles they laid behind them, the better. Before he could lose his shit and start a war.
They rolled out of the Saxons' lot and Trip took the lead, heavy on the throttle. If he didn't get away from there fast, he would go back and shoot the place up and take Tanya away by force. Or die trying. And in the process, land a major honor feud right in the Hell Raiders' lap. Self-preservation and the need to keep his brothers safe pushed him on down the road.
***
They had to stop for gas and food, and even though Trip wanted to keep pushing to the River Rogues' house, logic insisted they stop for the night. The info sign for the next Exit promised to meet those needs, and Stella waved him toward the exit and pointed to his tank. He must be running low on fuel, too.
Trip veered into the exit lane and slowed to ride the curve out. Stella came up beside him at the stop sign and together, they rolled into the little town. A full-service truck stop occupied a huge lot off to the left, and should have everything they needed. Trip gave Stella the thumbs up and made the turn.
They took a quick circuit of the lot, avoiding the security lights and checking for other bikes and finding none, then pulled up to the gas pumps. It wouldn't be too smart to walk into a truck stop full of some rival club's riders. Reassured they hadn't crossed unintentionally into someone else's path, Trip left Stella at the pumps as usual, and headed inside to pre-pay.
A middle-aged woman with dyed black hair piled high atop her head and bright red lipstick offered a friendly smile from behind the counter. "What can I do for you, hun?"
He requested the fill-ups and paid. "The sign said you have bunks?"
"We do, along with showers and lockers." She quoted prices for each.
After a moment's consideration, Trip hooked them each up for a shower and bunk for the night. It would save them from having to find a place to crash, and a shower to get rid of the road dirt added a nice benefit. Now he just needed to convince Stella.
Surprisingly, Stella had no objections when heard of their plans for the night. He normally preferred to sleep under the stars when they were on the road, and argued against motels or anything of that sort.
"What's up, man? Figured I'd have to twist your arm."
Stella swung onto his bike. "Figure a little extra security won't hurt tonight. Just in case some of our new best friends decided to follow us."
Trip couldn't argue with that reasoning. He started up and kept it slow and easy to lead the way to where the clerk had said they should park for the night. She hadn't shuffled them off to the dark edge of the lot but he'd refused the brightly lit spots next to the building, preferring to keep the bikes away from traffic and spotlights. They didn't need to give anyone a neon sign pointing to their location.
***
Dreams of Tanya haunted Trip through the night. Fantasies of fucking her morphed into nightmares of being forced to watch, helpless, while Buffalo raped her. By the time he rolled out of the rented bunk, a nasty mood had set in. At least he and Stella managed breakfast without incident. They started out to the parking lot and a woman snatched her child close, as if afraid they would eat the kid or something. Trip snarled at the woman just for the satisfaction of seeing her go pale with terror. Fucking idiots.
The wind in his face and miles melting away