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“What the fuck are you doing?”

“Calm down.”

“What the fuck are you doing?”

He repeated the question like he hadn’t heard me, a little louder the second time. Even when he was being irrational, Garnet did a good job of keeping his voice down.

Not that it mattered. He was too far away now to threaten me with anything. He knew yelling at me wasn’t gonna solve anything.

“It’s gonna be a few days, maybe less, before Harris realizes his sister is missing,” I said. “Once he realizes that, he’s gonna start looking for answers. The same answers you’re looking for.”

“He isn’t gonna find them.”

“That doesn’t matter. Once they find Katrina’s car, people will start searching for her. Harris is gonna be pissed.”

“Not as pissed off as me. Needle, you’re making this shit worse. You need to bring her back.”

“If I bring her back, all I’m doing is putting her in the line of fire. You’re pissed because Michelle is in the hospital. Pretty soon Harris is gonna be pissed because his sister is missing.”

“And what the fuck are you doing to help the situation?”

“I’m forcing his hand,” I said. “I’m forcing his hand the best way I can. You have to…”

I couldn’t believe what I was telling him. But as I looked at Katrina, I knew that there was no other choice.

“…You have to talk to him,” I said. “You have to negotiate. Tell him we have Katrina. Once we figure out who’s responsible for what happened to Michelle, he’ll see her again.”

There was silence on the other end. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Garnet hung up on me, but I could still hear his breathing on the other end of the line.

“You? You, Needle, want me to negotiate with the Snakes?”

“It’s the only way we’re gonna get some answers. Somebody knows what happened to Michelle. Maybe it was Harris. But if it’s not, he can still help you get the answers.”

“Working together with the Snakes… I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” I said with a laugh. “This is the best way. If I kept Katrina in town, there would be no way to reason with Jordan.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I tried reasoning with you and failed. And outside of Ghost, you’re the most reasonable man I know.”

“…Where are you?”

“That doesn’t matter. Just let Harris know that his sister is safe and she will be as long as he’s willing to cooperate.”

“I’ll call a meeting and let you know if anything comes up.”

He hung up without saying another word. I sighed as I stuffed my phone into my pocket. Then I turned and saw Katrina standing a few meters away from me, looking up into the sky.

“What is this place?” she asked.

“Just a place I like to go when I want to get away from town.”

“Get away is right,” she said, still looking around. “It looks like there’s nothing here.”

“There’s enough for us to get by.”

I rode with Katrina for a few hours away from Ivory. It was late into the night when we finally arrived at our destination.

There wasn’t much around us except for the woods that surrounded us in every direction. A log cabin had enough amenities to last me a few weeks. The place was remote with a lone road leading back to the highway.

“What’s going on?” Katrina said as I walked up to her.

“I told Garnet to talk to your brother,” I said. “I told him to explain the situation. The two of them are gonna negotiate and come to an agreement. Once they figure out who’s responsible for what happened to Michelle, we can head back home.”

“It’s not my brother. Jordan would never—”

“It doesn’t matter now. Your brother owned the van. Now Garnet wants answers and it doesn’t matter how he gets them.”

“This guy doesn’t sound very reasonable. And he’s the president of your club?”

“He’s in love. Love makes us do crazy shit.”

“So it would seem…”

It had been a long night and an even longer drive. But looking at Katrina, I still managed to work a smile onto my face. She wasn’t smiling but she wasn’t angry either. She was just staring at me as if the reality of the situation finally hit her.

“You’re holding me for ransom,” she said. “Me for my brother’s help.”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

“Was it really necessary for us to leave Ivory?”

“There’s nowhere safer for you right now. Besides, once everything is settled and Garnet finds out who’s responsible—”

“You’ll bring me back. I know. I just…”

She looked away from me. Despite all my reassurances, she was still uneasy. I couldn’t blame her.

“I drank with my brother, I got abducted and interrogated with my ankles and wrists bound, and now I’m in some strange place in the middle of nowhere.”

“You’ve been through a lot,” I said. “You’re tired.”

“That’s one way of putting it…”

She turned around and walked toward a nearby picnic table. She sat on the edge of the table and looked up at the sky.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I just don’t know how to feel. I’m still… I’m still trying to process everything. I suppose that comes with the territory when you’re dealing with motorcycle clubs.”

“Being a member is never easy. It’s always been hard.”

“It’s even harder for family…”

She sighed as she stared up at the sky, her eyes lost in whatever it was she was thinking.

“…For as long as I could remember, my brother always wanted to be in a club. Watching those choppers drive up and down the streets every day. I guess every boy growing up in Ivory wanted to get patched in.”

“That’s the way it seems.”

“They don’t know what it’s really like though. Those young boys think they get to ride around on their bikes and puff their chests out with their logos on it. There’s more to it than that.”

“I’m sorry it had to be this way. Your brother chose this way of life—”

“I know,” she cut me off and looked at me. “I don’t blame my brother for choosing to be a club member. Hell, I’m proud of him for working his way to president. Still, it would be nice to not have to deal with some of this.”

“It… It just comes with the territory.”

“I guess that’s why you’re the way you are.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You’re a Black Reaper. Apparently, you’re predisposed to hate my brother and every Winter Cobra you come across. It doesn’t matter what kind of man they are. You’ve gotta kidnap their sister and get some answers instead of trying to talk things out.”

“This wasn’t my idea—”

“But you went along with it.”

I saw the frustration in her eyes that I thought I wouldn’t see. I put my hands up to try and calm her down but I knew there was nothing I could do or say to comfort her. She was pissed at a situation she had nothing to do with.

“Katrina, I’m sorry. I really am. But you know this is the only way to keep you safe. I had to get you out of Ivory in case they decided to go to war.”

“What do you think?” she asked.

“What?”

“Do you think Jordan did it? Do you think my brother is capable of ordering a hit on an innocent woman?”

She stared at me, her eyes narrowed like she was trying to burn a hole through me. I clenched my jaw and swallowed before being honest with her.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t know Harris well enough to know what he’s capable of.”

“But you know him well enough to hate him. After all, he is a Cobra.”

“…What are you talking about—”

“There’s no point in pretending. I can already tell. I know clubs in Ivory don’t get along. Your president wouldn’t have abducted me if he could have a reasonable conversation with my brother…”

She turned away from me and looked out into the distance. Her leg was bouncing up and down. Her arms wrapped around herself as she tried to stay warm. With everything going on, I almost didn’t notice how cold the night air was.

“You’ve had a long night,” I said. “You should probably get some rest.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m just going to stay out here—”

“Katrina, don’t do this. Sleep in the cabin. It’s warm. You’ll be comfortable. I know you’re mad but being angry isn’t gonna solve anything.”

I was surprised at how rational I sounded. If this were any other woman, I would have been doing everything I could to get into her panties.

But Katrina was different. Even with an angry frustration burning inside of her, Katrina was still an angel in my eyes. An angel I would have done anything for at the moment.

“Katrina…”

She finally looked up at me. I smiled softly at her, trying to goad her into bringing out the angel I knew was inside of her. After a few seconds, she finally gave me a smile in return.

“This is insane,” she said.

“If your brother is innocent, he doesn’t have anything to worry about.”

“And if he’s not?”

“…There’s no point in worrying about it right now. Katrina…”

I took a seat next to her and took her hands in mine. She didn’t protest as I squeezed her hands tight in my palm. I looked into her eyes and tried to be as sincere as I could be.

“All I’m concerned with right now is making sure you’re safe,” I said. “Come on… Why don’t you go inside of the cabin and get some sleep?”

She nodded softly with a warm smile on her face. She raised an eyebrow at me as she shifted her eyes up and down my body.

“Don’t get any ideas,” she said as she examined me.

“It’s too late for that. I get ideas whenever I look at you.”

She laughed at my response. It was music to my ears.

She gave me a nod and took her hands from mine.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll stay with you, here, wherever the hell we are. I’ll stay here as long as I need to.”

“Once this shit blows over, everything will be back to normal.”

“Normal. I’m beginning to think life in Ivory is anything but that.”