The roller luggage, the fact that she walked here—no head lights glared the windows before she walked in—and the fact that she was in this area at all, told him she was dodging something. And she didn't have the slightest idea about where she was, or where she was going. She probably thought this was a good thing, but he knew better.
None of the other Wolves seemed to be moving in on her yet, so when he saw that her beer was low, he walked over to her. He would buy her a beer, flirt a little, act normal, and see if he could find out her story.
She probably needed to get off the street and into a safe place. He could make that happen for her, if her story was reasonable. Otherwise, he could point her in a good direction and leave her with his phone number.
When he came up next to her, she was already watching him, and prepared a smile of greeting for him—so she wasn't stupid at least. She understood enough to know that she would be expected to be looking for company. This was good. It made the next few steps easier to take with her.
"Hey, you want another beer?" he asked casually.
"Sure, but I don't talk to strangers," she said with a sly smile.
"Elias. Elias Neal," he offered.
"Chelsea," she smiled, "Now that you aren't a stranger, I suppose I'll accept the beer."
Elias motioned to the bartender, "Frank? Two more of the same please, and a shot of whiskey."
"Not trying to get me drunk area you, Elias?" she asked.
"No, I thought I would try to get me drunk, but if you want one, it is easily done," he offered.
"Rum, on the rocks," she told him.
Elias nodded and let Frank know the change of order, then he sat down on the stool next to her. "Did you just get into town?" he asked, nodding to her luggage.
"Oh, um, yes, sort of," she told him.
"Looking for a hotel?"
"No, not right now. A diner would be good. Something open all night? Something close?" she asked.
Elias nodded to himself. Not wanting a hotel was evidence enough that his first appraisal had some merit.
Frank interrupted them by setting down the drinks. Elias laid a twenty on the bar and told Frank to keep the change. Once Frank was gone, Elias mulled over several conversational options, and decided on the cut-the-bullshit trail.
"I'm guessing that you are looking for a place to lay low. Can you tell me how serious your worries are?" he asked.
Her eyes went slightly wide, but she recovered quickly enough. "That obvious, huh?"
"Obvious to anyone who knows what they are looking at, yes, but probably not to most of the people here."
"Are you with the White Wolves?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm an officer. Sergeant at Arms."
"Are you an outlaw group?" she asked.
"Not particularly, no, but some of our members aren't exactly angels," he told her with a grin.
"What about you?"
"Me? I have a few irons in a few fires, but mostly I work for a living."
"Can I ask what you do?"
"Sure, if I can get an answer to my first question—how serious are your worries?"
She searched his eyes, and then took a sip of her rum. "Very."
"Then we should probably get you into a safe place before closing," he offered. "And to answer your question, I trade stocks, have a few rental houses, and paint custom tanks and bike frames. The last is more or less a hobby but I make some coin doing it."
"No drugs?"
"I have been known to partake, but I don't deal if that is what you are asking," he replied. "You hiding from the law?"
"No—well, not really. I just left my boyfriend. But he's a cop. Detective. Narcotics. I lived in Houston, near downtown. He's good at finding people, so I chose this area since I don't have any ties to it at all until I could figure out where to go from here."
"No car?" he asked, and when he saw the question in her eyes, he added, "No headlights through the windows before you came in. So, I'm guessing you are on foot."
She nodded to this and sighed. "You don't miss much do you?"
"Not on a good day, no. So, no car? Or did you decide that would be too easy to track?"
"I left it behind," she told him. Then offered, "Vanity plates."
"Ah." He nodded, and took a long drink from his bottle. "Well, as it happens, I drove my truck here tonight, so I can give you a lift if you would like."
"Where?"
"Well, the best place would be my house. You can sleep in the spare room, get a shower, a meal, and we can talk about the rest in the morning," he offered.
"You don't even know me. Why would you offer that?" she asked warily.
"My mother was on the run with two kids from my father, who was a drunk, an addict, and liked to talk with his fists. If someone would have offered the same to her, she might not have had to look over her shoulder for ten years until she got word that my dad had died in a car wreck." Elias told her. "He might have been looking for her, but I doubt it. I was only twelve at the time, but I knew enough to know that his drugs and drinking took precedence."
"Tomas will be looking for me. That is a fact. A hard fact. If he finds me at your house, it could be bad for you," she warned him.
"Yeah, could be bad for him as well," Elias told her. "I'm not a badass, and I'm not minimizing the threat, just letting you know that I understand. He's a cop, and that can be a problem, but like I explained: I'm legal, with no warrants or criminal history. If he comes in hard, well, I can play hard as well. But, if we get you out of here shortly and off the street, it isn't likely we are going to have to worry about that happening. What do you say?"
She looked around the bar, and then downed her rum. "It's a tempting offer. You're not just trying to get into my pants, are you?"
"Thought crossed my mind, but romance is probably not high on your list of desires at the moment." He grinned, hoping it was a friendly grin.
She gave him a serious nod. "No, it isn't. Probably won't be for several years either. I think I've had enough for a while. I don't seem to be very good at making decisions in that area."
Elias smiled and downed his whiskey. "That makes two of us. I can read a market sheet, and read a renter, but can't seem to read a lover worth the shit."
"I'm surprised that you don't have one. You're a good-looking man," she complimented.
"Last one was a year ago. Actually, a little more than a year. Shelly was her name. I thought I was going to marry her, but as luck would have it, she stole five thousand from me and left before I could buy the ring. I consider it money well spent."
She nodded as if this answered some question in her mind, then she said, "Look, Elias, I really have no clue what to do from here, so I'm going to take you up on your offer, but I'll probably be gone by tomorrow afternoon. So, really, there is no future or benefit in helping me. I can pay you for the night's stay. I have money. I can keep the tab clear, but that's all I'm offering. No sex, no relationship, nothing but the possibility of trouble coming to your door if he tracks me this far."
Elias shrugged. "I've been dully warned, and I accept the terms. Want another drink? I want to cover your back trail a little before we take off. Let some key people know that you were never here."
"Like Frank?" she asked.
"Yes. Frank, and John, our president, and two others who are here tonight. They'll take care of the rest," he agreed, and took a long pull off his beer.
"Alright. I'll have another beer, and wait for you to do the voodoo that you do." She smiled.