Chapter 7

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Shane Hollis jumped over the guardrail. Glen whistled his amusement as Thad hurdled after the kid, followed by Chuck dragging behind. They'd been following the runaway for the last hour through St. John's.

Glen chuckled. "Should we end the chase?"

"I want to say no." Wayne grinned. "But, I don't think Chuck and Thad are going to last much longer. They're getting slower."

"Hell, compared to the scrawny kid, we're all old and fat." Glen motioned for Wayne to pull out of the side street. It was time to take the kid home.

One day, Shane would stop running. He had a decent homelife. No problem with drugs. He only wanted to grow up faster than his parents wanted him to and he used every opportunity to grab his freedom. Someday, he'd be glad his parents gave a damn about him. In a couple years, when Shane turned eighteen years old, he'd miss the carefree adventures of youth and the joy of spreading his wings. The real world would knock him upside the head, and he'd realize nobody cared anymore whether he wanted to take a joy-run through the city.

Wayne motioned Glen to cut through the back street. Reading his MC president's thought process, he sped down the block, turned right, and stopped his motorcycle in the middle of the entrance to the alley and got off his bike.

He heard Chuck and Thad's heavy steps growing louder before he picked up the slim shadow heading his way. Glen grabbed his jeans at the thighs, hitched his pants, and bent his knees at the ready. There were twelve feet on each side of him that the kid could go through. He had to stop him.

Shane came into view. Baggy jeans. Tight shirt. His snapback sat cockeyed on his head. Glen shifted his weight from one leg to the other, following Shane's pattern, knowing he was slower than the kid. Glen grinned in competition. But, the kid had never played football.

The slight hesitation, the fake flick to one side, put Shane off his rhythm. Glen dove to the right. On contact, he wrapped his arms around Shane's slim waist, and took him down, rolling onto his side to keep from damaging the kid.

"You're done running for the night." He hefted himself to his knees, holding on to the kid's shirt. "You've broken the ten o'clock curfew put on by the city. I can hand you off to St. John's Police Department and let them deal with you, or I can call your parents to come pick you up. Your call."

"Dude..." Shane groaned. "I'll walk back home."

"Yeah, that's not going to be happening." Glen let go of him as Chuck and Thad arrived out of breath and Wayne brought his Harley to a stop. "This is the third time we've found you in the last year. When are you going to grow up?"

Shane's long, lank arms hung at his sides. "It took you longer this time."

"I wouldn't go off the time. We're wearin' you down, boy." Chuck pointed his finger at Shane. "You've got a death wish going through traffic on foot after dark."

Shane shook his head. "In your fucking dreams, old man."

The kid loved the negative attention. In that way, he wasn't any different than any teenager who felt invisible in a world that seemed too big at times.

Wayne stepped away and brought out his cell phone. Glen stayed where he stood, making sure the kid wouldn't run again. Thad, still sucking wind, bent at the waist and held his knees, gagging.

He wouldn't be surprised if Thad hurled. He was no longer young and his partying days had caught up with him.

Glen took in the scene and Shane's acceptance that his fun was over. He enjoyed the lighter challenges of catching runaways such as Shane. The cases that ended with returning a teenager to the parents for them to start over or a wayward spouse who only left to get some air. It was a nice high from the searches that ended in murder or the missing person never found.

"Your parents are on their way." Wayne returned to the kid. "I'm thinking this is your last time you're going to be a little asshole and run away."

"Right." Shane took off his cap, tossed his hair back out of his eyes and pulled the brim down again. "You can't tell me what to do."

Wayne's hand shot out and grasped Shane by the neck, lifting him to his toes. "That's where you're wrong. Listen carefully."

Shane gurgled for breath.

"You're wasting Notus Motorcycle Club's time. For the hours we're chasing your ass, a woman could be in danger. A little girl could be in the hands of a man who doesn't think she should be protected." Wayne lifted the kid's one-hundred-and-twenty-pound body off the ground. "I rather end you, than miss a chance on saving someone who actually needs help."

Glen stepped forward, having heard and even given the speech to others before. "It's his third time. I vote for making this his last warning. What do you say?"

"Last warning," said Chuck.

Glen looked over his shoulder at Thad. "What say you?"

Thad shrugged. "He's sixteen?"

"Yep," said Glen.

"Last warning." Thad scowled. "I'm not too happy about having to walk back to my bike."

Wayne let the kid go. Shane dropped like a rock, rolling on the ground, coughing and gasping for air. "You should sit down there until your parents come for you."

They all walked a few yards away, letting Shane know that one wrong move, he'd have his ass handed to him. If the parents couldn't control him, Notus MC would.

Glen pulled out his cell phone. It was almost midnight. He'd tried to put Heidi's location out of his head while he'd been out on a search but he'd failed. Everywhere he went, he looked for her. She was on foot. Hopefully at a motel or she decided to stay back at his house.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Chuck.

He looked up and caught everyone looking at him. "Nothing. Why?"

"You're not whistling." Chuck hooked his hands in his pockets. "Are you giving up the habit?"

"I got other problems to think about. The woman who works over at Pauly's Peddlers stayed at my house last night." Glen ran his tongue over his teeth. "I caught her trying to sleep in the alley behind Vavoom's and took her home."

"Yeah, Wayne and Thad filled me in. I've never known you to worry about the homeless before." Chuck raised his brows. "Is she sexy?"

"That's usually how Chuck gets his women." Thad flung his arm out, slapping Chuck in the chest, and laughed. "He's running out of chicks with homes."

Glen's lip twitched in irritation. "She's not..."

Wayne cleared his throat. Glen shook his head, letting everyone know to drop the subject. Heidi was currently homeless, but she wasn't a damn woman off the streets. Notus members had each other. If one of them found themselves without money or needing to find a place to live, they'd rely on each other. Maybe Heidi had no family or close friend she could lean on for help.

"Go ahead and take off, Glen. We got things covered here." Wayne glanced over at Shane. "We'll be out of here within twenty minutes. Take care of things at home and enjoy the rest of your weekend."

"See you all on Monday, if not sooner." He wasted no time and rode off on his Harley.

All the way home, he kept his attention on what happened around him. The late-night traffic, the pedestrians, the establishments still open for business. It was routine to be aware of his surroundings, except this time he looked for a small woman with a blonde crew cut carrying a too-big-for-her backpack.

When he pulled into his driveway and cut the engine, he'd accepted that Heidi had taken off. The only consolation came from knowing she worked at Pauly's Peddlers, and he'd make sure to check in on her and validate that she found somewhere to stay. Whether she wanted it or not, he felt responsible for her.

He'd only felt that kind of duty when asked to search for missing persons. It wasn't as if he rode down the road looking for people to take care of.

He tried the front door handle and found it locked. Using his keys, he let himself into the dark house. Tuned to any noise, weariness hit him at the silence.

She'd left.

He dropped his helmet and gloves by the front door. The incessant meowing of the cat out back started before he hit the stairs. Needing a shower, he walked up the steps and stripped down. The cat could wait until he knocked the road dust and sweat off.

Naked, he stepped under the shower. He soaped his hair, his beard, and lathered his body. Scrubbing his head while turning around, he hit the faucet handle as soon as the water ran clear of suds. He brushed his teeth. Put on a pair of boxers. Turned on the television hanging on the wall opposite his bed, then walked down to the kitchen.

The cat had stopped calling for food. He scooped a handful of Kibbles and opened the sliding door. Squatting down, he dumped the food in case the cat came back and faintly heard a muffled meow.

He peered out into the darkness, stood, and flipped on the outside light. A large bundle lay in the middle of the deck, under the roof. He flipped the light off quickly, recognizing the sleeping bag. No longer tired, he stared into the dark letting his eyes adjust. She'd stayed.

Why would she choose to sleep outside when he'd given her the spare bedroom upstairs?

Had she hung around all day?

He slid the glass door open fully and stepped out onto the deck. Quietly approaching her, he bent down and found the end of the bag and pried it loose until his hand found the soft fuzz of her hair.

"Heidi?" he whispered.

She jolted. "Get away from me."

The sleeping bag failed to contain her. She was on her feet, facing him down, in one fluid movement. The ease at which she went from a deep sleep to combat mode was like someone tossing a bucket of cold water on him.

He backed up, hands in front of him. "It's okay. It's me. Glen."

"God..." Her shoulders sagged forward, and she fell to her knees, rifling through her bag and extracted the stray cat. "I, um, didn't know it was, uh, you."

Heidi cradled the hissing cat to her chest. He stepped back to the door. Not many people knocked him straight on his ass without a fucking good jab. Heidi took the air he was trying to breathe. Even highly aware of his surroundings, she'd taken him by surprise.

"Why are you sleeping on my deck?" he asked.

"You said I could stay tonight."

"In the house. In bed. Not out on my fucking deck." He stepped inside and put his hand on the door to keep himself grounded. "Come in and warm up. You can have the spare room."

She ducked her chin, turned around until her back was toward him. When she turned around again, she had her backpack slung over her shoulder, and the cat held to her chest with her free arm.

"Can I bring the cat with me?" asked Heidi.

He rubbed the back of his neck. It was a damn stray. Probably didn't have any vaccinations. He could imagine the invasion of fleas into his carpet if he allowed her inside. Hell, it was a wild cat that'd probably do some major damage to Heidi's soft skin.

Heidi lifted the cat up under her chin and rubbed her cheek against its fur. His chest warmed. She'd somehow head-tricked the cat into acting tame.

Fuck. He was going to have to flea bomb his house.

"Yeah, Blue, you can bring in the cat." He stood back, eyeing the cat hissing at him as Heidi stepped into the house.

He locked the door behind her and followed her up the stairs. Her ass swayed, and despite the hot, sexy view, he recognized the same jeans she wore yesterday and were the ones she'd washed this morning in his utility room. He silently groaned. How could he not have seen the truth behind the beautiful woman?

She wasn't temporarily without housing. She was homeless, and she'd been homeless for a while.

He stayed in the doorway of the spare bedroom as she walked into the room, dropped her pack, and climbed into the bed fully clothed without any hesitation.

"Night, Glen. Thank you," she whispered.

He backed away, reeling at how he'd accepted her explanation about her circumstances when he'd found her in the alley. Her reasons were believable at the time. Two nights in a row of sleeping outside where anything could happen was not believable.

In his room, he put on his jeans over his boxers. He had to do something. She couldn't continue living outside. What if he couldn't find her? Who would take care of her? What if something happened to her? Who would know?

He laid down on the bed, ready for anything, and shut off the light. The night Thalia disappeared, only later to learn she'd been kidnapped and murdered filled his head. The helplessness of not finding her and knowing she'd vanished right out from under their noses was not something to forget. The anger at failing Thad's sister burned in him and every member of Notus. She'd been one of them. A younger sister to every member.

That moment destroyed his MC brother Rich's life, and he'd taken off. Glen rubbed his hands over his face. They'd searched for over twenty-two years hoping to find a sign that Rich was still alive.

He wouldn't let that happen to Heidi. He wouldn't let her disappear.

Getting back out of bed, he walked out into the hallway, flipped on the light, and stood outside the spare bedroom. Heidi had already gone back to sleep. The cat on her pillow raised its head and hissed at him.

"Sh," he said quietly. "I'm not going to hurt her, hellcat."

The cat stood, stretched, and stepped off the pillow, curling up against Heidi's chest. Glen closed his eyes an extra second at the swift desire to take the cat out and take its place curled up against Heidi. To have her heat warming him.

She appeared young, innocent, content. He exhaled and stopped the whistle before it could escape his lips and wake her up. Instead, his lip twitched, and his gaze fell to her backpack. Knowing if he stayed looking at her any longer, he'd pilfer through her bag and get to the bottom of all his questions, he turned off the light and went back to bed.

Enough was enough. In the morning, he'd find out everything he needed to know about Heidi.