Chapter Nine

Fade

I pulled into the clubhouse parking lot and parked next to Smoke's bike. Compass, Pirate, and Stretch were outside smoking.

"Where the hell were you?" Stretch asked.

I leaned against one of the poles of the awning over the front of the clubhouse and pulled out a cigarette. "I was making sure Adalee was okay."

"Oh?" Compass smirked.

"Shut up," I grunted. There was no point in lying about where I was.

"You seeing her?" Pirate asked.

"I think we all see her, Pirate," I joked.

Pirate flipped me off. "Good luck with her. I asked her out, and she told me flat out that she doesn't date people she works with."

"Yeah, she told me that she told you that." A slick smile spread across my lips. "She hasn't told me that, though."

Compass and Stretch both snickered.

Pirate held up his hands. "You got better luck with women than I do, brother. If any of us can rope her, it will be you."

I wasn't sure I wanted to rope in Adalee before, but after tonight, it didn't seem like a bad idea at all. After seeing her lush, naked body, having her in my bed every night seemed pretty damn good. And it seemed like Pirate wasn't stuck on her like I thought he was. That was one hurdle I wasn't going to have to deal with.

"You think she's good being left alone?" Compass asked.

I nodded. "I set up some cameras around her place, and I had a talk with Garett and Mark. I wanted to ask her if I could stay, but she had already been through enough today. I didn't need to spring on her that I thought she might be in danger and I needed to be attached to her hip until we got Boone and Gibbs. I'm hopeful whoever shot at us today was just aiming at me, and they didn't care about her."

Compass exhaled a cloud of smoke. "You think she can handle herself if shit goes down?"

"She's tougher than she looks," I replied. "But I made sure Garett and Mark are on high alert. They're next door, and I plan on keeping an eye on her. We'll know if anything happens."

Pirate nodded, flicking ash from his cigarette. "She seems like a good girl. Just keep her safe, Fade."

"That's the plan," I said, taking a drag from my cigarette. "I don't want her getting caught up in our mess any more than she already has." Hell, I didn't want us in this shit either.

Pirate chuckled. "She seems pretty caught up already. Following you around, getting shot at... seems like she's part of the crew now."

"Yeah, well, I'm not letting anything happen to her," I said firmly. "She's been through enough."