Texas Tornado (Freebirds Book 5) (3 page)

“We’ve only had three tows today. None in waiting.” He answered.

“Did you get a call about a Blazer yet?” I asked.

“Yeah, already done it. Why?”

“Where’d you drop it off at?” I asked sharply.

Jack looked up from his computer, and Elliott looked up from his paperwork. Each gave me their full attention when they noted the anger in my voice.

“Some local diner off the interstate. Thought it was weird myself, but the lady said she lived there.”

“Okay, thanks.” I said and hung up.

“She didn’t have it towed here. Don said he towed it to the diner where she works. Although he said that she said she lived there, too.”

“Why wouldn’t she have it brought down here?” Elliott asked.

“Apparently, Sam’s not been a very nice big brother. Why would she bother?” I asked and then took the phone out of my pocket and dialed Cheyenne’s number.

She answered with the fist ring. “Hey, Jamie. Can I call you back?”

“Ahh, no. I need to go check on Shiloh. Get Janie off the bus for me?” I requested.

“Sure, but why does she need help?”

The twins were fighting in the background, so I made it quick, explaining what I’d learned from Don.

“I think Sam needs to do this.”

“I don’t want to wait. Thanks. Love you.”

Not giving her the chance to argue, I hung up and went out to the truck. It was still raining, and I decided to take the truck seeing as getting wet would only slow me down.

I couldn’t explain why I was so mad. Mostly it was directed toward Sam. He’d been acting strange ever since he’d met his brother last year. I realize it was a shock and all, but it didn’t give him a ‘get out of jail free’ card for being a douchebag.

Fifteen minutes later, I pulled up beside Shiloh’s Blazer and killed the engine.

The soft ticking of the heated engine filled the air as rain continued to pound down in torrents.

I surveyed the area, seeing that there was, indeed, an apartment attached to the diner. It was also unsafe as hell. There was no fire escape. Only one-way in and one-way out. The door looked like it would fall with one kick of my booted foot, and to make matter’s worse, there was a strip club directly behind the diner.

Not a good one either.

Bailing out of the truck and running towards the diner, I ducked inside and stopped on the carpet so I didn’t track water throughout the place. The young hostess, who was all of fifteen at best, smiled brightly at me.

“Can I help you, sir?” She asked.

“I’m looking for Shiloh. She here today?” I asked.

Her smile left her face, and a look of concern replaced it. “She got hurt on the way to work today. She called in, which is why I’m here.”

My heart started to beat a little harder in my chest. “Where is she?”

She raised her hand and pointed at the ceiling. “Her place.”

I gave her a nod of thanks and left. Rain poured down harder now than before. I tried to stay close to the building and let the edges of the roof shield me, but still ended up getting my whole right side drenched.

Once I got to the stairs, my anger was being replaced with concern.

Her stairs were a fucking joke. At least every other one was broken in some way, if not missing completely. Gingerly, I made my way up the stairs and stopped at her door.

I knocked four times before I tried the door handle.

Locked.

Getting out a credit card from my wallet, I shimmied it in between the lock and the door jam, popping it open with hilarious ease. I made a mental note to get her a deadbolt and a reinforced steel door as soon as possible.

A woman as beautiful as Shiloh shouldn’t be living in an area of town such as this. However, since she did, she needed to be prepared and safe.

In fact, now that I thought about it, I planned to get her an alarm system as well.

Stepping over the threshold, I sidestepped numerous pots that were catching the leaking water from the roof, and came to a halt in the main part of the apartment.

The area was an open floor plan, minus the bathroom that was off to the side with the door open. The kitchen was off to the far right corner, and in the closest left corner was a bed with cloud sheets. The place itself was spotless as could be.

From the outside, you wouldn’t even be able to tell that it would actually be nice inside; but, surprisingly, it was.

Scanning the room, I frowned when I didn’t see her. Which left only one other place she could be.

“Shiloh, its James.” I called out.

No answer.

“Shiloh.” I called out a little louder.

Still no answer.

Walking cautiously towards the bathroom door, I peeked inside and my heart nearly stopped. Shiloh was on her side, curled into a tight ball on the floor in front of the toilet, shivering. Her hand was cradled close to her chest, and her face and usually vibrant hair were wet with tears that were still leaking out of her closed eyes. She was wearing the same clothes as earlier, except now the dress was torn and scuffed in many places.

Two long steps later, I dropped down on my knees beside her. Placing my palm on her neck, I felt for her pulse. It was beating rapidly. Her face was flushed, and as I placed my palm over her cheeks, I could feel the heat emanating off her face from a fever.

Running my hands down her cheek, I called her name. “Shiloh.”

Her eyes opened, and the fever was apparent there too. Her eyes were glassy and distant. She blinked multiple times before giving me a small smile.

“Hi James.”

“Hey sweetheart. What happened?”

“Fell.”

“Fell where?” I asked gently, stroking her long, wet mahogany hair.

Her eyes opened wider, and I was treated to a smile that reached all the way up to her caramel colored eyes. “A fox scared the crap out of me and I dove into the ditch.”

I held my smile in check. “What hurts?”

“I think I broke my hand or arm.”

“Why didn’t you go to the ER?” I asked quietly, sitting her up to where she rested against the bathroom wall.

“My truck broke.” She said as tears welled into her eyes.

“I remember, honey. I kept waiting for the tow truck to bring it in and it never showed, so I decided to come to you.”

“That’s sweet of you.” She said and tried to stand.

Her breath hissed as I helped her to her feet, and the arm that was cradled to her chest was now clearly visible. And very clearly deformed.

“I think we should take you to the hospital.” I explained carefully.

“I don’t have any insurance.”

“That’s okay, honey. We’ll figure something out. Let’s go. Do you have a jacket?” I asked.

“No. I don’t have any winter clothes. I just got a blanket last week.” She explained.

“What happened to all your clothes that you came here with?” I asked as I helped her out her door and down her stairs.

There was a lull in the rain, which I was severely grateful for. I didn’t want her catching a cold on top of the broken arm.

“It got stolen when I went out to eat at the diner.”

“What?” I barked, and immediately regretted it when she jumped.

“Yeah, that place over there is a shit hole. They said they would send me a reimbursement check, yet I haven’t seen hide nor hair of it. I go over there once a month to check.” She shrugged.

I was glad her fever was making her tongue loose. I didn’t think I’d get the information any other way.

“That one?” I asked incredulously, pointing at the piece of shit motel across the street.

“Yeah,” She said dejectedly.

“Why’d you go to that one?” I asked as I opened the truck door for her.

She looked up, and then started to climb in. Not thinking that was the best idea for her hand, I grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her in, and then buckling her seatbelt once I got her settled.

“That’s the one Sam dropped me off at. I didn’t want to go there, but it’s kind of hard to tell anyone no when you don’t know the area. Nor do you have any money.”

As I continued to speak to her about mundane things, my blood started boiling at the treatment Sam was giving his little sister. How could he do this to her? And fuck, why the hell would he drop her off at the shittiest motel in Kilgore? Goddammit. This was the one where hookers and drug dealers set up shop.

Four hours later, I bundled up Shiloh in my truck with a bright pink cast covering her arm, and enough antibiotics and painkillers in her blood stream to make her a very happy girl.

“I don’t think my brother likes me very much.”

“Which one?” I asked.

“Either. Sam more so than Sebastian though.” She explained.

I kept my attention on the road, but peered at her out of the corner of my eye. “What makes you say that?”

“He doesn’t talk to me. He doesn’t allow me around his kids. Cheyenne never talks to me. He ignores my calls. He left me at a hotel in the shittiest part of town without money, food, or a way to contact him. I had to look y’all up in a freakin phone book to call him the first time.”

I was speechless.

Utterly speechless.

With what she just described to me, I would think he hated her, too. Still, I knew him better and I didn’t think that was the case. At least I hoped not.

“I don’t know honey, but we’ll find out.”

She didn’t reply, and I glanced over to find her head resting against the glass, asleep.

I pulled into the space in front of my place and turned the engine off. The truck’s engine ticked as it cooled, and I wondered if she would have a problem staying at my place. I had a spare bedroom, so it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to just put her in there. It’s not as if she’d be inconveniencing me in anyway.

I also knew she wouldn’t want to go over to Sam’s, especially after what she’d just told me.

Decision made, I unlocked the front door, threw it open, and then went back for Shiloh. She’d shifted to lean against the console, so it was easy to open the door and scoop her up into my arms. Her body curled into mine, and she sighed in pleasure.

I walked inside, leaving the door open, and walked back to the guest bedroom. Once there, I set her down gently on the bed, and then covered her up with the quilt that was turned down at the foot of the bed.

Taking the extra pillow from the other side of the bed, I propped her hand up on it before turning to leave. Just as I was closing the door, I heard her call out quietly. “James.”

Stopping the motion, I swung the door back open and went to the side of the bed. “Yeah?” I asked just as quietly.

“Did you close my door? I don’t want my cat to get out.” She slurred.

“Yeah, sweetheart. I locked the door. Go to sleep.” I said and smoothed her hair away from her face.

I needn’t have bothered saying the last part. She was already asleep.

Then my brain started turning. I hadn’t been looking for a cat when I went into the apartment, and I worried that when I left the door open when I went searching for Shiloh that I’d inadvertently let him out.

Which meant I was going to have to go searching for him tonight.

Wonderful.

Chapter 3

If you’re hungry, eat anyway....just in case.

-Life lesson

James

“There isn’t a fucking cat in this fucking house. It must’ve gotten out.” I growled.

I’d looked everywhere. Under the bed, in the closets, in the bathroom and kitchen cabinets. Dammit to hell, I was going to have to look outside in the fucking rain. Hell, even Cheyenne had followed behind me and looked, so the cat must be gone.

“She, literally, has one bag of clothes.” Cheyenne said in surprise, holding up a suitcase in her hands.

“Yeah, she said it was stolen from the hotel the day after Sam dropped her off.” I said making one more pass through the apartment looking for the stupid cat.

“What the hell? I thought her father was giving her money. Why’s she living here?” Cheyenne asked with a confused look on her face.

“From what I’ve gathered, which isn’t much, she’s here because she stirred up some bullshit asking questions that involve Sam, Sebastian, her father, and her. Something their father fucked up and didn’t keep a lid on. Now she’s here hiding out, I guess.”

Picking up the pillow off the bed, I threw it in the general direction of the wall in a fit of anger.

A cat’s low-pitched snarl of outrage had me turning and looking into the corner. Following the sound, I hunkered down on my hands and knees, moving the pillow aside to find a hole in between the floorboards.

A piece of the wood that would normally cover the hole was laying off to the side, not easily seen since the wood floors were dark, concealing the hole and the extra piece of wood perfectly.

I reached into my back pocket and took out the small flashlight I kept there for convenience, and shined it down into the hole. Glowing eyes, one green, and one yellow greeted me. Followed by brown fur with black dots interspersed throughout its coat.

Reaching my hand down slowly, my hand made contact with the cat’s long silky fur. Since I wasn’t missing a finger, I made a move to remove the cat from the hole. He came willingly enough. The problem wasn’t his refusal to come out of the hole, it was the fact that his body just plain didn’t fit.

After some maneuvering, I pulled him all the way free and was just plain stunned at the amount of cat that came out of the tiny hole. “Jesus.”

“Oh, my. He’s a big boy, isn’t he?” Cheyenne said peering over my shoulder.

Big didn’t even begin to cover it. Massive. Gargantuan. Colossal. Those words were barely even fitting. The beast wasn’t fat either, just big boned.

“That looks like a wild cat. Are you sure you want to take that home?” She asked worriedly.

I looked down at the cat who was no flipped backwards, limp like a rag-doll in my arms and laughed. “Cheyenne, this cat couldn’t be further from ferocious. Looks like a pussy-cat to me.”

My eyes moved down to the open board in the floor and my brow wrinkled in confusion. “Hold this.”

The cat didn’t protest in the slightest at the transfer of beds. Cheyenne grimaced and I laughed. She wasn’t a cat person in the least. She was a dog person through and through.