Page 91 of Praying for Thunder

“Oh, thanks.” Not having enough money, I walked away, and right into a sight I never thought I’d see again. As if in a dream, I whispered, “Moola.”

Now approximately 6’1”, I was taller than her. I’d never seen her from this angle. She was older but still stunning, and a sight for these terribly sore eyes.

Her own filling with tears, her smile was sincere but also full of torture. “Hello, young man.” She sucked air through her nose as if trying to not crumble to her knees. “What may your name be?”

W-What?

There are very few things I wanted more in life than to hug that woman, right then and there. I had to fight every urge to feel a warmth, a comfort, so familiar it would have made me think Ani was holding me. “H-Hellion.”

Visibly fighting for composure, she looked away. “What a great road name, Prospect.”

Forgetting everything, even what I was doing there, I blinked, peering down at my cut. “Oh. Uh, yeah. Trying to be, uh, a Titan.”

Then, as if not caring who I was, she turned away, gave a nod to someone, then left me, shattering the heart I begged to not wake up.

I just stood there, wondering if I had imagined her, her tears. That’s when someone bumped into me. She immediately apologized. “I’m such a klutz! I’m so sorry!” She pretended to fix her clothing. “Hi, I’m Elle.”

Still barely able to breathe, because I wanted to follow Moola, I distractedly looked to the man behind her. He was tall, blond, in a cut, and mouthing, “Breathe.”

There was something genuine about him, so I found my lungs doing as instructed while I read his vest. Steel Stallions. Original Chapter. Austin. Saint.

My mind trying to clear, I thought, Wait, Steel Stallions—I looked to the woman in front of me again, holding out her feminine hand in front of me. It was the woman who had been on the back of Lynx’s bike. “Oh, shit.” I’d been ignoring a very significant person in the MC world. “Sorry.” I shook her hand.

Can a stranger’s smile be endearing? Because that’s what hers was. I knew, literally, nothing about her, yet her green eyes were swearing they knew me well.

Her words? Not the same. She thumbed behind her. “This is my overgrown baby, Saint. I trust him as much as I trust my Old Man.” Then she stared at Chubs and Roam, who were dumbfounded at my sides.

I just couldn’t get past Moola having been right in front of me. That’s why Roam leaned close and whispered, “She’s asking if Chubs and I are safe to talk around.”

Chubs was staring down Saint, who wasn’t backing down in the slightest. Nor was the biker who appeared out of nowhere, flanking Saint. His cut was a Steel Stallions. His road name, Giver.

It looked like ‘Giver’ was ready to give bullets, his stare was so intense.

Roam whispered to me, “Do you know what’s happening? Want me to get us help?”

Elle, not surprised by her scary protection detail, kept smiling at me. “I’m no threat… Thunder.”

I gasped. Roam gasped. Chub’s gasped, saying, “How does she know what Rya calls you?”

Elle’s shoulders softened, but she only said, “I’ll be sending a friend to you. She will offer you a piece of gum. Let her offer you more, and follow her.” Her eyes begged for my trust. “He will be waiting for you there.”

She and the two men walked away.

Chubs watched them diligently. Quietly, he said, “Hellion, someone is trying to tell you something.”

I peered up at him to my left. “Uh, she just did.”

He was sporting a very serious expression as he observed our surroundings. “You just spoke to an MC queen with a power that is horrifying to imagine.”

“I-I didn’t go looking for her.”

“No, hence what else her presence told me.”

I thought of her saying, I’m no threat…even though it was the two guys with her that were scary. Oh, her wish is their command.

Chubs kept peering about. “You’re used to small-time MC. That was the biggest it gets.”

Roam added, “And she brought her son.”