Page 27 of Burn Me Down

DEREK

As I neared the door, I spotted a white piece of paper with a message scribbled in purple marker and picked it up.

I am really sorry.

I shoved the note in my back pocket and silently unlocked the door. Peering in, Beck was still sound asleep, so I set the tray of meals down on the desk. I wouldn’t be around today and had prepped her meals. I untucked the journal and pen from under my arm and placed them beside the tray.

Taking a step toward the bed, I watched her chest slowly rise and fall. Her arm was above her head, and I knew her shoulder would be sore when she woke up. The comforter was down to mid-waist, and her shirt had pulled up just enough so I could see a strip of bare skin on her stomach.

I could stare at her all day, and if yesterday was any indication, I couldn’t keep her here like this. I was growing more attached with each passing second while she was trying to find a way back to her life. Another day, week, or even two would only make me want her more, and her want me less. I needed to let her go. The thought of it hurt like a physical blow. My chest constricted a little more with every breath until I was forced to leave before I did something drastic.

Grabbing my gear, I marched out to the truck and threw everything inside before hopping behind the wheel. I should thank Chase. This was not only a nice vehicle, but I appreciated the dark-tinted windows. I didn’t have to sneak around nearly as much.

All I could think about was Beck on the way to the clubhouse. Every possible scenario for us ran through my mind, but no matter what, I kept coming back to the same thing. If I genuinely cared about her, then I needed to set her free. Keeping her locked up in a cage for my benefit was worse than anything my father had done to my mother. She had a future and was a beautiful light in this world, and I couldn’t snuff that out by keeping her hostage. It needed to happen soon. Three days and I was falling hard. Maybe I fell before I took her, but it was only going to get more difficult the longer she stayed.

The sun was just rising as I pulled into the driveway. I was in a foul mood and growled at the gate guy for not moving fast enough. Slamming my door, I stomped across the parking lot with my teeth on edge. Chase and the guys who were supposed to come with me weren’t outside. I hated the idea of including other people. It meant there were that many more ways something could fuck up.

The stairs vibrated with each footfall as I climbed up to the main room of the clubhouse. Chase was by the bar talking to who I’d learned was Beast, his second in command. By the set of his jaw and sadness in his eyes, I would say that he was not only used to being in charge, he was used to losing people he loved. I knew that dark shadow well.

Three other guys, Snake, Roach, and Mannix, lounged around the room. I’d met all three of them the other night when Chase offered me a place in the MC, which was unusual since I didn’t need to prospect. I didn’t have a clue what the hell that entailed, but killing a few hundred people in the name of the Lost Souls seemed to bypass that particular level.

“DW, good timing. I was just talking about you,” Chase said, but his smile fell as I glared at him.

“Why is no one ready to go?”

Chase’s brows drew down into a frown. “You said you wanted to case the places around noon. Why the fuck are you here so early? Shit, why am I up so early?”

“You have a kid that keeps you up all night,” Beast said.

“And a screeching Naomi who is still pissed off that she’s on a spending allowance,” Roach added.

“Good point. Who the fuck needs sleep anyway? Want a coffee?”

Shit, I had said noon. I’d been so distracted that it was hard to remember anything. “I forgot about noon, but I’m here now. Show me what you have on this place, and we’ll spend the rest of the day casing it.”

“Okay, man, no worries. Do you want to hit the other place tonight?”

I’d already taken a look at that shitty crack house, and it was going to be easy. “No to the coffee, yes to the other place.”

“So cheery this morning. Alright, who do you want to take with you?” Chase picked a mug up off the counter, and I instantly regretted saying no to the coffee as he took a sip, and the scent of the fresh brew hit me.

“No one. I work alone. The last thing I need is a fuck ton of people getting in my way for one house,” I growled.

My mood had started out shit, and I didn’t see it getting any better before the night was over.

“I know you don’t want me along,” Snake said beside me.

“What gave it away,” I said, not bothering to look at him.

“I get it. I don’t like to work with anyone either,” he said, sipping his coffee.

“So why did you insist on coming?”

Looking at him, I saw the same anger in his eyes that I’d seen before. No matter how good you thought you were doing, the demons of your past were always hiding in the shadows to drag you back down. Snake was on guard from the world. Like he’d seen the worst of humanity and wore that experience as armor.

He shrugged. “Learn a new skill, and who better to learn from than the Dragon?”

“What’s your story?” Why did I ask that? I wasn’t the type to want to get to know people, but we had a few more hours of surveillance before the light show started.