Page 25
When I feel under control again, I open my eyes and march over to the upturned table to find the photo. I fold it and shove it into the pocket of my hoodie as I head outside and scan the street. I don’t see anything out of place but I know he’s got someone watching me somewhere. At least now we know the girls aren’t in any danger. I jump on my bike and fire it up before backing out of the driveway, taking off down my street, loving the feeling of weightlessness as I ride to the clubhouse.
Everyone’s bikes are still lined up outside when I pull up, and I wonder for a second why they all didn’t bail out after church. Then again, there’s a good chance most of them were already drunk before church. I park my bike and climb off, stomping up to the front door and flinging it open. That photo is burning a hole under my cut, and I know I gotta tell Blaze what’s going on. Everyone is gathered around the bar, laughing, and they all freeze as I walk in. I give them a quick nod.
“Blaze is lookin’ for you,” Chance says, tilting his head to the side to indicate that he’s in his office, and I nod.
“You all right, Storm?” Streak asks, and I nod again, starting off toward the office.
“Fucking peachy.”
I stop in front of the office and knock on the door before opening it and stepping inside, shutting the door behind me. Blaze looks up from the papers in front of him and arches a brow.
“I know who’s following me,” I snap, tossing the photo down on his desk. He picks it up and reads over the message, a grim expression falling over his face. He lays the photo down and glances up at me.
“I guess I don’t have to ask how you are.”
“I’m great,” I bite out, the anger building inside me again.
“Who’s the girl?” he asks, pointing to the photo on his desk.
“My neighbor.”
He studies me for a moment and reaches out for the glass of bourbon on his desk, taking a sip. “She important?”
I shrug. I don’t know what the fuck she is. “No.”
“You know, it’s okay to move on with your life.”
I scoff and look away from him. That’ll never fucking happen.
“She’s gone, and you torturing yourself isn’t gonna do a single fucking thing to change that. She would hate that you’re doing this to yourself.”
I turn my gaze back to him, letting him see how dead serious I am when I say, “This conversation is over.”
He sighs and nods, taking another sip of his bourbon as he stares down at the photo. “Why now?”
I just shrug, and he slams his glass back down on the desk. “Come the fuck on. You don’t expect me to believe that, do you?”
“He may be out for revenge.”
“Revenge for what?” he asks.
I shrug again, and he watches me for a second before his eyes widen and he stands up. “Jesus Christ. What the fuck did you do? I explicitly told you to leave him alone.”
“I did what you and every other guy in this building would have done. Don’t act like you wouldn’t have either, Prez. I was never going to let him get away with what he did.”
He shakes his head and leans forward, planting his hands on the desk in front of him. He may not like it but he knows I’m right. When Emma was in trouble last year, there isn’t a thing Blaze wouldn’t have done to protect her.
“You had any other communication with him?”
“Nope. I was kind of hoping he was dead.”
He stands and nods, pointing to the door behind me. “Time for church. I’ll deal with you later. I’m putting you back on runs but don’t go doing anything until we figure this shit out.”
“Not likely,” I mutter to myself, too quiet for him to hear before I spin and march out of the office, ignoring everyone else as I head into the room where we have church and sit in my chair, directly to the left of Blaze’s seat at the head of the table. Everyone else files in, casting questioning glances in my direction but I ignore them, wanting to get out of here. Chance walks in and arches a brow in question as he looks at me, and I just shake my head. Everyone in this room knows the shit I went through and would sympathize but I can’t talk about it right now. It’s still too fucking raw.
“Sit down,” Blaze barks, marching into the room and taking his spot at the table. We all settle into our chairs, and he looks down at the papers in front of him for a moment. “All right, we got three jobs this week. All transfers but don’t go thinkin’ that it’s gonna be easy. I don’t need to remind you about the last one.”
He looks around the table to each of us, and a few guys drop their gaze and shake their heads. I’m not sure I’ll ever get the sight of that poor woman passed out on the floor out of my mind, but she’s safe now and that’s all that matters.
