Chapter Sixteen
Blade
Pulling up in front of The Coffee Shop, I saw Becca, Rachel, and Ryder sitting together at a table. I walked over to the prospect, choosing to deal with him first.
“Prospect.”
The kid jumped up from where he was leaning on his bike, looking at his phone. Is that why he didn’t see Ryder approaching my woman? This was a common occurrence with Ryder and Rach, so if he had been paying attention, he should have expected what was coming.
“How old are you, Prospect?”
“Eighteen, sir.”
“Cut the sir shit.”
“Yes sir.” He winced, realizing what he had done.
“Listen, you’re off the hook here as far as being inside with the girls. VP told you to stay outside, and he outranks everyone but the Prez. Also, Beck isn’t my old lady.”
I turned to watch her through the window for a moment before turning back to the kid. “Yet. So relax, you did nothing wrong there.”
“Thank you, s—” I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Thank you.”
“But those women in there? They outrank you!” I scolded him, pushing my finger into his chest. “When you are guarding over them, you stay off your fucking phone unless a brother calls. Got it?”
He gulped and nodded his head.
“I want to hear the words, Prospect.”
“I understand, Blade. No phone unless a brother calls and my eyes on them every second.”
“We might just whip you into shape after all.”
I turned away and strolled back over to my bike. I parked my ass on the seat and stretched my legs out in front of me, crossed at the ankles. With my arms folded across my chest, some people might think I was relaxed, but as I glared through the window at Ryder, I willed him to come outside.
I didn’t have to wait long before he swaggered out and stood right in front of me, crossing his arms over his chest just as I did.
“What the hell are you doing, Ryder? Are you trying to get your ass beat by Cash?”
“What the fuck are you doing, Blade ?”
I stood to my full height and narrowed my eyes at my childhood best friend. “You wanna try that again?”
Dropping his arms, I could see his hands fisted at his sides.
“Stop playing with her. Why the hell did you kiss her last night? And why the fuck did you kiss her the day you died? If you aren’t man enough to tell her the truth, then stay the fuck away from her.”
I stood there, stunned that he knew any of this.
“My relationship with her is none of your fucking business.”
“She is one of my best friends. I care about her.”
Getting in his face, I snarled, “And you think I don’t? You fucking know better than that.”
“You need to stop being an asshole,” Ryder shouted back at me.
“Hey, Blade.” the prospect called out, and I turned my attention toward him. Ryder used the distraction to punch me in the face.
“NO.”
I heard Becca yell as I shoved Ryder against the front window and heard her cry out again.
“Rach, I need to do something.”
“No, babe, let them work it out.”
I whispered to Ryder, “You may be my oldest friend, but you ever take a cheap shot at me like that again. I will bury you in the ground. Keep your fucking lips off my girl, or I might still do it.” I stepped back, letting him go.
Walking over to Becca, I leaned down and kissed her cheek.
“Take a ride with me, babe.”
She looked over at Ryder as if asking permission, and it pissed me off. Then she narrowed her eyes at him, and I smiled.
She looked back at me.
“Please?” I begged.
She glanced over at Rachel, who was shooting daggers at me. I would find out later what that was about.
“Come on.” I reached for her hand.
“I don’t know, Rach and I have been shopping all day. What about my bags?”
“The prospect following Rachel can take them back to the clubhouse. Or he can drop them at your house. Your choice, babe.”
She looked over at Rachel again, and I did as well. Begging her with my eyes to encourage Becca to come with me. When she finally smiled, I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“Go ahead, Beck. I can drop your bags at home.” Rachel pulled her in for a hug, whispered something in her ear, and then let her go. “Go have fun.”
Becca turned around to follow me to my bike.
When I looked back at Rach to thank her, she mouthed asshole.
What the fuck?
I took Becca’s hand in mine and walked her to my bike. After swinging my leg over, I held out my hand to help her climb on. She wrapped her arms around me and laid her chin on my shoulder. A peace I hadn’t known in ten years settled over me.
“So, where are we going?” she asked.
“I have somewhere I want to show you. Hold on tight.” I grabbed the backs of her knees, yanking her forward so she was pressed up tight against me.
Pulling out into traffic, I drove toward a spot I used to take her on my dirt bike. I was playing with fire, but I didn’t seem to care anymore.
Guiding my bike up the trail to what Becca and I coined Lookout Mountain; I wondered if she realized where we were. She and I used to ride up here on my dirt bike to get away from our parents all the time.
Grams was great, but she only had so much to say when Becca’s mother was around. She did her best to combat the way Becca’s mom treated her, but that was her mother. Grandmothers had to concede authority to the parents.
Settling at the top, I let my bike idle for a bit, enjoying the feel of her behind me. I would love nothing more than to stay like this, but we needed to talk. She needed to tell me why she lied about the other night.
I tapped her leg, letting her know she could climb off. Once we were both free of the bike, I grabbed her hand and walked toward the edge. The best part about this spot was you could only get up here on a bike. Few people knew about the trail leading up here, and I hoped to keep it that way.
“I love it up here,” she said, looking out over the town.
“Have you been up here before?”
Shrugging her shoulders, she replied, “Once or twice.”
“I discovered the trail up here not too long after I moved here.” Which was the truth. When I found it, I was ten.
“Beck,” I called her attention to me. “Why did you lie to the sheriff?”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “How do you know I lied?”
I needed to decide how much to tell her. I was already walking a slippery slope. One word and my gig would be up, and I wasn’t ready for that yet. “We watched the video from the parking lot.”
“I told you all to stay out of it. Let the sheriff handle it.” She pulled away and walked further out, looking at the sky. When we were kids, we used to lie in the grass and watch the clouds roll by, looking for shapes. I guess most kids did that, but it was special to me because Becca was with me.
“He can’t do his job if you don’t tell him the truth,” I reminded her.
She spun around so fast. I didn’t know how she didn’t lose her balance.
“How do you know what I told the sheriff?”
I dropped my eyes to the ground, not wanting to see her angry at me.
“Did the sheriff tell you?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Church has cameras.”
“That was why King let us use it. He knew you all could hear everything I said. Dagnabbit!”
I chuckled.
I had forgotten her penchant for using silly words to avoid cussing. It was fucking adorable now as it was when we were kids, maybe even more so.
“You don’t get to laugh at me,” she hissed, poking me in the chest.
“I am not laughing at you, babe. It’s cute you can’t cuss.”
“I could if I wanted to. I choose not to. There’s a difference. Swearing shows a lack of intelligence. There are millions of words, and most people use the same ones every time. And they don’t always mean the same thing. That’s just stupid.” Folding her arms over her chest, she looked like a toddler who didn’t get her way.
Dragging her into my arms, I kissed the top of her head.
“I need you to tell me what happened. We could tell Grant had a lot to say. What was it?”
She pulled away from me and turned her back to me again.
I was getting pretty damn tired of her rejecting me.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why?”
Throwing her hands in the air, she spun around again. I was getting dizzy myself with how much she twirled around.
“Because he wasn’t making any sense. Nothing he said made sense, and I just want to forget what happened.” She threw her arms around my waist and buried her face in my chest.
Holding her tight, she whispered, “I have enough things I can’t forget. I don’t need more.”
“Ok, we can table that for now. Tell me about Ryder.”
She looked up at me. “What about Ryder?”
“Is there something going on between you two?”
“Me and Ryder? No.” She laughed, shaking her head.
I looked into her eyes. “You let him kiss you.” I growled.
“Why are you always growling at me?”
“Because you infuriate me sometimes.”
She tilted her head, like she was trying to work something out in her mind.
“What?” I asked.
Shaking her head, she stated, “Nothing.”
“Why did you let him kiss you?” I reiterated.
“I let you kiss me,” she challenged. “I asked you to kiss me.” She looked at me with a smile that told me she very much enjoyed it when I kissed her. “Why don’t you kiss me again?” she proposed, and her eyes dropped to my mouth.
“Babe, I’m trying to talk to you.”
“Please kiss me, Blade.” Her eyes darkened with desire.
I had no hope of denying her what she asked for.
I leaned down, gently pressing my lips against hers. She didn’t hesitate to open for me, and tentatively swiped her tongue inside my mouth. My hand fisted in her hair as I deepened the kiss. Pulling her against me, I knew she could feel my cock harden against her. I pulled away regretfully.
“Babe, I want nothing more than to lay you down right here and make you mine.” I groaned, adjusting myself. “Which is why we need to stop. We need to talk about Ryder.”
She released a heavy sigh. “Why? Ryder is one of my oldest and dearest friends. That is all there is to it.”
“You let him kiss you.”
She pulled out of the embrace, and it felt like I couldn’t breathe when she walked away from me again.
“Are you flipping kidding me? I will not turn my back on Ryder. I will not give up my friendship with him,” she complained, throwing her hands in the air again. “Why should I? Because you’re jealous?”
“I don’t share.”
She looked down, kicking her shoe in the dirt.
“Hey, what aren’t you telling me?” Placing a finger under her chin, I lifted her face so I could gaze into her eyes.
“Ryder is my friend. Nothing more. He could never compete with him.”
I could see the emotion in her eyes. I knew she was on the verge. Could I do what I needed to push her over it? I wanted her to talk about me. Talk about us. I wanted to know what she felt for me before my life ended in that car accident ten years ago.
We’ve already established I was an asshole.
“But there is someone?” I asked, holding my breath to wait for her answer. Taking a deep breath, she looked away.
When I picked her up after Grant attacked her, I saw her fear. I saw her panic. She was anxious and wary. It made me angry. I wanted to tear the world down so she never had to feel those things again.
But this?
This sorrow I saw in the depths of her soul?
This heartache and anguish might just break me.
“Tell me,” I prodded gently, not wanting to push too hard, but also needing to hear what she went through.
“I can’t.” She whimpered, turning away again, but not before I saw her eyes filling with tears.
“Babe.” I encircled my arms around her from behind.
Resting my chin on her shoulder, I whispered in her ear, “I’ve got you now.”