Chapter Ten
E asy
The dry desert heat feels thick in my lungs as I run through the loose sand, my boots struggling to make traction. I swipe at the sweat stinging my eyes, but I can't stop. Not with Koller’s desperate voice crackling through my earpiece.
“Man down! We need—” Static cuts through his words, breaking up the transmission. “—multiple casualties! Where the fuck is our backup?”
I round the corner of the smoking building, and that's when I see it. The kid can't be more than seven, standing in the middle of the street. His dark eyes are wide, filled with fear as he clutches something tightly to his chest.
“Stop!” I start to scream, but it's too late.
The device in his hands detonates, and like it’s all part of a scene from a movie, slowed down for dramatic effect, a wall of fire and shrapnel explodes outward, and the kid disappears in a spray of red.
Through my ringing ears, I can hear my own heavy breathing mixed with the sound of screaming coming from a man beside me, his legs nowhere to be seen. I look around, needing to find Johnson and spot him lying ten feet away, not moving. Standing here in shock, I watch as blood pools beneath him, seeping into the sand.
“Fuck.” I glance down at my hands. They're covered in it. Everything is coated in it.
On autopilot, I move and drop to my knees beside the wounded man, pressing my hands over where his legs used to be, trying to stop the bleeding, but there's too much destruction. Too much fucking blood. The man keeps screaming and screaming and ? —
My eyes shoot open as I jolt awake, my heart hammering against my ribs like it's trying to punch through my chest.
“Shit,” I manage through my labored breathing. My body is covered in sweat, and the sheets are tangled around my legs.
It was just a dream.
“Shit,” I say again, slowly inhaling deep breaths and releasing them, trying to slow down my heartbeat.
Lexi stirs beside me, reminding me that I’m not alone. I glance down at her head on my shoulder, her blonde hair spilling across the pillow, then lower to the soft look on her face as she sleeps peacefully, tucked against my side.
Her hand is pressed to my chest over my heart, and I wonder if she can feel it trying to break out of my chest.
I run my fingers through my sweaty hair. I shouldn’t have started this with her. She deserves better.
It doesn’t matter now, though.
I’ve tasted her, felt her come around my cock, and there’s no way I’m giving her up now.
Running my fingers through my hair again, she makes a small sound in her sleep and burrows closer.
That blind trust she gives so freely hits me like a punch to the gut. She climbed right into my bed, trusting me to take care of her, and that is exactly what I was going to do.
The thought should scare the shit out of me, but it doesn't. All it does is make me want to protect her and keep that part of her safe.
On this thought, I carefully extract myself from under her.
Lexi grunts in protest but burrows into my pillow when I tuck the blanket around her shoulders.
Mine.
The thought plays on repeat in my head as I pull on a clean pair of jeans and a fresh T-shirt.
Time to get the ball rolling and handle this shit for my woman.
Grabbing an old receipt from the bedside table, I scrawl out a quick note:
Gone to the clubhouse. Stay here. I'll bring back breakfast.
-E
Folding it up, I place it on my pillow next to her, gently press my lips to her forehead, and head for the door.
After everything she told me last night and the history of bullshit that seems to follow the women who get tangled up with a Saint, I know in my gut I have to get ahead of this John fucker before he shows up looking for trouble.
When I arrive at the clubhouse, the lot is mostly empty; only a few bikes scattered around.
Makes sense. It's barely after eight in the morning, but spotting Wrath's bike next to Viper’s, I head for the door hoping he’s here.
Sure enough, when I step inside, I find him at the bar, nursing what looks like whiskey but is probably just coffee in a rocks glass. He looks up as I approach, his face twisting into something that resembles a smile.
“You're here early,” he says, that gravelly tone sounding rougher today from lack of sleep.
“I could say the same about you.” I laugh, moving around the bar to fix myself a cup of coffee.
“Thorn and I just got in.”
I pop a brow. “Jacksonville?”
Wrath nods.
“I need to talk to you about something.”
His glass is halfway to his mouth when he pauses. “Does that something got anything to do with the little blonde you had with you at the shop?”
“How did you—” I start, then shake my head. “Never mind. Fucking cameras.”
“Knox has Dex watching everyone,” he says with a shrug, unfazed that our enforcer is keeping tabs on us all.
I take a long sip of coffee while organizing my thoughts. “Her name's Lexi. Some piece of shit scammed her out of everything she had. And she's got an ex who might be coming after her.”
Wrath's expression darkens. “Shit. These fucking women always come with trouble.” He grins, no heat behind his words. His woman became the target of a crazy fucking cop. Her big fucking dog ripped that psycho to shreds and the club handled it from there.
“Yeah.” I set my cup down harder than necessary.
He studies me for a long moment, then nods slowly. “You claiming her?”
The question catches me off guard, but my answer doesn't. “Yeah. I am.”
“Then let's talk to Viper.” Wrath stands, grabbing his coffee. “He's in the office.”
Grabbing my cup off the bar top, I follow him down the hall.
Wrath bangs his knuckles on the door before stepping inside. “Yo.”
Despite the early hour, when Viper looks up from his spot behind his desk, his eyes are sharp and assessing. “Two of you? This can't be fucking good.” He sighs, dropping the papers in his hands.
Wrath leans against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. “Easy’s got a situation that needs some attention.”
“If it's about a fucking woman, I'm going to neuter every fucking one of you that doesn't already have a ball and chain attached to his ankle.”
Fuck. He hit the nail right on the head, making Wrath chuckle.
“Well...” I start, rubbing at the back of my neck. This isn’t going how I had hoped at all.
“Fuck me,” he growls, leaning back into his chair. “It is about a woman. Let me hear it.” Viper motions to the chair in front of him.
Stepping further into the office, I sit down in front of him and start explaining Lexi’s situation. Everything from how she showed up at my door to the motherfucker who scammed her out of her money and lastly about her psycho ex back in Kentucky. Thankfully, Viper hears me out without interrupting, but the expression on his face tells me that’s not going to last much longer.
“And you want to claim her.” It's a statement, not a question. It must be written all over my face how much she already means to me.
“Yeah.” The word comes out solid. “I do.”
He studies me for long moments before finally coming to a determination only he seems to know about. “Alright.” He looks past me to Wrath. “Call everyone in. We'll handle this now.”
My shoulders drop, some of the tension leaving me.
An hour later the club’s gathered around the table. “Easy,” Viper turns to me. “Tell them about your woman's situation.”
My woman.
The words feel right.
I lay out Lexi's story again, watching faces darken when I describe how Brodrick took advantage of her.
“We find this piece of shit yet?” Knox asks, cracking his knuckles.
“Yes,” Dex chimes in.
“And her ex?” Sparrow asks me.
I tell them what little I know about John, and before I have even finished, Dex is typing away on his computer, filling in the blanks.
“Legend, I want you running point on finding this Brodrick fucker. Use your contacts, track his digital footprint. Nobody steals from one of ours and gets away with it,” Viper adds.
Legend nods at me. Thank fuck. He was a bounty hunter before he got locked up. Tracking down assholes who don’t want to be found is his specialty.
“Before anyone takes off,” Sparrow says, “we’ve got another run to Jacksonville coming up.” He looks to Legend, adding, “Last one for a while.” It was common knowledge that Legend was concerned about his PO who’d been sniffing around lately. I have to admit, I’m glad the club is taking precautions.
“Thanks, Veep.”
Sparrow’s eyes then turn to me. “You’ll be on this one. Me, you, and Knox.”
“When?” I ask, already mentally preparing for what I’ll need for the trip.
“Two days,” Knox answers.
“Easy.”
I look over at Viper. “Yeah?”
“Your woman,” he says, his expression serious. “She's your responsibility now. Make sure she understands what that means.”
I nod, understanding the weight of his words. Being mine means she’s my responsibility. “I’ll make sure she knows,” I promise.
Viper bangs the gavel, and just like that, everyone has their orders, and the meeting is over.
As I walk out to my bike, I can't help but smile.
Not only is the club taking Lexi’s back, but I got myself an old lady.
Now all I have to do is figure out how to explain it her.