Chapter 30 #2
Ash huffs a laugh. “That’s putting it mildly.”
“Slade stressed several times that we needed to let her leave,” Pix reminds us. “I think that’s what she was trying to do in the gym when she spiraled.”
Army nods. “That makes sense; talking about it, putting it into words can be a trigger.”
I slump to lean against Ash’s desk. “So we may never know? She might always have to live with that weight inside her, bearing all that pain and guilt alone?”
Ash comes over to me and drops his fist on top of mine. “You’re her lifeline, Bane. Don’t abandon her.”
“Never,” I vow. Then, I twist my head to look at him. “We good?”
His body is rigid, but he gives me a curt nod. “We need to find a way to muzzle Cutt. If there’s even a whisper about the Vanderalls looking for her, or connecting Slade to Antwane, Cutt will capitalize on that.”
“He’s not the only one,” Pix warns, glancing at us all. “Including the Club Pussy. Destiny specifically.”
“Or any other criminal who takes on the Broker’s contract for Slade,” Digits mutters with his head back in his laptop.
I’m on my feet and ripping his computer from his hands, staring at it, my heart thundering. “Is there an active contract out on her?”
He scowls and takes the laptop from me, protecting it with his body like I might smash it to pieces. “For Slade specifically? No, not yet.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Ash demands.
“I didn’t have the information about Antwane when I was searching for mentions of Slade,” Digits explains, concern replacing his annoyed worry over his equipment. “So I just did a search, and it pulled up a contract that was registered with the Broker about finding the person who escaped Antwane.”
“Fuck,” Ash growls.
“When was that contract taken out?” I demand with a knot in my stomach.
“Shortly after Antwane’s sick secrets were revealed to the world,” Digits replies.
“That was two years ago.” I relax marginally. “They haven’t been able to discover it was Slade who escaped Antwane.”
“There’s no indication it was the Vanderalls who took the contract out, either. It could be some other sick fuck who want the one who ended Antwane and his reign of terror,” Digits warns.
Pix frowns and paces. “The Vanderalls have been outspoken about claiming no knowledge of Antwane and have expressed nothing but remorse and sorrow. They’re very convincing.”
“To the tune of multimillion dollars donated to help the families of the confirmed victims,” Digits adds.
“Let me contact Len.” Army looks at me. “I’ll have to owe her, but I think this warrants whatever we have to do in return.”
“Do it,” Ash and I say in unison.
Ash turns to me. “Anything else?”
I widen my stance. I’m on thin ice here, both with pushing my luck with his parental protectiveness and my responsibility to the club.
“The upcoming run we have to do,” I say about transporting the Triad’s drugs to their contacts in Nevada. We’re scheduled to meet them in Death Valley in a few days. “I can’t go.”
As the VP, I go with Army, who is also our Road Captain as well as the Sergeant at Arms, and three other guys. But there’s no way in hell I’m leaving Slade.
“I can’t be hours away if Slade spirals again, Ash. I don’t know if I’d be able to reach her again if she were trapped in that mind prison of hers for that long.” His jaw shifts as he spins one of the rings on his fingers, and I repeat what I said earlier, “I’m hers. All-in. No questions.”
His nostrils flare. “And what exactly does that mean?”
“It means that this isn’t me trying to fuck her. It means everything and anything that Slade will allow it to be. But it means more, because even if she never wants me in that way, I’ll still protect her with everything I’ve got. I’ll protect her from anyone and everyone, including herself.”
Worry flares. “Has Slade said she wants to… Has she tried to harm herself?”
“No.” I set Ash’s mind at ease. “But her guilt clouds how she views her worth and her future. I’m making it my job for her to realize that view is flawed, and to help her fight.”
Pix pushes closer to me. “You’ll do right by her.”
With Pix, it’s not a question but an order. She doesn’t bond easily with people, but she’s taken Slade under one of her tiny, batshit crazy wings. But I don’t need to be ordered, not when it comes to Slade.
“I’ll make the announcement again tonight when there are more members here.”
Ash braces his hand on my chest. “You will not claim her as your Old Lady.”
My whole body reacts to that—the thought of Slade being mine in the ways and code of our MC, but also to Ash telling me it won’t happen.
My hands fist, and his gaze drops to them. A small, smug smile tugs at his lips, and he drops his hand, stepping away. “Well done, brother.”
“Did…did you just test me?” I ask, incredulously.
Army smirks. “You can’t blame him, Bane. You’re the one most voted never to settle down with one woman.”
I unclench my hands. “My claiming Slade has nothing to do with sex; it’s to protect her in every and all ways. And she has a choice,” I grit.
Except to leave. She can tell me she doesn’t want me; I’d never force that on her, but she isn’t leaving or going where I can’t keep her safe.
“Damn right she does,” Ash says, then steps to the side.
It’s all the invitation I need. I stride out the door, hurrying back to my bedroom where somehow, Slade has become the center of my world.