Chapter 9 Heron
O ver the following two weeks, we were insatiable. I had Rebel every single way I could get her. My cock saw more action during that time than in my previous twenty-three years combined. We were reckless and wild and couldn’t get enough of one another. I probably should have been stricter about using a condom, but we talked about it, knew we were both clean, and decided it just felt too damn good to worry about it now.
Besides, Rebel was protected and mated to a crow.
Why the fuck did it matter if we used protection or not?
The only issue, although not for me, was pregnancy. Rebel closed up when I asked her about it, so I’d have to bring it up again at some point. Until then, I left it up to her. I didn’t want to push the subject, but my curiosity only increased about her past and all the reasons she stayed quiet.
As the day for the bike rally approached, I loaded my saddlebags and prepared for the ride. Anticipation and excitement buzzed through my brothers, and I could feel it in the air. Events like this gave us a chance to hang with brothers from other clubs, check out vendors, see the tricked-out bikes, drool over the designs, and spend quality time with our women. It felt damn good to say I had my ol’ lady with me.
Rebel seemed thrilled to join me, wrapping her arms around my waist as she settled behind me on the seat. We weaved through traffic with the rest of the club, finally parking close to the tent pitched for the Devil’s Murder. Beside us, the Royal Bastards from Tonopah had erected their own tent, providing an endless party for the duration of our stay.
The rally was massive, with hundreds of vendors, food trucks, beer stalls, tattoo artists, and bike enthusiasts spread across several blocks just off the Strip. Traffic had been closed off to the streets, and the festival seemed like a sea of cuts and leather. I spotted people mingling, drinking, and getting new ink everywhere we walked.
“Wow! Did you see that tattoo?” Rebel asked, staring at the dragon a guy had running down the length of his arm. He sat on a chair while the artist added the last green scales to the design.
“It’s badass,” I agreed.
“Look!” She pointed to a tent across from us. “Leather sex toys!”
I groaned as she dragged me across to the vendor.
“I’ve never seen so many different leather whips, floggers, and accessories.”
A familiar female voice replied, “I also make them custom-ordered if that’s what you prefer.”
I turned to my right, spotting Chrome’s ol’ lady. His twin brother Rael was the Sergeant-at-Arms for the Tonopah RBMC. Chrome was a member, too, and one of several enforcers for the chapter. Their club had a large number of members, so it made sense to have more than one. “Hey, Cameron.”
“Heron, great to see you.”
“You too. This is Rebel. She’s my ol’ lady.”
“Oh!” Cameron gasped before attacking Rebel in a fierce hug. “Welcome to the ol’ ladies club.” She laughed as she released Rebel. “We’ll have to invite you, Bella, Gail, Callie, and Bree to The Crossroads soon.”
Rebel smiled. “I’d like that.”
We rejoined the crowd, walking among the vendors again until we found another tattoo artist. Rebel liked to stop and watch each one, fascinated by each artist’s skill. We had only stood for about a minute when I noticed the girl standing only a few feet from us. I’d know her anywhere even though she didn’t face me: the same slim, petite figure, curves, and light red hair. Memories assaulted me of the past, and I took a step in her direction, shocked to see her after all this time.
“Cerys!” Her name blurted from my lips far too loud, and I nearly cringed.
A guy stood beside her, nearly the same height as me. Big, too. He dwarfed her yet seemed attuned to her in a way that caused me to pause. There was something about him. A scent that I hadn’t caught in a long time. Fuck. Wolf.
The odor assaulted my nose, and I had to fight back a snarl. It reminded me of Undertaker, err, Alpha Caden. The fucker.
I shifted my focus away from the wolf. “Cerys, wow, imagine meeting you here. It’s been a long time. How are you?”
Cerys blinked. She seemed as shocked as I had been when I first saw her. I felt a volatile combination of emotions rush through her: unease, worry, surprise, and pain.
I winced at the last one.
The big bad wolf interjected, seemingly trying to control the situation. I sensed his need to protect Cerys, but I wasn’t a fucking threat. “Hi, I’m Brax. May I ask who you are and how you know Cerys?”
“Hello.” I paused, frowned, and decided to answer. “I’m Heron. Cerys and I have known each other since we were teenagers. I never thought I’d find her at a bike rally. I wouldn’t see this as your speed, Cer.”
“Hi, H-Heron. Yes, it’s been a while. As for me being at a bike rally, there’s a lot about me you don’t know. I’ve changed.” Damn, that sounded almost hostile. “Introduce me to your friend.” Her chin lifted toward Rebel.
I didn’t get a chance.
Irritation and confusion swept through Rebel before she answered, “My name is Rebel. We’re, well, together. I didn’t know Heron had friends outside the club.” Her tone was a bit accusatory, and I could guess she felt ill at ease. Her glance at my face proved she wanted to know who Cerys was and how she fit into my past. It really wasn’t the time to explain.
I opened my mouth to reply to Cerys when Hawk joined us. “Hey, man. We’ve been looking for you. Should’ve known you’d be here, staring at the ink slingers.”
Nice. Not the right time for jokes. I sent him a look. “You know me, Hawk.”
“Yeah,” he snorted as his gaze swept over Cerys and Brax. I knew when he noticed the wolf. His body language betrayed him. He ticked his chin toward them. “Who’re your friends?”
I was taking a fucking guess and figured the wolf wouldn’t miss the chance to make his connection known. “This is Cerys and her man Brax?”
“I’m her man,” the wolf growled.
I didn’t acknowledge him, continuing, “Cerys and I knew each other a few years back when we got out of high school. I haven’t seen her in years.” I turned to Cerys. “I thought you’d left Vegas.”
Emotions overwhelmed me from every direction. Rebel’s curiosity and a small wave of jealousy. Her irritation since I never spoke about Cerys. Confusion, hurt, and discomfort from Cerys. Possessiveness and a hint of anger from Brax. And then Hawk’s amusement combined with his disgust for the wolf’s odor. Fuck. It was almost too much.
I sent Brax an uneasy look when I felt his hostility grow. The tension thickened. This wasn’t the place to get riled up, especially in front of our women and the crowd.
Cerys shrugged as I refocused on her. “I don’t live here anymore, but I didn’t leave until about nine months ago.”
I wondered what made her finally leave.
“Oh, yeah, where are you guys from? I take it you’re not in a club,” Hawk guessed.
Nosy fucker.
“No, we’re not,” Brax answered. “We came with my friends. We’re all riders, just not an MC. We live in Needles,” he supplied, sharing more information than he needed.
Still, I appreciated that he didn’t try to hide it.
“We’re in Henderson. Our entire club came. Where are your friends? We’d like to meet them. Any friend of Heron’s is a friend of ours. This is my woman, Callie,” Hawk introduced, indicating his ol’ lady as she smiled.
Callie nodded to Cerys and Brax. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Hawk, I don’t think that—” I began when Rebel spoke up and cut me off.
“You didn’t say exactly how you know Heron.” Her voice held an edge.
Shit.
Cerys hesitated a few seconds before answering. When she did, her back straightened, and she looked right in Rebel’s eyes. “Heron and I dated my first year of nursing school. He was my first boyfriend.”
Well, fuck. Rebel narrowed her eyes as her gaze shot to mine.
A growl left Brax’s chest, alerting everyone that his wolf was pissed. Rebel jolted. Cerys gave him a wary look. I stiffened, and so did Hawk. Brax needed to get his beast under control.
And that was when the crows decided to make themselves known, circling above our heads and cawing. Several dropped close and belted out loud kraas.
“There you are. We’ve been looking for you.” A stranger had joined us just as the crows began making noise.
Fucking hell. More odd smells. Not wolf, but definitely not human.
The crows flew up in a murder, squawking and chittering, cawing as they called to more of their brethren.
Callie tried to ease the tension around us. “So you and Heron were boyfriend and girlfriend. Wow, what a small world! You said you were in nursing school when you were together? Are you a nurse?” Her sweet voice didn’t cut the tension but was a valiant effort.
“I am. I work in the ER in Needles,” Cerys replied.
“Mind if I ask what you do?” Hawk asked, ticking his chin at Brax.
Yeah, I’d like to fucking know too.
“Not at all. I’m a San Bernadino County Deputy Sheriff. I patrol and live in Needles,” Brax announced with a smug look in my direction.
“A cop. You know, I can see it,” Hawk deadpanned.
Jesus Christ. This was going to shit fast.
“You gonna introduce us to your new . . .friends?” one of the guys behind Brax asked, the same one who spoke when the group arrived.
Brax didn’t seem to want to do it, but he did. Talon, Gail, Crow, Bella, Raven, and Bree joined us. The conversation grew stilted. Emotions ran wild.
Cerys kept glancing at me, then looking away. I wished I could talk to her without a crowd. There was shit left unspoken between us. It didn’t occur to me until now that she deserved answers to the questions I sensed she had.
“I hate to break things up,” Brax began.
I bet.
“We’ve got plans. I hope you enjoy the rally. Maybe we’ll see you later.”
“It was good seeing you, Cerys.” I meant that. “I’m glad you’re settled.”
“The same, Heron.” She looked to Brax. “Honey, I’m ready.”
Brax hugged her against his side, gave us a chin lift, and walked away with their group.
Beside me, a curvy blonde’s emotions hit a feverish pitch.
Fuck.
I REALLY DIDN’T WANT to be pissed at Heron. Or jealous. Or wishing I was anywhere else but having a conversation with Heron’s beautiful ex-girlfriend and watching the glances she kept stealing at the guy I loved, indicating maybe she wasn’t over him. I didn’t know what to think.
“Heron? Can we talk?”
He faced me, reaching for my hand, and I let him take it. “Sure.”
We walked for several minutes before we could find privacy. The rally seemed to grow since our arrival, and the crowds were thick. We walked until we reached the tents, noting that ours was empty. Good.
I pulled my hand away, needing clarification about Cerys and his past. “Why didn’t you tell me about her?”
He sighed. “I should have. Didn’t cross my mind.” His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “You’re the only woman who occupies my thoughts. I didn’t keep it from you on purpose. Just didn’t seem important.”
That was good. Maybe that meant he didn’t have feelings for her any longer. “You must have loved her.”
“I did.” He paused and frowned. “But I was young and stupid, and I fucked it up. Remember when I told you that my parents died?”
“Yes.”
“I was so fucking lost when it happened. Losing my dad hurt worse than my mother. I felt guilty about that, but it was true. We were so fucking close, Rebel.”
“I’m sure it was hard.”
He shook his head. “Not just hard. It fucking devastated me. I became reckless, wilder than I already was, hotheaded, and full of anger. I pushed everyone in my life away, including the one person I loved the most at the time.”
Cerys. “She must have been hurt.”
“I know she was. Cerys was sweet—a good girl who rebelled against her controlling parents. I was the cocky bad boy she wanted. When my dad died, I couldn’t handle it, and I walked away. I knew it hurt her, and I didn’t care. I wasn’t capable back then.”
He seemed sad.
“And today was the first day you saw her again?”
“Yeah.”
“What do you want, Heron?” Sure, that question had multiple facets. I needed to know what he felt. “Are you going to talk to Cerys about this?”
“I don’t know.”
I stiffened, slowly backing away. He didn’t know about me? Or us?
“Hey, why are you looking at me like that?”
“You don’t know what you want?”
“That’s not what I said.” He seemed frustrated. “I don’t know if I’ll ever see Cerys again. She walked away with Brax, so probably not.”
“And us?”
“You know how I feel about you. I’ve never kept that a secret.” He approached me, staring into my eyes. “But you’ve got secrets too. It’s not fair that I’m laying all mine out for you to see, and you’re keeping all yours locked up tight.”
Blinking, I knew he was right. Even now, I didn’t want to think about Paul or the past. The shit with my parents. The awful things I’d been through. The baby . . . He’d never see me the same.
“Well?”
“Heron. I can’t.”
“You can’t, or you won’t?” His eyes darkened, and I could see the angry, bitter, lost young man he’d once been. That part of him lingered close to the surface with today’s revelations.
“This isn’t about me.”
“It’s about us. Right? Being open with each other. We don’t have shit if we can’t be honest.”
“Heron.”
“I can’t do this. Not right now.” He rolled his shoulders, backing away from me. Frustration and anger lingered in his dark eyes. “If you can’t talk to me, I don’t know how to make this work.”
Shocked, I opened my mouth, but words wouldn’t form.
“I should take you back to The Roost.”
My chin lifted. Like I’d go anywhere with him after our argument. I didn’t need him to do shit right now. We both needed to cool off and have this conversation later. “I’m good.”
He clenched his fists, clearly agitated. “I’m going for a walk.”
“Fine.”
“Fine,” he grumbled, spinning on his heel and leaving the tent in quick, angry strides.
Knowing the argument was ridiculous, I sighed, but he also had a point. I didn’t want to stay in this tent and decided to return to the rally. I’d grab something to eat and a cold beer and return after I had a chance to think through what happened today.
Going in the opposite direction as Heron, I left the tent, far too occupied to pay attention until it was too late. I smacked into the figure in front of me, who stood with a sardonic grin plastered on his scarred face. My body bounced off his, and I stumbled, catching the evil glint in his cold green eyes. A jolt of fear shook me as I noticed the leather vest he wore—a cut.
My ex found me. Paul joined a motorcycle club.
The patches he wore revealed his title as president and a road name. Something new.
Hammerhead.
“Time to stop running, my sweet little fish.”