14. Powertrain
After about an hour, I decided it was time to head back inside. I couldn”t avoid my pretty lunatic forever, even if I wanted to. The black-haired raven would find me, and she’d seduce me all over again.
As I started to get up, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. Its screen read, unknown caller, and I figured it was Hoax trying to reach me from an unmarked phone.
I was wrong.
“Hello, Lee. Did you miss me?” The voice on the other end of the line sent a chill down my spine.
I stood, going to the window to look out at the street. All looked quiet, no shadows standing under streetlights.
“Who is this?”
”Oh, come on, Lee. You know exactly who this is. The only person you”ve been running from your entire life.”
”Ron?” My heart dropped as true fear lurked beneath the surface. It was a fear I couldn”t shake. A fear that lived in me now, and it angered me that I”d let him get to me like this.
“You do remember me!” His voice changed from menacing to lighthearted in a switch, but his laughter remained threatening.
“How did you find me?”
”I”ve always known where you”ve been hiding, Lee. Funny how people tell you things when you show fake concern, or when they”re on the verge of getting their necks sliced.”
“You”re fucking insane.”
“Yes. Certifiably. Doctors couldn”t do anything about it, so I faked my recuperation. They believed every word I said. Imagine that.”
“They’re going to find you. You can’t hide forever.”
“Oh please, Lee. You never learn. I assure you, they will never be able to find me. At least not until I”m done with you.”
That cold shiver traced my spine, and I fought it, letting the rage take over. “Why did you do it, Ron? She had a baby girl, a little boy…”
“Because these are the consequences for when you fuck with someone”s life!”
He shouted the last word, and it emanated in the silence. He had no empathy. He was a true sociopath with nothing but absolute, blinding rage in his soul.
“But enough chit-chat. I”m calling to give you a little warning.”
”What do you want from me?”
“Awww, that”s an easy question. I want you to suffer, Lee. Just like Lucy did. And how your Whisper will? She”s next on my list.”
”You go near her, and I swear to God, I will rip your spleen out and make you choke on it. ”
“Ooooh, big strong biker wants to threaten little old me,” he mimicked in a crazed tone which then switched to a darker, uneven candor. “Or maybe I”ll start with one of them. Your brother seems fit for the task”
“I dare you to,” I gritted the words out through clenched teeth. “I”d like to see what they end up doing to you when they do catch you.”
The Royal Bastards had their own level of crazy and brutal, especially when someone was fucking with one of their own.
”Oh, I don”t think you”re in any position to make any threats, Lee. See, because you weren”t there for Lucy, were you? You weren”t there when she cried out for me to stop fucking her.”
I clenched my eyes tight, trying to keep the images from impregnating in my head.
“Nor were you there when I emptied inside her sweet body, claiming her back as mine.”
“Fucking rapist.”
He chuckled before continuing. “You should have heard her whimper as I slid the knife into her side.”
“Stop.”
“Seen how beautiful she looked as if the blood had rushed out of her, leaving her skin pale and her lips purple.”
“Stop,” I stated louder.
“And you definitely weren”t there as I slid the knife into her throat. Her last breath was given to me as I kissed her.”
“Stop!”
“You weren”t there, Lee, and that alone is killing you, isn”t it?”
“I am going to fucking tear you from limb to limb.”
“Not before I tear at your lovely little Whisper. She is beautiful, you did good this time, Lee.”
“Motherfucker,” I murmured, the phone cracking beneath the pressure of my grip.
“I”ll torture her slowly for you, just like I did with Lucy. And then, when she”s begging for mercy, I”ll end her life.”
“You sick fucking bastard! You won”t go near her, I won”t let you!” I roared.
”Oh, but I already have, Lee. And by the time I”m done with her, you”ll wish you were never born. Say goodbye to Whisper, Lee. She”s as good as dead.”
The phone went dead, and I stared down at it in disbelief.
I ran back into the apartment, my heart practically beating out of my chest. I stormed into her room, catching her glowing raven hair in the moonlight. The sight of it took my breath away. It glistened like shiny black rocks, laid out on the pillow beside her. Her skin looked pale, and I pressed a hand to her forehead. She was cold as ice, and the sharpness of her temperature made me retreat my hand instantly.
“Whisper,” I reached out, shaking her slightly.
She moaned, turning toward me. “Lee,” she whispered, and I let out a breath.
“Whisper you”re cold as ice.”
“I don”t feel well, Lee.”
“Shit,” I cursed under my breath, pulling out her phone, I contacted the first person on her call list.
Macabre answered on the first ring. “What the hell, Whisper! Why haven”t you called me!”
“Because I told her not to,” I responded.
“You are so fucking dead when I see you, Powertrain. Where the fuck are you?”
“No time for explanations, I need your help.”
“What is it?” His voice changed from murderous biker to concerned brother in an instant.
“Whisper”s not feeling well. She”s cold as ice.”
“Shit, she”s got a fever.”
“A fever? She”s not burning up.”
There was a long pause before he spoke. “Remember how I said my sister wasn’t normal.”
“Yes. I recall the strange conversation.”
“I should have warned you then. Whisper is like my mother. She’s a raven shifter.”
I froze, looking down at Whisper’s innocent face. Her hair continued to give off this ethereal glow and I realized that this was her secret. This was what she’d been keeping from me all along. And this was why she wanted to run away.
“Yeah, you could have mentioned that.”
“Now that you know, are you still willing to protect her?”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. I didn’t know exactly what it entailed to love a bird shifter. I knew Raven was one of them, all of us had heard of the stories but we’d never been in her presence long enough to see it happen.
Whisper moaned and I reached out to touch her, but the cold burned my hand and I hissed, pulling back. “She’s glowing.”
“Yeah, they do that. Are you sure you can deal with this, Powertrain? She’s not easy to handle.”
I remembered how she didn’t like to be trapped, how she kept wanting to run from me any time I showed any type of control. She had this gift and yet she didn’t know what to do with it. I suddenly didn’t care what she was, I just wanted to make sure she’d live through this long enough so that I could show her how beautiful she really was.
“I can do this,” I responded quickly. “Tell me what to do.”
“Ravens run cold; you need to run the hot water. Do everything opposite to what you would normally do. You need to warm her body up. And try to avoid touching her bare skin. She”ll give you ice burns.”
“Yeah,” I stared down at the palm of my hand which had already felt the burn.
“Put her in hot water, she”ll warm down.”
“This is crazy, man.”
“She”s a raven, and my sister Powertrain, you vowed to take care of her.”
“And I will.”
“Good. I want her home safe. Now where the fuck are you?”
“Headed your way.”
“What?!”
“We”re a day out. I”ll explain when we get there.”
“I swear to God, Powertrain, if something happens to her because of you…”
“It won”t. I”ll lay my life down for that.”
I stared down at her, shining in the moonlight. She was almost shocking to look at. And she stirred my blood as she lay there, looking beautiful as ever.
She groaned in pain, and I snapped out of the trance and quickly got to work. I wrapped her up like a mummy in a sheet and lifted her into my arms. I could feel the cold penetrate through the layers of cloth as we entered the bathroom. The water was nearly scalding as I lay her in it, it hissed as she sank into its warmth. After a few minutes I watched as her cheeks gained back that healthy, rosy glow. She sighed as I squeezed water into her hair and neck. My hands were being scalded now by the hot water, but I didn”t care, I just wanted her safe and healthy.
Her eyes fluttered open as she looked up at me. “Don”t be so good to me, Lee.”
“Why not?” I slid the water over her shoulders.
She cradled my face, her touch cold but not scorching. “Because then who”s going to stop me from loving you.”
“You”re delirious,” I placed her hand back into the water and she chuckled, amused. The sound made me smile, and with it came the relief that she”d be okay.
After a little while, I removed the soaked sheet, and then I slowly helped her step out of the tub. She shook as I went to get a towel, and when I returned, she stood naked before me. My cock reacted instantly, and I ignored it. Instead, I wrapped her up in the towel and took my time drying every inch of her. When I reached her breasts, she smiled up at me and I froze.
“Touch me,” she whispered, covering her breast with one of my hands.
“You”re still cold,” I stated, concerned.
“Haven”t you ever heard of body warmth?”
I knew exactly where she was going with this. Damn temptress.
I continued to ignore her as I wrapped her up in the towel and lifted her into my arms. Taking her back into the dark bedroom, I slid her into the sheets while she continued to shiver.
“Don”t go. Please,” she begged.
I frowned, knowing this was not going how I planned, but I couldn”t see her shaking like that and not do anything about it. I removed my shirt, discarded my pants and quickly tucked myself alongside her. I jumped at her touch, and the coolness of it made my body react. I started to shake but I didn’t pull away, her naked body against mine felt too damn perfect.
“I”m sorry,” she whispered against my neck.
“Why are you sorry?” I stroked her hair gently, still fascinated by its glow.
“Because I”m a pain in the ass. I don”t mean to be one,” her voice was strained with that same pain I’d sometimes see in her eyes.
“I know that, Whisper. You”re my pretty lunatic, I thought we”d established that.”
I cradled her, stroking her back as we talked. I won”t tell you I wasn’t hard for her, if I could, I would have sunk into her right then and there, but it wasn’t the right time. Besides, I was hard, not because I was horny, but because our conversation, her nearness, her whispers made me hard. It was a different kind of excitement. There was this unspoken need to feel her pressed against me like this and it scared the shit out of me. It scared me because it felt too much like being home.
“I”ll do better,” she whispered sleepily, snuggling into my chest and all I thought of in that moment, was how I needed to protect this woman with my life. She was mine to protect, even if it scared her to be. She was mine alone.