1. Emma #2
I know how that sounds, but it’s true. Since moving back to Arkansas, I’ve been so lonely.
I’ve pretty much stopped talking to my old friends.
We all had our own lives and drifted apart.
The thought of dating after Trey was a hell no for me.
I can get myself off, thank you very much.
I can’t make my body tremble the way he did, but I can get by.
Most nights, after I put Fijor to bed, the silence settles around me.
Sometimes it feels like it’s pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe.
I replay conversations in my head—the days with my girls, the nights wrapped up in Trey, the club get-togethers, everything I lost when I walked away from Oklahoma and from him.
I miss those days when my world felt full, chaotic yet safe, surrounded by people who knew me, or at least tried to.
I try to convince myself I’m better off alone, that I don’t need anyone, but it’s a lie I’ve nearly perfected.
I tried with this slimy asshole, and look where it got me.
I miss Scarlett and Harley. Those girls were the best friends I could ever have asked for.
When I decided to leave Oklahoma and run back to Arkansas, I cut off contact with them.
With everything happening, especially the mess I’ve gotten myself into by dating Devin, I find myself longing for the tribe’s support more than ever.
I knew he rode a motorcycle, but I had no idea he was in a club.
I would have run the other way. I’ve traveled that road, and all it leads to is heartbreak.
Why can’t I just find a nice, boring banker?
Oh, that’s right, a nice, boring banker isn’t willing to completely dominate you like he did.
I was so engrossed in my inner turmoil that I didn't hear the shower shut off.
“The fuck are you doing here, Emma?” Devin growls in a tone I’ve never heard from him. I turn around, yelping, clutching the Kutte to my chest, shaking from being caught off guard. Not yet reading the room or the danger I’m in.
“I didn’t know you were part of a club,” I stammer. Why those were the words I chose to start with, I have no idea. Devin stands in the doorway, his short dark hair still wet from the shower, dripping water onto his broad shoulders, a navy-blue towel wrapped around his waist.
I watch in utter shock as his eyes darken and a sneer crosses his face; the nice, handsome man I’ve been dating for two months is gone.
In his place is a hardened man I know, without a shadow of a doubt, I shouldn’t have ever crossed paths with.
At that moment, I realize he hadn’t meant for me to find out he was in a club.
Suddenly, something clicks in my brain. My stomach drops with fear at the thought of him knowing who I am.
He tilts his head to the side, flashing me a broad, wolf-like smile, wild with primal hate. “I know who you are, sweetheart,” he chuckles. Shit, I must have said that out loud.
“I can’t ever be your ol’ lady. Look who my father is.
We need to stop seeing each other right now.
” I blurt out, trembling. The room has taken on an electrifying charge.
The hair on my arms stands on end, and every instinct screams to run.
My gut knows something is wrong long before my brain has a chance to catch up.
A dark, booming laugh erupts from his chest. “Who said anything about being my ol’ lady?
” He shakes his head. “Nah, sweetheart, I’m going to make you my civilian wife.
You ain't ever going around my club. I can’t trust some Heathen trash around my brothers.
Good enough to use and breed, not good enough to break bread with, if you catch my drift. ”
He steps closer, forcing me to retreat. “I bet you thought my moving next door to you was fate. Huh, sweetheart? That I was just some nice guy who rode a motorcycle.” Davin coos in a mocking tone, then lets out a soft, menacing chuckle.
I feel like I’m looking at Jack and Hyde, two completely different people trapped in the same body.
This is not the man I’ve been letting around my son and me.
“The Riders have been working on this plan for months. The Stud getting shot has been a bonus we’ve been enjoying.
It’s just sad it wasn’t one of us who shot him.
But now that you know who I am, we need to move this little operation along.
I think it might work out better this way, with you in the know, so you can’t fuck it up.
Don’t you agree, pumpkin?” Devin cocks his head to the side, that dead smile still plastered on his face.
“I would never marry you,” I snap in his direction, throwing his Kutte back on the table with every ounce of disrespect I can muster. I know what their colors mean to these men.
I plant both fists on my hips and glare at him in disgust. If he thinks I would betray the Heathen’s, he’s got another thing coming.
If he thinks I would bring a rival to the club, he’s a complete lunatic.
I may not have been raised in the club, but I would never turn on them.
They did nothing but make me feel like family while I was there, which only made the sting worse when I cut them all out of my life to keep Trey from finding out.
I haven’t gone through years of heartbreak for nothing, damn it!
Devin snarls and rushes me; he’s too quick for me to fight off.
As quick as his namesake, he grabs my hair and smashes my face into the hard wooden dining room table.
His large body covers mine as he pushes my cheek into the table.
The pain disorients me for a few seconds until I can get my bearings again.
“Listen here, you little cunt, I’m going to make this simple for you.
You and I are going down to the courthouse tomorrow to get married so you can’t testify against my ass.
From there, we’re going on a little trip to The Heathen’s compound to give daddy the good news.
I want inside that clubhouse, bitch. I will be taking over the clubhouse as a Rider’s president.
They’re weakened right now. Stud got shot, and we need to pounce quickly to secure a full foothold in Oklahoma.
If you think you’re fucking up the plan for Oklahoma to become a Rider’s state, you’re wrong.
You’re an idiot if you think you have a choice here. ” Devin snarls.
He yanks my hair back, pulling me up to his face. The sting makes my eyes water. “Tomorrow morning, eight am, or I will kill your fucking son. Do we have a deal?” His eyes cold, matter-of-factly, as if he were telling me the weather.
“Yes,” I hiss, just to get Devin to let me go.
I need to get Fijor and me out of here. I need to get as far away from this lunatic as I can.
I need to get to the club and tell them what is happening.
To do that, I need to let him think he has the upper hand.
He lets go of my hair, flinging me down onto the cold linoleum floor.
My whole body is in shock at the turn of events.
I clutch my face in shock and outrage, the pain in my cheek still throbbing.
Devin crouches in front of me, gripping my jaw, forcing me to look him in the eyes as he issues his threats.
“Let yourself out. Don’t forget tomorrow morning at eight am.
I don’t give a shit about a kid that ain't mine. You should remember that. Don’t forget to get yourself ready for our wedding night, princess.
I like a bare pussy. I’ve been using the club whores these past two months, but with you being my wife, I expect you to put out.
I also expect you to get pregnant as soon as possible and start producing me an heir for The Riders.
I haven’t figured out who, but I have a good feeling your kid’s sperm donor is a member of that fucking club.
It might come in handy later. Am I right?
” He grips my jaw tighter, drawing a whimper.
“In return for your complete submission, I will treat that fucking mut next door as well as I treat my own, no matter how much it disgusts me. You listening to me, bitch?” His voice was void of any emotion.
I nod wildly, tears streaming down my face in pure fear.
“Trust me, sweetheart, you don’t want to fuck this up.
I will kill your son, burn that fucking compound to the ground while you watch, and then slit your throat with a smile.
” With that, he stands, lets me go, and leaves the room to get dressed.
With a busted cheek and eyebrow, I high-tailed it out of there as fast as I could stumble.
I made my way into my little apartment, slamming the door and locking it.
I lost my footing slightly as I ran to the back room to check on Fijor.
He’s still watching his cartoons, playing with his cars in the middle of his room, right where I left him for the past five minutes, none the wiser to the events that have uprooted our lives yet again.
I dart into the bathroom to clean up so I don’t scare Fijor.
I look in the mirror and see my split, bruised cheek.
I wash the blood off, then apply a bit of makeup to cover it.
I move around the apartment, collecting and packing as much as I can, as quietly as I can, into three duffel bags.
I change Fijor into his footy pajamas, deciding to grab dinner at the drive-through on the way out of town while I wait for the coast to be clear.
Once I hear Devin, or Snake as his club calls him, pull up on his motorcycle, I throw the bags into the car, then collect Fijor.