Chapter 29
Salem
Earning my patch should’ve felt like the peak of everything I’d worked for, but my damn secret had a hold on me. No matter how hard I tried to throw myself into the celebration, I felt guilty. The Roost was all loud music, bottles clinking, and laughter bouncing off the walls. My sisters were hyped, congratulating me with high fives and rough slaps on the back like I’d just crossed some finish line.
I was finally one of them. A full-fledged member. No more prospect bullshit. I smiled down at my new square on my cut, the flaming high heels in the three-piece patch, tracing the letters with my fingers. Hell on Heelz MC. My sisters. My family.
But as the night wore on, it felt like I was drifting, like I wasn’t really there. Not fully. I kept catching myself glancing at the door like I was waiting for someone who wasn’t coming.
Someone like Heresy.
And fuck, I didn’t even know where he was. Last I heard, he was off with Diana, and the thought made me burn inside.
“Welcome to the Heelz, Salem!” Rage shoved a bottle of whiskey into my hand, the good stuff. Her grin wide as the rest of the girls cheered around us. “You earned this, sister.”
Rage had become a mother figure I didn’t know I needed. I fought tears that I realized were more hormones than sentiment. I took the bottle, pretending to toast, but I didn’t drink it. Not with what I knew. Not with the mess I was tangled in.
Instead, I passed it off to Razor, who raised it like it was liquid gold. “Hell yeah!”
I forced a smile, trying to focus, trying to enjoy the moment. I’d fought like hell for this patch, but my mind kept slipping to Heresy. And Diana. The shit I overheard about them still twisted in my gut like a knife.
How could he just be off with her when I was here? And now… the baby?
That thought twisted something deep in me.
I needed air.
I snuck out of the party and leaned against my bike, feeling the cold night on my skin. The wind was sharp, carrying the scent of the nearby pine trees at the Christmas Tree farm down the road. I drew in a long breath, trying to clear my thoughts.
Then I heard it—the low, familiar rumble of a bike pulling up. My pulse quickened before I even looked up. I knew it was him.
Heresy rolled up next to me, hopped off his bike, and never took his eyes off me. Just seeing him made me so mad, but also relieved, or maybe something else.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I said, not able to keep my anger out of my voice. “This is a private party.”
He ignored that, stepping closer with that maddening calm he always had. “I heard you got your patch. Thought I’d come congratulate you properly.”
I crossed my arms, keeping my distance. “Yeah? With Diana in tow, or are you flying solo now?” He’d been with her while I was here earning my patch, and now he had the balls to show up?
His brow furrowed, confusion flashing across his face. “What the fuck are you talking about, Salem?”
“Come on, don't act clueless,” I snapped, words slipping out before I could stop myself. “You’ve been off with some hang around whore, right? I heard your brothers. So what, you’re with Diana now?”
He cursed under his breath, taking another step toward me. “I wasn’t with Diana like that. Yeah, I took her to Boston, but that’s not what you think. I was doing a job, and I dropped her off with her man.”
I stared at him, trying to figure out if he was lying. The hurt and betrayal still gnawed at me, but his eyes… Fuck. He didn’t look like a liar.
“She’s Cutter’s sister, Salem. We protect her like we do our brothers. That’s all there is to it. I’m not interested in her, never have been.”
I wanted to believe him. Hell, a part of me did. But that didn’t fix everything, and it sure as hell didn’t explain the bigger problem between us.
“Fine. You weren’t with Diana. I still haven’t heard from you in over a month.”
“I’m sorry about that…” He said as if it fixed everything.
“You’re sorry? What’s next, flowers?”
To my surprise, he pulled a single red rose from inside his cut. “Maybe I’m full of surprises.”
I didn’t take the rose. I wasn’t that sort of girl. “You’re not supposed to be here tonight.”
“I don’t care.”
I snorted, but there was no stopping the flutter in my chest. “You’ve never been the type to follow the rules, have you?”
He practically loomed over me, his eyes never leaving mine. “We both know rules don’t mean shit between us.”
There was so much electricity between us. It felt like pure magic to me. I hated that he could affect me like this, that even with everything going on, he could still make my pulse race with just a look.
But despite my intense desire to push him away, something else was pulling me in. Something magical. Even if I was pissed as hell at him for disappearing with Diana no matter his story now.
“You’re starting to feel like a curse I can’t shake,” I said, fighting the magic I felt.
Heresy chuckled, his body pressing into mine. “And you’re my witchy addiction.”
I swallowed hard. I should’ve stepped back, told him to leave, but instead, I just stood there, pressed against him, my body buzzing from a magical attraction.
Then his voice dropped lower, rougher. “I know, Salem. About the baby.”
His words hit me like a freight train, and I froze, staring up at him. “What the hell are you talking about?” I was caught.
Heresy’s jaw clenched. “Yeah, Cutter told me you’re pregnant.”
Those words slammed down hard on both of us. Heresy’s face flicked with so many emotions before settling on pure possession. And I didn’t want to admit it, didn’t want to deal with what that meant.
“So what?” I bit back, my voice shaking. “Now you’re here to claim me? Make me some kind of… what? Slayer’s girl? I’m a full-fledged member of the Heelz now.”
Heresy shook his head. “No. I’m not here for that.”
“Then why are you here, Heresy? Why are you always showing up and fucking with my head?” I felt the tears burning at the edges of my eyes, but I wouldn’t let them fall. Not in front of him. Not like this.
“Because you’re carrying my kid,” he said, curtly.
Was that all? His cold words hit me harder than I cared to acknowledge. My chest tightened, my anger mixing with the swirl of emotions I’d been shoving down for weeks.
“And what if I don’t want you in my life? What if I want to do this on my own?”
His hand reached out, and brushed my cheek as a tear fell, but I pulled back.
“Don’t,” I muttered a warning.
His jaw tightened. “You’re not doing this on your own, Salem. Like it or not.”
I wanted to scream. I wanted to push him away, tell him to go to hell. But in my heart, I knew he wasn't the enemy. This situation was fucked, and we were both just trying to make sense of it.
“I’m not ready for this,” I admitted, my voice cracking. “I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do.”
Heresy’s eyes softened, and for a moment, I saw the man behind all the layers of darkness and danger. The one who had been there for me in the farmhouse, who had fought beside me when things went to shit.
“You don’t have to decide anything right now,” he said quietly. “But I’m not going anywhere.”
I looked up at him, my heart heavy with everything I hadn’t said, everything I was too scared to admit.
“A baby changes everything, Heresy. And I’m still not sure if it’s for the better.”
“Maybe not,” he replied. “But I’m willing to find out. Are you?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Because right now, I didn’t know if I was.