Chapter 12
BLADE
Once we’ve eaten, I relish the cold beer as I sit outside, staring into the distance, my mind working hard.
The next call I accept could change things forever, and I’m not ready for that.
Being here with Delilah is an unexpected pleasure.
When she kissed me, it took me by surprise.
When she told me she wanted me, it fired my libido into oblivion.
But how can I take advantage of a broken angel when she is at her most vulnerable?
I will never be that man. I never want to be, no matter how it burns me to walk away.
“The food was good.”
She is lying on the ground on a woolen blanket, her elbows on the ground with her head in her hands.
The fire flames flicker, highlighting her skin, causing a red glow to accentuate her beauty.
Her hair is tied in a messy bun on top of her head; her smile is bright and her eyes are dreamy.
I could feast my eyes on her all day long, and the view would never get old.
She is one beautiful woman, and I can’t shift my mind away from that.
I’m surprised when my phone rings, and Delilah pushes off her hands and sits cross-legged as she watches me answer it. It’s as if we both have a premonition that this could signify the end for us.
“Ryder.”
“We’ve checked out the name and it’s not good, I’m afraid.”
His voice is husky, dripping in rage, and I fear the worst, my blood freezing as it attempts to keep me alive.
“Bring her home, soldier. This is the best place for her right now while we figure out this mess.”
“Why the compound?”
I rarely question my president, if ever, but I’m failing to see what could be safer than holed up here in the wilderness.
There’s a short silence, and I picture his displeasure because Ryder King accepts no challenges to his authority, or his decisions unless it’s from his wife, Ashton.
“Just bring her home, Blade. We’ll talk when you get here.”
“Tomorrow.” I add, “I’ve been drinking. We’ll stay the night and leave at first light.”
I’m aware it will take close on six hours to make it back, and for once Ryder accepts I’m right. Drinking and riding never works out, and in darkness, it would create an unsafe ride home.
“As you wish, but Blade–”
His silence causes nerves to stab me inside, and he says gruffly, “Whatever you think, this is the best for Delilah.”
“Whatever you say, Prez.”
He cuts the call, and my fist grip the phone as if it will break.
“Is everything okay?”
I almost don’t hear her through the blood roaring in my head, and I nod slowly. “I’m taking you home tomorrow.”
“Home?”
I sense the fear in her and shake my head. “My home, darlin’. You’ll be safer at the compound.”
“Why not here?”
“Ryder didn’t say, but understand one thing, he has your best interests at heart, and if he says you’re safer there, you can bet your ass he’s right.”
“So, we only have one night.”
Her voice falters, and she sounds so desolate I hate the way it hits me inside.
“We only have one more night here, darlin’. Tomorrow a new chapter begins, and it’s the one where you get your life back.”
“What if I don’t want my life back?”
“I’m not talking about the one you had before. I’m talking about your new one, and if you never want to leave the safety of our compound, you don’t have to. It’s a safe place, and you have my word on that.”
“I hope you’re right.”
You and me both, darlin’.
I say the words in my mind because she doesn’t need my doubts on the subject. Whatever happens to Delilah next will only be because it’s right for her, no matter what my feelings are on the matter; it’s out of my control.
The call has ruined the easy atmosphere and replaced it with uncertainty.
I don’t like the tension building and hate the sense of losing control.
What happens next could spell trouble for the lady who is relying on us to help her.
I have never met an angel we have failed, and I don’t intend on her being the first.
“Would you like another beer?”
She jumps up and angles her head toward the cabin. “I’m fetching coffee, but, well, you may prefer something stronger.”
I glance at the bottle in my hand and grin. “Something stronger is not a beer, darlin’. Crack open the whiskey and then you’re close, but no, I should keep a clear head for the ride home tomorrow.”
“Coffee then?”
Her soft voice hits me hard because I’m not used to women caring for me.
I live among many Reapers who have old ladies and the ones who seek the attention of the self-styled whores who enjoy the candy we offer.
But Delilah is no whore, despite what she may think.
There’s a sophistication to her tone, a vulnerability in the way she holds herself, and if anything, she appears more like a lady.
“Coffee would be good.”
She turns and I hate how my attention is drawn to her ass, and I sigh inside.
Ryder is probably right. The safest place for her is at the compound because I may be honorable most of the time but holed up here in the wilderness with a woman like her, will only result in one outcome and no matter how much I tell myself I’m a gentleman, I’m not.
She’s back with the coffee in no time, and as she hands it to me, her fingers brush against mine, and her eyes sparkle in the firelight, her long lashes damp. She’s been crying.
Why does that drive a stake through my heart?
“Hey.”
I peer at her with concern, noting the slight quiver to her lower lip, and before I can check myself, I reach for her hand and pull her onto my lap. My arm wraps around her, as I hold the mug of coffee in my other hand, and she curls up, both hands wrapped around her mug, and sighs.
“I’m scared, Blade.”
“You have no reason to be scared, darlin’. The compound may look like hell, but it’s the safest place on earth when you’re hiding from life.”
“Why are you there?”
I take a deep breath because spilling my truth doesn’t come easy for me.
“I was in the military, and my commanding officer decided I was better suited to life with Ryder King than under his command.”
“But you’re a motorcycle club. I don’t understand.”
“To the outside world, yes, we are. It’s a clever disguise to keep us away from the spotlight because if anything, we are more a special forces unit dealing with the enemy within.”
I’m surprised at her soft chuckle, and I tighten my hold.
“It suits you.”
“If you say so, darlin’.”
My attention turns to tomorrow, and I should really warn her about what to expect.
“There’s something you should know.”
“Okay.”
She sounds hesitant, as if I’m about to deliver a clusterfuck of a truth bomb, and I groan.
“You may believe you are seeing two of me when we get there. It’s not the drink talking; I have a brother. Razor.”
“You do?”
She half-turns and smiles up at me and shaking her head, giggles, “Wow, two of you. That sounds like trouble to me.”
“It is.”
An easy grin spreads across my face and I wink. “Obviously, I’m the one who got all the looks and personality. Razor is a surly motherfucker whose personality never developed.”
“Does he look like you then?”
“We’re identical twins.”
“Wow. That’s, well, cool.”
“It is. It’s probably why we’re patched into The Reapers because Razor was in the same unit as me and we played too many tricks on our commanding officer.”
“Tricks?”
“Yeah. It helps being identical, and we both have different strengths. We used that to our advantage, and if I was better at something, I would step up, even if his name was called. It also helped if one was on duty and the other had somewhere else to be. We played that role to suit ourselves, and it pissed Captain Stanley off, big time.”
“That sounds harmless to me.”
“It was mainly but then Razor killed someone he shouldn’t, and the heat turned up real fast.”
“Who did he kill? I mean, you don’t have to…”
“It’s fine. The guy deserved it. We were out in the local town after payday.
The guys ran riot once a month in the small town where our unit was stationed.
That night we were indulging in the usual shit of drinking and getting laid.
There were ten of us that night and it got a little out of hand.
Well, to cut a long story short, Razor was taking a leak and when he finished, he heard a muffled scream in the alley.
None of us are afraid to investigate trouble, and he was no exception.
Anyway, he saw a soldier fucking some girl against the wall, and his hand was over her mouth, and she was struggling to get away. ”
Delilah gasps and I hiss, “Razor pulled the guy off her and threw his punch, but the guy wasn’t going down without a fight. The girl ran off, leaving the two soldiers in a fistfight, and when the guy pulled a knife on my brother, he plunged it into his stomach.”
“Oh my God.”
Her body stills, and she appears concerned.
I shrug. “It takes more than a blade to slay the beast, darlin’.
The scars on my body may be in different places to my brother’s but we share many of them.
Anyway, Razor fought back, and as he slammed the guy to the floor, his punch landed a blow to his head he never recovered from.
The cops arrived and arrested him and put him up on a murder charge. ”
“But it was self-defense.”
She sounds angry, and I love how protective she is of my brother, and she doesn’t even know him.
“What about the woman? Didn’t she testify?”
“Yeah, for the dead guy. She told the cops Razor started it, and they had been doing nothing wrong.”
“Why would she say that?”
“Because of who the guy was.”
“Who was he?”
“The son of one of the generals. Nobody knew. His inclusion in our unit was top secret, which is probably why he appeared to get away with stuff the rest of us would be up on a charge for.”
“Poor Razor.”
She sounds so worried I almost laugh out loud because one thing my brother isn’t is poor.
“What happened?”
“Turns out Captain Stanley saw the entire episode and stepped up for my brother. He was close to retirement and had a history with the General, none of it good. Due to the nature of the crime, Razor was up for dishonorable discharge, and that’s when Captain Stanley brought in the big guns.”
“Who?”
I chuckle softly. “Ryder, of course. He turned up at the unit, and, to this day, I remember the way he swept in there as if he owned the place. He is a legend in the military and his reputation held in awe, and Captain Stanley was no stranger to that. We were called to the captain’s office where Ryder stood silent, and it was explained that Razor would be joining the special ops unit named The Twisted Reaper MC. ”
“But you went too.”
“Of course. Where my brother goes, I go too, and the captain was fully aware of that. Ryder said nothing and merely looked resigned to the fact he got two for the price of one.”
“Do you like being in the Reapers?”
I nod, “They are my brothers from other mothers. We fit, like a badass puzzle of death. No soldier in the Reapers came there without a hard beginning, and the same goes for the women who live there. Many would be in prison or dead if we were on the outside, and not one of us regrets our outcome. So, be assured it’s the place to hide, to heal and to be protected, and it may look like hell when you get there, but to many it’s heaven on earth. ”
She rests her cheek against my chest, and I drag in a deep breath because, fuck me, this is torture. I am trying so hard not to react to her soft body against mine, but my cock may have other ideas which would scare her shitless.
“Thanks for telling me, Blade.”
“You’re welcome, darlin’.”
I pull her closer, and it strikes me how intimate this moment is.
The flames from the fire dancing in front of us, the heat clashing with the chill of the darkening night sky.
The daylight animals now replaced by different sounds and the air is still, darkness enveloping our world, hiding reality in dark shadows.
Our last night alone.
Why do I hate the thought of that so much?