Blade’s Runaway Bride (Outlaw Order MC #5)

Chapter 1 - Blade

I patrol the perimeter of Pine Haven with one hand resting on the grip of my Glock. The weight of the gun against my palm is a comfort I've known since my first deployment, a reminder that I control who lives and who dies in my territory.

It's been two days since the Vultures MC's last attack, and the air still smells like gunpowder and blood to me, though that might just be memory.

The club voted unanimously. We're ending this war once and for all. No survivors. No mercy. No loose ends.

My kind of mission.

The problem is finding Charles. The snake slithered back into whatever hole he crawled out of, and until we locate him, we're just spinning our wheels. I hate waiting. I prefer action. The clean simplicity of violence over the tedium of strategy meetings and intelligence gathering.

My Harley roars beneath me as I take the curve on Route 16, the night air cool against my face. The outskirts of Pine Haven are mostly deserted at this hour. Just farmland, woods, and the occasional rundown property. The perfect place to spot anything unusual.

And that's when I see it… A flash of white in my headlight, just off the shoulder of the road.

I slow the bike, squinting into the darkness. Could be nothing. Could be a trap. In my experience, nothing innocent happens on a back road after midnight.

I kill the engine but leave the headlight on, illuminating what appears to be a heap of dirty fabric. But fabric doesn't move. And this definitely moved.

Drawing my weapon, I approach cautiously, boots crunching on the gravel. Years of training have taught me to trust nothing and no one outside the club. As I get closer, the shape takes form, and I realize it's a person wearing what looks like a filthy, torn wedding dress.

A woman.

She's huddled against the base of an oak tree, knees pulled to her chest, face hidden. Her blonde hair hangs in tangled strands around her shoulders, and the once-white dress is smeared with dirt and what might be blood.

I stop ten feet away, gun still in hand but pointed at the ground. "You alive?"

She jerks at the sound of my voice, head snapping up. Wide blue eyes lock onto mine, filled with a terror I recognize all too well. It's the look of prey that knows it's been caught.

"Stay back," she whispers, voice hoarse. She presses herself harder against the tree trunk as if trying to disappear into it.

I should leave her. Whatever mess she's in isn't my problem. The club has enough to deal with, and I'm not in the business of rescuing random women in wedding dresses. But something about the raw fear in her eyes keeps my boots planted where they stand.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I say, the words awkward on my tongue.

I rarely bother with reassurances. People either trust me or they don't, and mostly, they shouldn't.

She doesn't believe me. Smart girl.

"Are you—" she swallows hard, eyes darting to the road behind me, "—are you one of them?"

That gets my attention. "One of who?"

"The Vultures MC."

My blood turns cold. Every instinct sharpens to a razor's edge. This isn't a coincidence. Nothing involving Vultures MC in Pine Haven is a coincidence anymore.

"No," I answer, holstering my weapon slowly so she can see. "I'm not."

Some of the tension leaves her body, but not much. She's still coiled tight, ready to bolt. Her dress has a long tear up one side, revealing scratched and bleeding legs. She's been running through the woods. For how long, I can't tell.

"What's your name?" I ask, though I don't really care. What I care about is how she's connected to the Vultures MC.

She hesitates, eyes darting around like a cornered animal. "Kelly," she finally says. "Kelly Stone."

"And why are you running from Vultures MC in a wedding dress, Kelly Stone?"

Her lips tremble. "Because I was supposed to marry one today." The words come out bitter and frightened. "But I couldn't... I wouldn't..." She trails off, shaking her head.

I've seen plenty of the Vultures MC's operation since they invaded our territory. Human trafficking. But forced marriages? That's new.

"Where are they now?"

"I don't know." Her voice breaks. "I just ran. For hours. Through the woods. I don't even know where I am."

"Pine Haven," I tell her, though the name likely means nothing to her. "About twenty miles east of Ridgewood."

She nods slightly, processing this information. "I need to keep moving. They'll be looking for me."

"Who were you supposed to marry?"

"Mike. One of Charles's men."

The name drops like a bomb between us. Charles. The man we've been hunting. The man who's determined to destroy the Outlaw Order MC and take over Pine Haven.

I make a decision that Reaper might not approve of but fuck it. This woman might be our first real lead on Charles's location.

"I can help you," I say, the words strange in my mouth. I don't help people. I kill people who threaten my brothers. That's my role.

She laughs, a broken sound with no humor. "No one can help me. They'll find me, and then they'll kill me." Her eyes fill with tears. "Or worse."

"I know people who can protect you."

The club has safeguarded others before—Evelyn, Reaper’s daughter, Debbie and her kid. But those were Reaper's and Ghost's problems, not mine. I've never brought a stray to the clubhouse.

She stares at me, taking in the leather cut with our patches, the tattoos crawling up my neck, the scars on my face and hands. I know what she sees. A monster. A killer. And she's not wrong.

"You're a biker." she says, stating the obvious. "How do I know you're any better than them?"

I don't smile. I never smile. "You don't. But I'm your only option unless you want to keep running in that dress until they catch you."

Kelly looks down at herself, at the ruined white gown that was meant to mark her as someone's property. Something flickers across her face, determination pushing through the fear.

"My sister," she whispers. "She's still with them. I tried to get her to come with me, but she wouldn't."

That complicates things. Always does when there's family involved. "One problem at a time," I tell her. "First, we get you somewhere safe."

I extend my hand, keeping my face neutral. I'm not good at looking trustworthy. Not good at being trustworthy, for that matter. But she doesn't have options, and we both know it.

She stares at my outstretched hand for a long moment. Then, with visible reluctance, she places her smaller one in mine. Her skin is cold, her fingers trembling. As I help her to her feet, she sways unsteadily.

"When did you last eat or drink?" I ask.

"Yesterday morning. Before..." She doesn't finish the sentence.

I nod once, releasing her hand as soon as she's stable. "You need water. Food. And different clothes."

Kelly looks down at the wedding dress again, her expression hardening. "I want to burn this."

For the first time since I found her, I feel something like respect stirring. "That can be arranged."

She follows me to the bike, limping slightly. When she sees it, she stops. "I've never been on one of these."

"Hold onto me. Don't lean when I lean. Just stay centered." I swing my leg over and start the engine, feeling it rumble to life beneath me.

After a moment's hesitation, she awkwardly climbs on behind me, gathering the torn dress around her legs as best she can. Her hands hover uncertainly at my sides.

"You'll fall off if you don't hold on properly," I tell her over my shoulder.

Reluctantly, she wraps her arms around my waist, her body tense against my back. I can feel her heart racing, a frightened bird trying to break free of its cage.

As I pull onto the road, heading back toward the clubhouse, I wonder what Reaper will say about the runaway bride I'm bringing home. But more importantly, I wonder what she knows about Charles, and whether it will be enough to finally end this war.

What I don't consider, not even for a moment, is why I stopped for her in the first place. Why I, the man they call Blade for both my weapon of choice and my cold, cutting nature, am playing rescue to a woman I should have left by the roadside.

Some questions are better left unasked.