Chapter 21
BLAIZE
Annika and her men came and took Kadence home, but not before Annika barged into the clubhouse and lit into me, thinking I did something to her again.
Kadence told her it was someone else, but Annika was still ready to sink her claws into me.
I was glad she had passionate friends who cared for her, even if Annika made my teeth ache.
Apologizing was the push we both needed, although I wasn’t expecting her to apologize to me.
I stormed into the club, trying to find Hunter.
She was busy when I left, but I didn’t care if I needed to drag her from Everly’s body.
Someone tried to kill Kadence. They tried to take the woman I loved from me…
again. No one was going to hurt Kadence ever again.
I would scour the Earth to make sure she was protected from anyone.
When I marched into my office, Hunter was sitting on my desk, waiting for me. Her blonde hair was wet, and she was in grey sweats and a green tank top. Judging by the marks on her neck and chest, it looks like she and Everly had a busy night.
“Someone attacked Kadence.”
She straightened her back. “Is she okay? Do we know who did it?”
“No, he was wearing a mask. He cut her throat—not fatal, but enough to send a message. That message being: tell that bitch I am taking everything she loves.”
“She called you?”
“When no one else answered her, yes. One of those people being you.”
Her brows scrunched. “I tried calling her back when we were done, but she didn’t answer. Is she okay?”
I nodded. “Yes, but now someone is trying to kill her because of me, and I want to know who. Can you pull up the footage from the docks?”
She nodded, jumping to her feet and sitting in my chair as she worked her magic fingers on my computer, pulling up the footage from the docks.
We wouldn’t have audio, but we could see what took place.
Kadence arrived about an hour before whoever attacked her.
I could see him watching her, waiting to strike while Kadence was blind to the impending danger.
My fists clenched when I watched him grab her and I saw the fear in her eyes.
He cut her breast before the knife went to her throat.
The bastard was wearing a mask, and I couldn’t see anything familiar about him.
“Have we got anything else?”
“The dock is the only visible camera feed. The other feeds are not pulling up; someone must have tampered with them so I can’t see where he went.” She growled in frustration, slamming the mouse down. “Blaize. Someone must’ve taken my passwords. I’m the only one that knows this other than Cross.”
Cross had been stressed dealing with the motorcycle club and all the things that came with that position.
Hawke made it seems easy when he was fucking Fallon to his death metal music, all while keeping my club on stable ground.
Cross had already asked for someone else to take the lead so he could go back to his computers.
I rubbed my temples, feeling a pending migraine.
Dealing with this plus everything with Kadence was going to drive me insane.
“Can you try to find out if we were hacked?” I asked. “You have a solid firewall and protections, so you would know if someone hacked into our system.”
“Blaize, if my system was hacked and passwords were stolen, I would know. I’m good, Blaize. My security measures are top notch.”
“See if you can find anything and let me know. I don’t want to do anything rash without proof. I learned with Kadence. Someone is trying to ruin me in more ways than one.”
She nodded. “You taking my SUV or the Harley?”
I smirked. “We made progress, and if we’re on my bike, she can’t shrink into herself.”
The next morning, my nerves were shot. Drew said Kadence slept most of the night, but did have a nightmare.
Luckily, it was unrelated to me. I was going to take her nightmares away, even if it meant more blood on my hands.
I made my bed the moment I decided to kill my mother’s boyfriend, and it was written in stone when I killed Olivia’s stepfather.
There are too many names under my belt and blood on my grave for me to care; a few more to protect the angel sent to me by the devil won’t destroy the world.
The ten-minute ride to Annika’s apartment building felt like hours, but I finally made it.
I was holding onto all this past rage when I knew this wouldn’t be how I should honor my family's memories. I shouldn’t be hurting someone that wanted to love me, but I didn’t know if I could love her.
At least, not in the way that she needed me to.
I wasn’t scared of much, but losing someone I cared about again would hurt more than death.
I forced myself up the flight of stairs, bringing my fist to the front door.
But before my knuckles could connect with the red wood, the door opened and I saw Drew and a very displeased Annika.
The look she was giving me wasn’t very Annika-like, but I understood why she was glaring daggers sharp enough to kill.
Drew was holding her against him, otherwise she would rush me and dig her clawed into me. She was like this last night, too. “Don’t do anything stupid,” Drew said.
“If you hurt her more than you already have, I will claw your eyes out and feed them to the stray cats.”
I arched my brow, looking at Drew and then back at her. Drew didn’t do anything but step aside and walk to the couch. “You’re pretty feisty, aren’t you?”
“You hurt my best friend. You’re lucky I let you into my apartment, but it’s not my choice.”
I threw my hands up in peace. “I know. I don’t deserve her forgiveness.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re damn right, you don’t. You know she’s in love with you, right? She can’t hate you for what you did to her, but I can. I don’t care if you can fire me or torture me in your basement.”
“I know she is. And I know how much I hurt her because of my own personal issues. We talked a little last night, but it wasn’t enough.”
“If she gets hurt, I will kill you, Blaize.”
Drew stood up, setting Annika on the couch, causing her to huff and fold her arms across her chest. “Before you go in there, she’s sleeping.
But sleep hasn’t been her friend. In the last few weeks since everything’s happened, she’s been getting roughly four hours of sleep a night if she’s lucky.
After talking to you last night, she’s finally sleeping longer. ”
I nodded, waiting for directions to her bedroom. “Door at the end of the hallway.”
I gave Annika one last glance before walking towards her bedroom, knowing the two of them were watching me like pissed off hawks.
Annika was ready for her talons to latch into my throat and end my misery, but I didn’t blame her.
Kadence was lucky to have a friend who was this passionate about her well-being.
When I stepped into her bedroom, she was tossing and turning in the bed, fighting an unknown force.
I knew it was because of me. Her hair was fanned out in a tangled mess of blue, some strands sticking to her forehead and neck.
The baggy t-shirt was riding up her thighs, giving me a scandalous view of her curvaceous body.
This was not the time or place to admire her.
Her neck still has a bandage covering the gash, but the shirt was blocking the one on her chest.
Hesitantly, I moved closer to the bed, sitting on the edge and caressing her cheek with my hand. She leaned into my touch, her body relaxing. I didn’t know how long I would stay like this, watching her sleep, before her eyes slowly fluttered open.
“Hi, princess.”