Chapter 2 Letty #2
I noticed the same sign above the door right before we entered, except it wasn’t neon. Someone had created it from stainless steel. Another larger, more detailed version also hung above the garage and read Blade Auto & Bike Repair. The club was certainly proud of its name.
“Come on,” Ryker urges as I tear my gaze away from the bar and look over the room, following him as he leads us to a barren hallway.
I don’t see Gage, but that doesn’t mean he’s not here.
As we walk, I notice the hardwood floor, the gray walls, and the lower-watt lighting.
It’s purposely sparse. The only decorations are framed photos of club members, motorcycles, and gatherings with large groups of bikers. They all wear leather vests.
My gaze catches on one of the photos, and I see Gage with a few of the members. His arm is around a girl wearing a short skirt and halter top. She’s got her palm on his chest, staring up at him like she can’t wait to rip his clothes off.
It’s ridiculous, but I feel jealous. Irritated. Almost betrayed.
This is none of my business. I turn away from the wall, taking several steps before I catch up to Ava and Ryker. The prospect lifts his knuckles to knock on the door when it opens.
I freeze when I see who exits into the hall, sucking in a breath of shock as my eyes lock with Gage. Right here. In the hallway.
He blinks and shuts the door behind him, recovering from what appears to be surprise.
His gaze slowly drags over my body, taking me in from head to toe, greedily devouring me in a blatant perusal that touches every inch of my skin.
I feel it like physical fingertips. The touch is seductive, intentional, and steals my breath.
I almost start to pant as his gaze darkens. When he speaks, I almost have to clench my thighs together because the rumble resonates in my core. I suddenly remember everything that’s happened between us, focusing on the night when he had his head buried between my thighs.
He knows it. Gage can sense where my thoughts have detoured. He gives me his signature panty-melting grin, and the heat in his gaze tells me he hasn’t forgotten either.
“Letty.”
And then I remember his rejection. The rumors he didn’t try to stop. How his brothers tormented me because he left me alone without his protection. How his father yells and drinks too much, and I daily endure it alone because even my mother checks out, too gone in her own misery to be there for me.
I yank my gaze away and look at Ava, who links her arm through mine and drags me closer. My best friend lifts her chin at Gage and levels him with an impressive glare.
Gage frowns. “Why are you here?”
I don’t owe him an explanation, and Ava won’t give him one.
He turns to Ryker, clearly annoyed by the sudden clenching of his jaw. “Prospect?”
Ryker gives Ava an apologetic glance before answering Gage. “They said they need to see Storm.”
Gage whips his head toward me and takes a step in my direction. “What happened, Letty?”
I open my mouth to tell him since it’s inevitable, and I want him to know, but the door swings open.
An intimidating biker as tall as the door growls at us. “Get inside. Now.”
“Yes, Pres,” Ryker answers quickly.
Gage just nods, waiting for me, Ava, and Ryker to enter first. I feel him at my back as I enter, his body heat giving off simmering waves that somehow find their way to me. I almost start to sweat.
It’s when his hand makes the briefest contact, lightly touching my lower spine, that I jerk away. It’s instinct. Built from mistrust, betrayal, and anger because he doesn’t deserve to look at me the way he does, like he can’t wait to press his lips to mine.
“Letty,” he says, low enough that we’re the only two that hear.
I won’t look at him. As he moves to my left, we all face the Vipers’ president as he sits behind his desk.
I’ve never met Storm, but I’ve heard about him.
He has a reputation as a ruthless leader but is popular with his club members.
I can’t imagine what life must be like for the men who wear that leather vest and swear allegiance to the Vipers.
“Ryker, wait outside until it’s time to escort Letty and Ava back to their car.”
He dips his chin. “Pres.”
Ryker leaves without another word or glance at Ava.
Gage moves to the closest wall, leans against it, and folds his arms over his chest. He’s still watching me, but I keep my gaze on Storm.
“Why don’t we start with why you’re both showing up to my clubhouse uninvited?”
Damn. That’s harsh.
Ava pouts before patting my arm.
“I need help,” I begin, ignoring Gage as he drops his arms. “It’s my two stepbrothers.”
Gage growls, and Storm shoots him a look that might make lesser men cower.
“Continue,” Storm orders. “What have they done?”
Coming here suddenly seems stupid. Why would the Vipers care about me or what happens to me?
“I think I’m wasting your time.”
Ava remains rooted to the spot as I try to pull away and hold’s my arm in a death grip. “They hurt her,” she blurts, keeping her focus on Storm.
Gage curses, pushes off the wall, and then wraps me in his arms. He holds me against his chest as I lift my hands to his leather vest and grip the supple material. I can hear his heart pounding beneath my ear.
I turn my head and notice the name on the front patch. It says BLAZE. Not Gage. He’s been given a new name. A biker name.
Gage, err Blaze, grips my chin and forces my gaze upward until he can search my eyes. “Tell us everything.”
This is what I hoped for. The truth exposed. Liam and Theo need to learn a lesson and that Mifflin can’t protect them from the Vipers.
But I can’t seem to say all the shit I’ve had done to me. I feel the tears sting my eyes before they begin to pool, slowly blurring my vision until they wobble. When they spill over, Gage curses and hugs me closer.
I want to push him away as I clutch his shirt, burying my face in his chest as his familiar scent invades my senses.
“Ava?” Storm prompts, his deep voice betraying impatience.
“They’ve made her life hell at school and home. There’s no escape. They even come into her room and steal or break things. She’s had to redo homework because they ruined it, and one of them defecated on her bed.”
“The fuck?” Storm thunders as I shudder.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Gage soothes.
I can’t seem to think of him as anything but Gage. Even if he’s Blaze now, he’ll always be Gage to me.
It’s been a year since the wedding reception. A whole twelve months since I’ve heard his voice or felt his warmth. It’s a shock to my senses, and I let him hold me.
Why? It’s easy to understand.
Gage forced his way into my life like a tornado, wreaking havoc and destruction on my heart. And when he rejected me? I thought it was over . . . until he became my stepbrother.
And now, I don’t know what to think.
Gage listens to Ava as she continues, listing every infraction that she can remember, burying the hatchet deep in case anyone in this room doubts how awfully Mifflin, Liam, and Theo have treated me.
Gage’s expression hardens as he listens to every word, holding my gaze hostage. There’s murder in his eyes.
It’s then that I realize I’ve not just come for help. I’m asking a dangerous outlaw motorcycle club to take the law into their own hands and deliver justice.
I blink, knowing a fraction of a second later, I’ve just become someone who owes them a debt.
Someday, they’ll collect.