Chapter 9 Letty
FOUR YEARS LATER—
The room is quiet. I lay in bed with the blinds closed. Outside, the sun is rising over the ocean beyond my balcony. Soft waves lap at the shore as I listen to the tide crash over the sand and then recede. I know if I step out there, I’ll see an endless beach stretching on both sides of the coast.
But I don’t get out of bed. Instead, I roll onto my side and open the drawer in my nightstand. My gaze falls on the black glove Gage wore the night of the Homecoming dance. It’s silly that I’ve kept it this long, holding onto an object that can’t take me back to that night.
It’s been four years since I graduated from high school—four long years since he held me in his arms. No matter how many times I go over the events of that night, I still can’t let it go.
I can’t let Gage go.
He haunts my dreams. His honey-colored gaze burns into mine, accusatory and angry because I left him. I don’t know what he’s doing or if he thinks of me. We’ve had zero contact.
But he couldn’t find me if he wanted to because I’ve been relocated, whisked into witness protection because of my mother’s testimony against Mifflin, his company, and the Vipers. I still don’t know what she said to get her this deal, and it infuriates me.
Is Gage okay? Do the Vipers think I betrayed them? What about the favor that Ava and I owe?
I miss my best friend. The night the FBI raided the Vipers clubhouse, I was shoved into a car and driven away. I never got to stop by home to pick up any of my personal belongings. The only reason I have Gage’s glove is that I begged Agent Phillips for a list of items from my room.
But I still didn’t get to say goodbye to Ava or Gage. My last memory of him is watching him bleed out on the ground. It took months to learn that Mifflin stabbed him. In self-defense, Gage had to kill his own father. I’m not sorry Mifflin is dead. But my heart aches for Gage.
A soft knock raps on my door. “Leticia?”
It’s not my mother.
“I just woke up,” I answer, pushing the drawer closed and rising from bed. Picking up the robe from the edge of the mattress, I shrug it on and loosely belt the sash around my waist. I snatch my phone as I pass my dresser. When I open the door, I see the U.S. Marshal who took over our case.
“Good morning. I thought you’d like some breakfast.” He holds up my favorite coffee and a bag with the bakery label where I always buy my bagels now. “Cynthia said I should shove some calories into you.” He gives me a crooked smile.
“Thanks.” I tuck my cell into the pocket of my robe and close the door as I enter the hall. “Outside?”
He nods. “It’s warm enough.”
Daniel Brekker is handsome in that classical, good guy way.
Short, closely cut brown hair. Hazel eyes.
High cheekbones and a hint of stubble. His teeth are very white and straight.
I’ve never seen him in anything other than a suit or tactical gear.
He doesn’t wear jeans often, so I notice them right away.
“Going casual, Brekker?”
He smirks. “It’s a bit hot for all my gear.”
We’re on the west coast, hours from where I used to live in Northern California. The salty breeze sweeps through my hair as we exit the house, and I sit on the deck, facing the ocean. It’s calm today, the surface lightly rippling in the wind.
I wore leggings and a long tank top to bed. With the robe, I’m comfortable. Tucking my feet underneath me, I reach for the coffee. “This is good,” I say after taking a few sips.
“I thought you’d enjoy it.” He pushes the bag toward me. “Go ahead. I already ate.”
I don’t hesitate to unwrap my bagel sandwich and take a bite, moaning around the flavor. It’s perfect. Egg, cheddar cheese, maple bacon, sausage, and a French toast bagel with a hint of syrup. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and savory.
Brekker laughs. “I can’t get over how much you enjoy that sandwich.”
I chew and swallow. “It’s delicious. You need to get one next time.”
He shakes his head. “I can’t do sweet mixed with egg.”
“You’re missing out.” I finish the sandwich, bag up the trash, and enjoy my coffee.
It’s a comfortable silence that follows. Brekker has been checking on me and my mom once a week since we moved into this house. He says it’s his job, but I suspect there’s more to it.
“So,” I say, turning my head to meet his gaze, “Why are you here, Brekker? Is there anything to worry about?”
“No.” His answer is firm. “I have an update to share with you.”
I didn’t expect that. “Okay. Tell me.”
“Gage Blade is out of prison.”
My body stiffens, and I’m tempted to slam my coffee cup on the table. “When?”
“Six months ago.” He holds my gaze, not at all looking guilty for keeping it from me.
Are you fucking serious?
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He shoves away from the table and approaches me. I let him pull me up from the seat. Brekker’s hands wrap around mine and lightly squeeze. In his stare, I can see he’s about to say something I won’t like. “He’s toxic. A criminal, Leticia.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to decide if and when I learn the truth about him or anyone else from my past.”
“I know that and can respect it,” he sighs, “which is why I’m telling you right now.”
“What about Ava? Is she okay?”
“You know I’m not supposed to disclose that information.”
“I need to know. Please.” My voice cracks on the last word, and he nods.
“She’s doing well from what I can see. She just graduated from college with a law degree.”
A lawyer? What an interesting career choice. I never would have thought Ava Michaels would become a lawyer.
God, I miss her.
“And the Vipers?” I’ve seen things in the media, so he can’t lie to me.
“Still an outlaw motorcycle club.” His jaw clenches.
“And Liam and Theo Blade?”
His expression suddenly becomes closed off. He’s hiding something from me. I think he doesn’t want to scare me, but this is worse.
“Tell me, Brekker.”
“Mifflin Blade’s sons are all criminals.”
“There’s more to it than that, isn’t there?” I ask, searching his eyes. They look troubled. Worried.
“I don’t think I should say more, Leticia.”
“Because there’s an active threat? Or what?”
“I believe someone, and it’s not Gage, is trying to locate you.” He frowns, rubbing his thumb over my skin. “There’s been activity that suggests facial recognition technology is being used on the internet with your likeness. You need to lay low for a bit. Stay close to home until this blows over.”
Blows over? “It’s been four years, Brekker. Nothing is fucking blowing over.”
He blinks at my use of profanity. “Letty.” It’s the first time he’s ever used a less formal version of my name. “This is serious. It’s my job to protect you from those bastards. All of them,” he emphasizes, including Gage in that description.
I’m close to tears. In all this time, Gage hasn’t found me. He didn’t try. He’s had six months. Am I a fool to still hope he’ll come for me?
Brekker is trying to convince me that my relationship with Gage is over. He’s being as gentle as possible with the news, but it’s no less devastating. I can feel tears building behind my eyes, and I blink at the sting.
“Shit. Don’t cry.” He pulls me into his arms as he releases my hands. In the shelter of his embrace, I let loose a sob.
This nightmare never stops.
“Letty, darling.” He tilts my chin up. “I’m not supposed to get close. I can’t develop feelings for those under my protection. But you, it’s always been a battle since we met.”
Darling. Wow. In another life, if I had never met Gage, I could have fallen hard for a guy like Brekker. He’s kind, generous, and protective by nature. Intelligent. Charming.
But he’s not Gage.
I lift my fingers and press two against his mouth. “He’s still with me, Brekker. I know you might not believe this, but I know he’ll find me. It doesn’t matter how long it takes.”
Brekker shakes his head. “You’re wrong.” He tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. “When he finds you, so will his enemies. You’ll always be a target with him. Never safe and never free.”
I swallow hard with his words because he’s right. “I know.”
“Then let him go, Letty. Live your life. Hell, do it for you, not me, or Gage, or your mother. I’ll relocate you anywhere you want to go. Take this chance before it disappears.”
“You’re a good man, Daniel Brekker. One of the best I’ve ever known. If it were possible, I would take you up on that offer.”
His eyes betray his disappointment.
“But he loves me, Brekker. He’ll find me no matter where I am. There’s no place to run that he won’t be able to locate.”
“Like I said before, it’s toxic behavior. You deserve better.”
“Maybe I do,” I agree, “but I love him too.”
“He’s your stepbrother,” Brekker reminds me with one last effort to convince me that being with Gage is wrong. It’s a weak argument.
“We’re not related. Our parents met and got married while we were in high school. There’s nothing taboo about us being together.”
“You’ll lose the protection of WIT SEC,” he reminds me. “That means this life and any possibility in a future here will be ripped away.”
“I accept that. I’ve never wanted to be here, Brekker.”
“And your mom?”
“Leaving her here will be my only regret.”
He flinches like I’ve slapped him. “Jesus, Letty.”
“That’s not how I meant it. You know that.”
Brekker drops his hands and takes a few steps backward. He’s putting physical distance between us, but it’s also a wall that he won’t ever cross again. I lost him before I ever had him.
It makes me sad, but only because he doesn’t understand how I feel about Gage. Nothing will ever happen between us. He needs to know that.
“There’s no room for anyone else in my heart, Brekker. He takes up the whole space.”
“That’s sad.” He squares his shoulders. “I’ll be watching. With the possibility of a threat, I have to stay close.”
“I appreciate it.” I can tell he’s struggling to remain professional. “I’m sorry, Brekker.”
“Don’t.” He almost chokes on the word. “Don’t say that. It just makes it worse because I know it’s true.”
I nod. There’s nothing else to say.
“Go inside with your mom. She’s been anxious since I told her about the suspicious internet searches.”
I have to walk by him to enter the house, but I pause when I step beside him. Reaching for his hand, I squeeze it before I release his calloused fingers. “Thank you, Daniel.”
“Of course.”
I want to say more to him before I walk away, but there aren’t any words to console either of us.
There’s no future for me with a man on this side of the law.
I crave danger, adventure, and the freedom of two wheels, wind in my hair, riding with the man who already owns my heart.
Gage claimed it four years ago. No other man will ever stand a chance.
I have to believe that fate brought us together for a reason. This isn’t over. It can’t be the end.
I’ll wait as long as it takes for Gage.
In my heart, I know all our chapters aren’t written yet.