Cambria
I had finished up a break before moving on to another project when I heard a motorcycle.
Since I lived in a compound for bikers, that wasn’t unusual.
Hearing them close to the house wasn’t either.
But I knew when one pulled into our driveway, which had just occurred.
I got up to see who it was. The other Pagans should know that Shadow was still at work.
Stepping out on the porch, I saw it was Shadow pulling into the garage.
What was he doing home so early? When he left for work, he told me not to expect him until after four at the earliest. Going back inside, I hurried through the house to the door between the garage and the house.
He came striding into the mud-slash laundry room.
Shadow smiled when he saw me, but I detected strain around his mouth. He paused to hang up his cut and to remove his riding boots. I went over to him. He wrapped his arms around my hips and brought me to stand between his legs.
“Afternoon, Twilight. Kiss your man. I’ve been dying all day for one or ten of your kisses,” he softly growled.
I didn’t need to be told twice. I latched onto his lips and hungrily took his mouth. Shadow was as eager as I was. He was the one to separate us.
“Cambria, we need to talk. I’ve got some important stuff to go over with you. Let’s head to the office.”
The way he said it caused me to stiffen. Shadow eased me further away to allow himself room to stand. He put his arm around me and guided my steps to where his office, or I should say, our office, was located. When we entered it, he took me to his desk. He sat down and pulled me onto his lap.
“Shaine, what’s going on?” I asked.
“I’ll get right to the point. Today, I worked on the tracking we’ve all been doing.
And I stumbled across a username and URL that is so well hidden, it’s barely a glimmer.
From what I can tell, it was whoever is behind that username who outed you to those crazy people on the dark web.
I don’t know who it is yet, but I had Crusher go through it to be sure I wasn’t hallucinating.
I’m not. Then, I asked all available computer/hacker guys from the various clubs to join me for a video call.
We got all but Everly and Smoke. I presented the lead to them.
“We’re all in agreement, this is the one we need to expose and shut down.
However, that’s not all. We must find a way to protect you, rebury Cambria Mulally, and establish a compelling story that no one can penetrate to the real you.
It’s only doable if Cambria Mulally disappears.
” He paused. I didn’t know if it was to gauge what to say next or because I stiffened. He cuddled me closer.
“Dark Angel, listen carefully before you say anything. Please.”
I took a deep breath, then let it out and nodded. “Okay, I’ll listen.”
“You need a new identity, but there’s a way to do it without you having to move away and start over. I told the guys there was no way in hell I could live with that. You’re mine. We’re in a committed relationship.”
“How? I can’t just do it halfway, Shaine. When I became Cambria Mulally, I had to give up everyone and everything I was. If I didn’t, it would’ve failed.” The thought of leaving and never seeing him again made me sick to my stomach.
Shadow turned me so I was facing him even more. His eyes drilled into mine. He wore such a fierce expression. His hand came up to cup my cheek.
“The old Cambria disappears. We can make it appear that you died. And if we do that right, no one will question a different Cambria.”
“A different Cambria?”
“Cambria Creed, my wife. You would have my name, the entire club at your back, and we can build you into a whole new woman, my woman, my old lady, my wife,” he said softly.
“Y-your wife? But…”
“But what?”
“What if I end up exposed? It brings trouble to you. God, even now, I’m such a liability. Why risk as much as you have, let alone make me your wife?”
“Easy. Because, Twilight, I love you. You own my heart, mind, body, and soul. No one will ever compare to you,” Shadow whispered.
My breath caught in my throat. The raw sincerity mixed with desire and love shone brightly out of them.
Shadow yanked me to his chest and imprisoned my lips with his.
I moaned as our lips and tongues wrestled each other.
My body went up in flames. I squirmed on his lap.
I gasped as his erection pressed into my bottom.
I gasped louder when he gripped my waist and spun me so I had no choice but to contort myself until I straddled his legs.
Shadow kissed me deeper than seconds ago. I wanted to peel off my clothing and toss it to the floor. Automatically, I rubbed my pussy over the bulge decorating the front of his jeans. The feel of him, even through my panties and thin cotton yoga pants, made me cry out.
“Christ, Cambria, stop distracting me. I’m a weak-as-fuck man when it comes to you. Will you marry me? Let me protect you the way only I can? If you don’t love me, I can love enough for the both of us, until you do love me.”
“You’re sure of this and that you love me?” I asked.
“Yes, I’m sure of all of it, especially that I love you.
I started to fall for you the moment I began chasing a ghost online.
And it kept growing. I was waiting until I thought you’d had enough time to accept us together and to develop that feeling before confessing it and asking you to marry me, though making you my old lady is marriage in the biker world.
I have a ring, but it’s locked up at the moment.
It’ll likely have to be resized. It belonged to my grandmother, my mom’s mother.
If you hate it, I’ll buy you a new one.”
“Shaine, I can’t believe this.”
“Believe it. Become my wife. And I don’t want you to think for a moment I’m only asking due to this whole bullshit with those fanatics who worship that psycho Garen.”
“Shaine, I think before I answer you, you should let me tell you about Garen and my past. You can find out a great deal, but not everything ends up in court transcripts or in the news. I want you to know what runs through my veins.”
“Angel, if you’re implying there’s any evil part of him in you, I don’t believe it.”
“Just let me tell you. Did you read the court transcripts from his trial?”
“I did not. I wanted you to tell me about it one day. However, if I thought it would jeopardize your safety by not reading them, I would’ve,” he admitted.
“Can we go to the couch or our bed?” I asked.
“Of course.”
He surprised me with his strength as he stood, taking me with him.
I was cradled in his arms. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms and legs around him.
Shadow carried me to the bedroom and placed me gently on the bed.
I tried to roll away to put space between us, but he was on the mattress in seconds, cuddling me.
“Talk,” he ordered.
It took me nearly a minute to gather my thoughts and begin.
“You know that Garen was convicted of murdering eighteen women.
The final victim was my mom. Everyone who knew him said there was no way he was a murderer.
They testified to how normal he was. What a loving father and husband he was.
He volunteered and helped raise funds for charity.
You name it, he did it, if it made him look like an amazing person.
“What none of us knew until it was too late, is that Garen is a narcissistic sociopath. He can’t form bonds and true feelings with anyone.
He’s highly intelligent. He could fake it, but inside, he sees other humans as either pawns or lesser animals.
His job required him to travel for a week or more each month.
It made his dark deeds easier to do. When he was home, he would take us places.
We did things as a family, such as attending church on Sundays and going to church picnics, among other activities.
We participated in social gatherings. His coworkers thought he was a good guy.
“But there were things that Mom and I didn’t question.
It wasn’t until after he was sent to prison and I lost her that I began studying up on serial killers.
I discovered there were tiny clues. For example, I was never allowed to stay overnight at a friend’s house, nor to have others over at ours.
He refused to allow us to have a pet, no matter how much I begged.
Though in most other things, he bought me gifts and gave me mostly everything I asked for.
I was never allowed to be around the male relatives of any of my friends without others present.
“Mom had no close friends, and any family had long been excluded from our lives, though it was more touted as we had to move far away from them for his work. From my research and talks with psychiatrists, he didn’t allow me to be where I was outside his control or where another predator, like himself, could acquire me.
The no pets rule was probably due to his not being able to resist hurting and killing them.
He was probably a kid who tortured and killed animals growing up.
That would’ve shattered his good-guy image.
Not being around the males was again, him protecting me from monsters like him.
“What I didn’t know until it was too late was that Garen had begun killing women about the time Mom got pregnant with me.
The psychiatrists said it was a trigger for him.
Why? I never found out. His victims all resembled my mom, whom I resemble a lot.
They speculated that her giving any attention to anyone other than him made him angry.
The killings and the rituals involved in those murders released that anger on others rather than on us.
Again, we don’t know why he held back from getting rid of us. He refused to talk.