Chapter 21 #2
She couldn’t fight him anymore than I could, and she’d endured his abuse longer than I had.
“I have to get you out of here, Natty. Things are progressing…which means he’s getting more comfortable with claiming you. He offered you his patch…that’s not good.”
I swiped at my face as I tried to clear my throat. “Where am I supposed to go where he won’t be able to follow?”
I had my cottage plans, but Rose Ridge wasn’t far enough, and if Silas was going to remain with the Death Raiders, then Dirk would still have access to me.
Sasha looked frantic as she searched my face, her own eyes welling with tears.
“We’ve held him off as long as we can, honey. I fear the next time he comes, he’ll consume you whole. Wherever you go, it needs to be somewhere Dirk won’t be able to follow. Somewhere you’re protected…”
“But Silas will protect me…he’s always protected me, if I just tell him then he—"
A flicker of unease sharpened her focus as she stepped back into the hall.
It was a clear answer to my na?ve notion and illusion of safety.
Silas was her son, and I was merely the foster daughter she’d taken in and helped raise.
She loved me in her own way and keeping me safe fell within that column, but it would never be at the sake of keeping her own son safe.
“Silas can’t know, can he?” I followed her into the darkened house.
The lingering fear in the room still clung to the shadows, creeping up along my spine.
The burn on my ass ached, and the smear of darkness on my soul felt permanent.
I couldn’t keep doing this…I would break entirely and inevitably; Silas would find out and that war would come.
Sasha gave me a pleading look, her eyes welling with tears. “He will die, Natty. Silas loves you with a consuming sort of love…the kind that would burn and burn and burn until nothing but ash was left. Even if it meant he himself perished.”
I nodded while a lump continued to form and burn in my throat.
“Get dressed, I have a phone call to make…” Sasha gave my arm a gentle squeeze before turning to leave.
My feet carried me to the room I’d shared with Silas since we were kids.
The dark walls holding in years of secrets and a love story that spanned along the expanse of the sky.
The string of fairy lights I had hung so many years ago were dim as I flicked the switch.
Our modest, queen-sized mattress now filling the floor space I once had as a bed.
The soles of my feet touched the rug I’d found on a swap site for cheap; it was soft and looked new.
I remember when Silas had unrolled it, and how he’d looked up at me that day all smiles and happiness.
“When we get our own place, we’ll take this with us.”
I had beamed with excitement, so much so that it was the first time I had considered looking for a new place for us. It’s what had led me to my cottage.
Sorrow burrowed into my sternum, but I pushed past it by getting dressed. I found the old duffle Silas had used when going to his father’s house all those years and began stuffing it with my clothes.
I didn’t know when he’d be back. I didn’t want him to think I was leaving him.
God, he had to know I’d never leave him.
As quickly as I could, I began to write to him explaining what I could without creating a mess for Sasha, who would remain with the Death Raiders.
“Natty, come with me. We’re going to stay in a hotel for a few days while he gets the deal set up.”
I bustled out of the room, my heart in my throat as I followed Sasha. I gave our room one last glance and trailed her out of the house.
“Your car will have to stay here.”
I wanted to tell her about my plan to rent the cottage, and see if that would be possible, but Sasha kept darting her eyes around as if she were worried.
“Duck down in the back, Natty. Dirk can’t know that you’re leaving.”
I did as she said and continued to do as she said for the following two days, hiding out in a shitty motel in a town I wasn’t familiar with.
Finally, she told me what was happening, and I had no choice but to accept my new fate.
“Simon Stone agreed to trade a shipment of weapons he just received for your safe passage to his club. He’s not the sort of man that would hurt you, Natty. You’ll be in the club, your own room, protected…and most importantly, away from Dirk.”
“Why would Simon trade such a large shipment for me?”
It was the only thing I could even think to ask because my mind was whirling, pieces of information felt like fragments of shrapnel missing and hitting all at once. I couldn’t grasp what was happening, or how I’d lost control of my own life.
Sasha’s gaze softened as she moved a piece of my hair to the side. “Other than because I asked him to. He has a daughter, honey. One that’s your age. Their club has a code about women and how they’re treated. You’ll be safe there.”
I believed her. I vaguely remembered when Simon Stone had shown up to reclaim his daughter from when Dirk had kidnapped her. I had never seen him myself, but he was a good man.
“Does Simon know I’m technically patched to Silas, which breaks a few codes between clubs. It could be cause for a war…”
Sasha winced the smallest bit, then gave me a sad smile.
“Once you enter the doors of that club, it’s better if no one knows who you belong to. Don’t speak of him being anything to you.” Her gaze flicked down to my ring finger and I had the urge to curl my fist.
“And what about Silas, he won’t just accept this.”
Sasha let out a sigh then gave me a flat look. “Leave that to me. I’ll talk to him…in the end, he’ll understand.”
But I knew Silas in a different way, and I doubted very much that he would understand.
Sasha began walking, and as I followed, I felt like I was walking the edge of a plank.
The dreams in my chest felt like ash fluttering around with still burning edges, images of a life I dreamed up still visible.
“Sasha, I’m scared.” It came out as a whisper right as the rumble of motorcycles reverberated down the street.
We were in Rose Ridge; I could see that now.
The motel, the only one in the city, and from where we stood, I could see the road into town from Pyle.
A group of leather clad riders headed toward us.
“You’re going to ride back with a man named Killian. He’s the vice president of the club. He’s a good man from what I understand, but from there, a woman named Red will take over and help get you settled.”
My hands were shaking, and I noticed that my head was as well.
“Wait…I…what about Silas. I have to tell him.”
Sasha kept her focus on the oncoming group.
“You have to give him space, Natty. You need to let him go for a time. He’s doing something bigger right now than you or him.
I’m asking you not to let him come for you.
You will have to be the one that creates the distance.
You’ll need to leave your cell behind, because if Silas thinks he can get to you then he will and right now, in order to avoid a very ugly war, he can’t. ”
She was asking me to give him up. My chest strained; my very soul felt like it was silently screaming for someone to hit pause on all of this. It was all happening too fast.
While I knew it wasn’t permanent, I could still feel seven-year-old me seeing that head of dark hair for the very first time when he’d pulled me into that wardrobe with him.
When he’d first held my hand and told me he’d protect me.
There was a wrongness to this…something that shouldn’t be but was too far out of my control to stop it.
“They don’t know at all about Silas?”
The group of riders drew closer, until they were stopping directly in front of us.
Sasha gave me one last look. “No, they only know that you’re escaping Dirk.”
Simon Stone let his thick boots fall to the asphalt, his bike slowing to a stop at the front of the group.
His patch said he was the president…he had long dark hair that was starting to gray.
It was pulled back into a low ponytail, which somehow left his handsome face exposed, and a very rigid jawline.
His tattoos were vibrant along his arms and hands, but his hazel eyes seemed kind.
The man next to him was much younger, a few years older than me…
maybe by five or six years. He had ink as well but not as much as his leader.
His cut had a patch with a wolf’s head on it, and under his name and rank said that was a nickname for him. Another man pulled up next to the VP, and I remember Silas mentioning his name years ago.
Wes Ryan.
His ranking didn’t clearly put him anywhere in the club other than an official member. I wondered if he was still dating Simon’s daughter…or if maybe she was in the club, and we’d become friends.
Sasha stepped forward until she was standing close to Simon’s leg. It almost seemed intimate how close she was. “Dirk accepted?”
Simon nodded, flicking a quick gaze to me. “Yep. She’s ours now, under our protection at least…but you need to know we’ll never force her to stay there. She’ll be welcome to walk out the second she gets there if she wants to, but for as long as she wants our protection, we’ll offer it.”
Sasha turned back to me, and then pulled me into a hug. It was a gesture she’d made a thousand times. “Dirk will come for her if she leaves.”
I looked over at her, confused.
“How would he know if I were to just leave…if the deal is struck then wouldn’t he just assume I’m here?”
Simon’s face held pity. Wesley Ryan’s held nothing at all, and Killian looked at me like I was a na?ve girl who needed a life lesson.
“Natty, right?” Simon asked, nodding toward me.
I nodded, shifting on my feet. My butt still hurt from the cigarette burn, and while I’d added some ointment to it, it hurt to feel anything rub against it.
Simon glanced at Sasha before replying. “The trade we made wasn’t easily done…
Dirk is very possessive over you…the goods we traded cost us nearly one million in an arms deal we could have made.
Now, I’m happy to do it because I’m a father myself and I would have done this for my own daughter.
You're like a daughter to Sasha…so our protection extends to you, but make no mistake. Dirk will be watching to see if you leave. I’m not trying to scare you, but he's a ruthless son of a bitch. Whatever plans you made, you may need to place on hold until we can get his attention somewhere else.”
Hope evaded me as I nodded in understanding. I’d caught the attention of a disgusting madman. This was my chance at freedom.
“You’ll ride with Killian.” Simon gestured toward the man at his side.
Sasha reached for my hand and squeezed it.
There was a silent conversation she was having with me, one full of soothing words and promises that it would be okay, but my chest felt like the war we were trying to avoid arrived regardless.
It was tearing through me with bullets and bombs, creating a mess of gory devastation in my heart.
With numb legs, I walked to the bike where Killian sat and climbed on the back.
My arms went around Killian’s waist, and then the wind was tearing at my hair as the bikes started back up and the group left the motel behind.
The group looped, which meant we passed the motel, and Sasha.
I watched her as she stood there, tears visibly streaming down her face as she waved goodbye.
I closed my eyes and tried to pretend my entire life didn’t just implode.