“I should go,” I said, handing Slade’s flask back to him. “I don’t want to piss him off.”
“Sophia, thank you so much for everything,” Grace said.
“Sorry I hit you,” I said. She closed the distance between us and pulled me into her arms for a warm hug.
“That’s okay, I’m fine,” she said, smiling. “Just a little bump.”
“Good,” I nodded.
“Sophia,” she looked deep in my eyes, “I want you to know we’re going to get you out, too. Any help you need, you just let us know. Money, a place to stay or hide, anything at all — we’re going to take care of you.”
“Thank you, Grace, I’m probably going to need it,” I said.
“We’re here for you,” she nodded, handing me a business card with only a phone number printed on it. “Just a phone call away.”
“I’ll be in touch as soon as I know when Snake is leaving. I’ll call you tomorrow with the details.”
“Be safe,” Eli said, standing now and watching me intently. I was so drawn to him, his warmth, his solidness. I wanted to fall into his arms and draw on his strength. They were all so strong and kind that it brought tears to my eyes as I walked out to my car.
Maybe this was it for me.
Maybe I could be a better person.
Opportunities like this don’t come along more than once and I planned to take full advantage of it.
Grace and the Gods didn’t know me, they didn’t know how strong I was, but I was definitely going to show them.
CHAPTER 23
ELI
Her story ripped me in two.
Sophia had been through hell and she’d just walked right back into the flames.
When Grace assured her that we’d help her, too, I breathed a sigh of relief. Because if Solid Ground didn’t do it, I sure as hell would have offered to do so.
But I didn’t. I couldn’t. I kept my mouth shut, at least as much as I could, because talking wasn’t part of my job here.
I was purely muscle and I reminded myself of that fact one more time. Hell, muscle wasn’t even the key. The Gods were a stable full of perfectly sculpted thoroughbreds, they didn’t need my strength. They needed my anonymity, that was all. And I was second choice, at that. If Nate hadn’t fucked it up, I would never have met Sophia.
No, I didn’t have a horse in this race. Not right now. Right now, I needed to leave the job up to the professionals. I wondered what other jobs they’d done, how many other women and children they’d helped over the years. As far as I was concerned, they deserved a goddamned Nobel Peace Prize or something. In fact, it made me feel like shit that I’d spent so many years chasing money, doing things I’d rather not admit to now. I pushed the shame away and tried to concentrate on the matter at hand.
This was my opportunity for redemption. Not just for me, but for Nate and Fury, too. Maybe it was too late for my old man. It was definitely too late for my Uncle Rebel. But I’d watched them both ruin their lives, with no chance for anything resembling normalcy ever again. I didn’t want that. Watching that whole thing play out had changed me.
I could still hear the sound of the judge’s gavel, a loud, firm pounding that was like a nail sliding into my old man’s coffin. It hurt to think of him, to wonder what he was going through. I wasn’t naive. I knew what went down in prison and it wasn’t good. There was nothing good there.
But here? With Grace and Ryder and all the others?
They were pure.
They were good people and I wanted so desperately to be like them, for the first time in my life.
My heart broke as the door closed behind Sophia. Something stirred inside of me as I’d watched her eyes dart around the room while she told her story. I knew she was afraid that we were judging her, but that was the last thing a man like me would ever do. Who was I to judge anybody?
My slate wasn’t clean.
Would it ever be? Could it ever be?
Was there any chance a man like me could be redeemed?
I wanted it so damned badly now, I could taste it. My body was humming with a cocktail of exhilaration and anticipation, spinning with sudden possibilities for my future.
With Solid Ground, I could finally have something. I could finally be someone. I hung my head after the door closed, closing my eyes for a brief second, a future I’d never imagined flashing before me.
When I saw Sophia standing there next to me in my mind’s eye, I knew I’d never let her walk away. I’d barely said two words to the woman, I knew it was fucking crazy. It was irresponsible. Wildly, wickedly wrong.
But whatever it was, it was running over me like a goddamned freight train.
CHAPTER 24
SOPHIA
My heels echoed across the courtyard as I crossed over to the warehouse. After sneaking into bed last night next to a sleeping Snake, I’d laid awake till dawn thinking about the women housed just across the way from me. I thought about them a lot when they first arrived, but after my unsuccessful attempt to get the police involved, and the subsequent beatings from Snake, I’d done my damnedest to block them out.
It never worked, not entirely, and I hated myself for attempting it anyway. After a while, I drank more and more to numb out the guilt as best as I could until I fell asleep as early as possible each night. It’s not like Snake wanted me to stay awake anyway. And all desire for him had gone out the window once I realized what he was doing. I’d leave in a heartbeat, and he knows that, but for some sick twisted reason he keeps me around and won’t let me leave.
Probably because I know too much at this point. I’ve often wondered if he suspects I was the one who turned him into the cops in the first place. If he knows, he never let on. I’m sure the fact that I was conveniently away at my parent’s at the time wasn’t lost on him.
He’s a smart guy.
A total prick, but he’s sharp.
Which is why I had to up my game if I was going to get these women out and stay alive doing it. I’d seen his wrath. I knew its power.
Right now, I had to play the part, make no mistakes.
I’d snuck out of bed while he was still snoring, glancing down at him as pale pink sunlight broke through the darkness I’d been blanketed in for hours. He was lying there peacefully spread out, soft wisps of hair falling around his head.
He’d looked like an angel.
You’d never know he was really the devil.
Leaving him laying there, I showered and dressed quietly, my plan swirling around my head as I took a little extra time with my appearance. I put on my favorite dress, a slinky black number that made me feel sexy, hugging my curvy hips. After curling my long black hair, I put on a dab of bright red lipstick and tall, black suede heels. I wasn’t doing all this for Snake. I was doing it for me, because for the first time in a long time, I was beginning to feel a spark of power bubbling up deep inside of me.
I was starting to feel like a woman again.
My chin held high, I opened the front door and walked down the hallway of the warehouse, stopping outside the door and looking in the window. The women were all still asleep, huddled up on the mattresses strewn on the floor.
It was almost peaceful.
But I knew what I was looking at was anything but peaceful.
It was hell.
It was a horror show.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, shaking my head. Tears threatened to fall down my face, but I blinked them away. They didn’t need my tears. My words were useless, too.
I swallowed hard, knowing what I had to do.
I turned and walked back outside, the cold, brisk air chilling my bones, the wind cutting through my dress. Snake was still sleeping when I walked back into the bedroom.
I leaned down, quietly removing my shoes and placing them next to the bed. I stood there for a moment, staring down at him again for a moment, saying a little goodbye to the life we’d led together.
After today, nothing would ever be the same.
> The life I’d led with him for so long was gone now.
I knew that, but he didn’t.
I reached down, lifting the hem of my dress and pulling it over my head. It fell in a heap at my feet and I pulled the comforter back gently, before sliding between the sheets next to him. His naked body was warm and I wrapped myself around him, my arms sliding around his chest, my leg sliding up his leg, my toe tracing the serpent tattoo that slithered around his calf under the covers.
He moaned and turned over towards me.
“Good morning,” I cooed, my stomach churning as I felt his hardness press into my thigh.
“Sorry, babe, I’m too tired,” he growled, shaking his head as he put his arms around me, pulling me close into his chest.
I sighed in relief, sinking into the bed.
I wanted to get close to him, I needed to be close to him for a little while longer, but I was hoping like hell I could keep my thighs closed and still get what I needed. With our mutual disinterest in fucking each other, it looked like that part might actually work out.
He went back to sleep and I laid in his arms. Once he woke up, I’d ask him about the hunting trip. In the meantime, with the warmth of his body pressed against mine, his morning erection pressed against my thigh and his arms wrapped around me. I couldn’t control Snake.
I could control my thoughts, though.
I closed my eyes and Snake disappeared. When Eli’s soft, blue eyes popped up in my mind, I let them stay.
****
“How’s your Mom?” Snake asked, as I watched him get dressed hours later. I’d fallen asleep in a fantasy-induced stupor, and I shook myself awake, letting the dreams fall away from consciousness. I needed to focus, not fantasize about a man I barely knew.
I had a job to do.
It was time to get serious.
Snake pulled on a tight-black t-shirt, concealing the map of scars on his torso. He stood there in his underwear, looking like any other shaggy, tattooed guy. If I didn’t know any better, I’d almost say he looked vulnerable. My eyes darted down to the only tattoo below his waist — the snake I’d run my foot over earlier. It wrapped around his left calf like a rope, the head thick with sharp, angry fangs. He pulled his jeans on, the snake hiding in his jeans like a secret, inner demon that he kept packed away.
He looked up at me curiously.
“Sophia?’
“Oh, what, sorry?” I asked, snapping out of my trance.
“Your Mom? She fell? How is she? You were out late last night.”
“She hurt her hip, but I think she’s going to be okay. I stayed there to make sure she was all settled in. It’s hard for her to be alone.”
“She was very dependent on your dad,” he nodded.
“I know,” I replied. “It’s hard to watch her like this.”
“Maybe she needs to be in a home,” he said.
I shook my head in protest. The truth was that Mom was doing great now that Dad died. He was the one dependent upon her. Now that he was gone, she was free. She’d been out enjoying her life finally.
The truth was I envied her. Or at least her freedom.
“I think she’ll be okay,” I said. I didn’t want to tell him the truth about my mother, because oftentimes she was the only excuse I had to get away from him. If he knew she didn’t need me, he’d never let me leave.
“Well, if you change your mind, let me know. We can afford the best place for her now, with all this success we’ve had lately.”
“Yes, business is booming, isn’t it?”
“Sure is,” he said. “Made a real nice chunk of change on that sale I did with Grace.”
“Right,” I nodded, my stomach churning, bracing myself.
“I’d sell to them again, if that dude hadn’t made the moves on you.”
“Eli?” I asked, his name feeling delicious rolling off my tongue.
“Yes, Eli.”
“He wasn’t making moves on me, Snake. I tripped. He was just being a gentleman, that’s all.”
“The fuck he was,” he replied, shaking his head. “I’m a fucking man. I know that shit when I see it.”
“If you say so,” I shrugged, not wanting to start a fight. “Hey, what are you doing today?”
“Got a meeting with another broker.”
“A broker? I thought you were done with that.”
“Fuck no. Grace isn’t the only person buying out there. I gotta say, I’m grateful to her, though. I had no idea the amount of cash I could make doing business that way. At this point, it’s just a matter of flipping them, you know? Easy as shit and twice the profit.”
I nodded silently, my head spinning. If he sold the women, I couldn’t save them.
“Why do you ask?”
“Oh, I was just hoping we could have lunch together. We haven’t spent much time together lately.”
“Not today, babe,” he said, pulling on his boots. “Gotta make that money.”
He stood up and walked over to me, kissing me on the forehead.
“Maybe I’ll let you suck me off later,” he whispered. I suppressed a groan and smiled and nodded.
“Sure, babe,” I replied, as he slipped his cut over his shoulders. He always looked so much more intimidating with that thing on, but today, the power seemed to be missing. It was nothing more than a slab of leather to me now.
He was barely a man in my eyes anymore.
“Isn’t it almost time for your hunting trip?” I asked, trying my best to sound nonchalant.
“Yep, I can’t wait,” he said. “I’m determined to bag an elk this year.”
“When are you leaving?” I asked with a curious smile.
“Thursday,” he said. “Just a few more days. Spend a long weekend up at the cabin with the guys. You’ll hold things down here for me?”
“Of course,” I said. “It’ll give me a chance to spend some quality time with Mom.”
“You’re a good daughter,” he said, before turning to walk out the door.
“Thanks, baby,” I said.
“Love you,” he called over his shoulder, disappearing around the corner.
“Love you, too,” I said to the empty room, as I reached for my phone with a smile.
CHAPTER 25
ELI
Images of Sophia haunted my dreams. I woke up hard as a rock and feeling guilty as hell that I was so entranced by her. After taking a cold shower and getting dressed, I strolled to the hotel’s restaurant and had an early breakfast, doing my best to shake off these feelings for her.
Didn’t work.
Several hours later, we finally heard from her. Grace knocked on my door with a huge smile on her face.
“Four days!” she exclaimed, skipping a greeting. “Sophia just called and Snake and his men are leaving on Thursday.”
“That’s great,” I said. “What do we do in the meantime?”
“As much as I hate it, we do nothing. We wait.”
“That’s all?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” she said. “We’re going back to the clubhouse for a few days to regroup. We’ll come back early Thursday morning and get ready to rescue those women. I’m so happy this is working out without anyone getting hurt or killed.”
“Does that happen often?”
A shadow passed over her face and she grew serious.
“We lost a dear friend once. Doc. He was an amazing man and we all miss him very much.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“Thank you,” she replied. “We just don’t want to go through that again. If we can do this peacefully, then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Did Sophia sound okay?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m glad she’s helping us. I’m glad we can help her in return.”
“Me, too,” I said.
Grace paused, cocking her head to the side and looking at me curiously.
“What’s going on with you two?”
“Nothing,” I replied, my heart skipping a beat
. “I just feel bad for her.”
“Well, be careful,” she said. “It’s difficult not to let your feelings take over, but you have to keep a little distance in these situations.”
“I understand,” I said.
“Good,” she smiled. “So, let us know when you’re all packed up and we’ll head back together.”
“Is it okay if I stay?” I asked.
“Of course,” she replied.
“I have a few friends I want to catch up with,” I said. “Since we have a little time.”
“Absolutely,” she said. “I’ll give you a call if anything changes. Otherwise, we’ll see you Thursday.”
“Great,” I said, walking her to the door. She paused and turned.
“You did a great job, Eli,” she said, smiling up at me.
“Thanks, but I didn’t do much,” I said.
“You did exactly what we needed.”
“Well, I appreciate the opportunity. You guys are wonderful and I’m happy to help. Makes me feel good…”
She nodded and smiled again before patting my arm.
“See you in a few days.”
I closed the door to my room and sat on the bed, shaking my head, wondering why the hell I’d just lied to her. I didn’t have any friends to visit.
I just didn’t want to travel too far away from Sophia.
I laid back on the bed, my head swimming with thoughts of her while I closed my eyes and let myself drown in them.
****
After a late dinner, I fell into bed again. Everyone else had gone with Grace and Ryder. Even Nate and Fury went back to the clubhouse. I ignored the pointed looks Nate was slinging my way, and when he cornered me before leaving, I told him I just needed some time alone.
Which was half-true, at least.
Everything had happened so fast. All these changes. We’d gone from being a part of a club we’d known most of our lives to losing our father and joining up with the Gods — it was a lot to take in all at once, for sure.
SAVING GRACE: GODS OF CHAOS MC (BOOK SIX) Page 12
