by Erin Trejo
“What do you mean?” She lifts her head, resting her chin on my chest as those big brown eyes beam up at me. I reach up and push her hair behind her ear, “It means we need to hurry up and go. When Hawk gets out, hell is gonna break loose around here. I won’t let them hurt you like that, Lia.” She shakes her head and pushes up.
“You don’t know what they will do.” She stands and grabs the shirt she was wearing last night, pulling it over her head.
“I do know,” I tell her sitting up.
“How could you know?”
“I’m the one they make do it!” I growl. Her eyes meet mine and there is the look. She knows what I mean and she doesn’t even need to ask. “Like I said, I won’t let them hurt you and I sure as fuck don’t want to.”
I grab my clothes and begin pulling them back on while she watches me. Her gaze is intent but I can’t keep looking at her. I need to get her ass on board with this. We’re leaving. That’s the end of that.
“I can’t just leave,” She says crossing her arms over her chest. I sigh and tug at my hair before pulling my boots on.
“Why not? You got a death wish?” I ask her, moving to grab my cut. I slide it on and glare at her.
“It’s worse out there. I’m safer here, Draven.” Anger races through my veins like lava. She isn’t safe here. I know what Ruger will do to her and it doesn’t matter what I think or feel. He will take over where I’m slacking and handle her. I move toward her slowly, grabbing her face in my hands.
“I’ve killed women. I’ve tortured them. I’ve made them bleed. I’ve cut them until they were unrecognizable, Lia. I can’t do that to you,” I say all those harsh words in a soft tone practically pleading with her.
“Why?”
“Why? I don’t fuckin’ know why! I feel good when you’re with me. I don’t want to lose that.”
“I’ve lied to you,” She says, her eyes searching mine.
“I know and we will deal with that later but right now, I need to get you outta here. Get it? We can’t be here when Hawk gets back. Okay?” I look her in the eyes, trying to make her understand. Trying to make her see.
“Are you sure?” I chuckle before I kiss her gently.
“I’ve never been this sure before. Now come on. We need to go. Let me grab a few things.” Lia nods. I walk away and go to my room grabbing a few things that we may need. I load up a small bag and a backpack. I grab an extra gun and ammo stuffing it in the back of my jeans. When I come back out of my room, Lia is dressed and waiting on the couch.
“I need to talk to Mona first,” She says looking nervously at me. I shake my head.
“Draven, I have to.”
“Fuck, Lia! You can’t make anything easy on me?” She grins a sweet little grin at me.
“Fine. You got five minutes,” I say pointing at her. Lia nods and heads out the door while I collect a few more things from the kitchen. That’s where I store my knives. Not the eating kind either but the cops are so stupid they neglect to look at those. Once I’m satisfied that I have all I’ll need for now, I head outside. I look between my truck and the bike. The bike is no doubt faster but the truck will be less noticeable. I opt for the truck. I walk over and toss the bags in when Lia comes back. I didn’t notice she brought Mona with her. This isn’t a group outing. There is no way in hell she’s tagging along for the ride.
“You take care of her,” Mona says, tears in her eyes. What the hell is this? Since when does she give a shit about Lia?
“What do you care?” I snap, adjusting my gun in the back of my jeans. Mona hasn’t been shit to anyone around here but a whore.
“I mean it, Draven. I have no problem slitting your throat.” She grits her teeth. I smirk but something unknown slaps me. She is really worried about Lia and I’m not sure why.
“I got her. Don’t worry.”
Lia turns to Mona. They whisper a few words to each other before hugging and crying. There’s a familiar feel to the way they are acting. I can’t put my finger on it but I can see it.
“We need to get goin’,” I tell them. Lia pulls away and Mona wipes her eyes.
“I know what kind of position this puts you in, Draven. I can’t thank you enough,” Mona says. She presses a kiss to Lia’s cheek before shoving her toward the truck. The whole scene that just took place in front of me is strange yet so damn familiar. I climb in and start up the truck as Lia stares out the window silently.
“Duck down. I don’t want them to see you’re with me,” I tell her. She nods but doesn’t say a word as she slides down the seat and onto the floorboard. I pull out and drive toward the main entrance with my heart in my throat. I’m making the right choice, right? I’m doing the right thing.
Lia doesn’t deserve what they want to give her.
That’s what I keep telling myself. That’s what I keep telling that little voice in the back of my head that doubts it’s true.
Chapter 26
Driving on the long road to nowhere. That’s what it feels like. Lia hasn’t said a word, just gazed out the window. The silence is eerie if you ask me. Two tortured souls fighting for a place to fit in. My heart feels at peace with her here. My mind eases slightly. I know my place is in the Soulless Bastards but I can’t help but want Lia to be a part of that. This world is unsafe though. I don’t know what she’s running from and I don’t know how to help her. I drive anyway. I know I need to get her away from the club at least for now. I need to figure out what the hell is going on and what I’m up against. My phone rings on the seat next to me causing Lia to jolt.
“It’s okay,” I tell her. I grab the phone and press the button to answer it. I need to remember to get a burner phone while we’re out.
“Yeah?”
“What the hell are you doin’, Draven?” Crow asks. He isn’t pissed, he’s more intrigued.
“Doin’ what’s right for once. Fuck if I know,” I tell him. My eyes stay on the road although I want to look over and see her eyes.
“You better know. Hawk’s on his way back and he’s after blood, brother. She’s with you then, yeah?” He asks. I sigh. No one seen me leave with her.
“Yeah.”
“Lay low. Let me smooth some shit out. I’ll let you know. Get a burner, hit me with the number. Keep your ass out of the light, Draven,” He says before the line goes dead. I blow out a breath and set the phone back on the seat next to me.
“Are you in trouble?” She asks softly. I glance over before looking back at the road.
“Not yet.”
“But you will be?” She questions.
“We live by different rules, Lia. It won’t be a slap on the wrist,” I tell her. I watch the road ahead of us. So, many things running around inside of me. I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do. I betrayed my club. I took what didn’t belong to me. Although I know the repercussions, I don’t give a shit. Whether she was to be a club problem or not, she’s mine. I won’t let them hurt what belongs to me.
“You shouldn’t have left. I told you I was better off there.” She crosses her arms over her chest before I pull off on the side of the road. Lia looks around before dragging her gaze to meet mine.
“What is it with you? Huh? I’m doin’ this shit for you! Can’t you see that?” I ask her. She looks away before I add, “I had a girl once. I loved her. I wanted a life with her but she couldn’t see past what she wanted. She wanted out and I let her go. It broke me. Fucked me up. You waltz onto the compound like a breath of air and steal mine from my lungs. I don’t know why I’m drawn to you! I just am! Fuck!” I run my hand over my face. Lia unbuckles and scoots across the seat. My emotions are all over the place. This isn’t something I’m used to. Feeling and talking about it? Not in a million fucking years would I have thought I would be the one doing it.
“I’ve never had anyone care about me except my sister. She’s risking her life to keep us safe. She has been for a long time. I thought I was too. Now I feel like I’ve abandoned her. Like she’s fighting al
one. I don’t like that feeling, Draven.” My hand comes out, wrapping around the back of her neck, pulling her lips to mine. I kiss her slowly, savoring the taste of her. When I pull back I look her in the eyes, “I will do whatever I can to protect you. If you would just give me that chance, Lia. I can help with your sister too.” She shakes her head.
“It’s not that easy. There are too many higher up people involved.”
“Let’s just get somewhere safe, yeah?” I can’t argue with her right now. I can’t work my way into her head knowing that we are still too close for comfort. I get that she feels like that. I get what family means. Hell, I’d do anything for James but when it comes down to it, Lia is on the line right now, not her sister. Lia nods her head and slides back across the seat to her side, pulling her buckle in place. I turn back and head back out on the road.
“Where are we going anyway?” She asks.
“There’s a safe house the Northern chapter has out by the ocean. We’ll go there for now. I’ll call the guys when we get there.”
“They won’t tell that we’re there?” She asks, her voice shaking with fear.
“No. Not it I ask them not to. We’re gonna figure this shit out though, Lia.” She nods her head but looks right back out the window.
I hope I made the right choice with her. I hope taking her off the compound was the best thing to do. At the time, it made sense.
Now I’m not so sure.
Chapter 27
The beach house is stocked like I knew it would be. I dial Declan and blow out a breath as I watch Lia sit on the beach out back.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, yourself,” I say back into the phone.
“Draven? Damn, been a while since I’ve heard from you, brother,” He chuckles.
“Yeah. I need a favor, brother. I’m out at the safe house. Need to stay a little while until I can figure things out. Hawk can’t know where I am,” I tell him hoping to god he will help me out here.
“Shit, Draven. I’ve heard a little. She with you?” I figured they heard.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll send Mayhem out with some extra supplies. Do what you need to do, brother. I ain’t sayin’ shit.” Declan says. I blow out a relieved breath.
“Thanks Dec. I owe you one.” I hang the phone up and set it on the counter. Leaning against it with my hands holding me up for support, I let my head drop forward. This is a mess. I’ve never been the type of guy to put his place in the club on the line for a woman. Especially not one that could have the potential to bring us all down. My head is a mess. I don’t know how to process all of this. Her hands on my back jolt me. I don’t lift my head. Her fingers move under the hem of my shirt, running along my back.
“There’s a lot of money tied up around me and Monica. There are a lot of people that want their hands on it. What better way to get that than to get to us,” She says softly. I know she’s using her connection to me to let this out and I’ll let her. I need to know what’s going on in that head of hers. Her fingers keep moving around my side. She moves her hands to duck under my arm. She reaches up and grabs my face in her hands.
“Why you? Why isn’t she gettin’ it? Are you older?” I ask. Lia shakes her head, “I’m the youngest. Monica and me don’t have the same dad. Mom tried to hide it for a long time but we weren’t stupid. We didn’t look alike. I hated it for her. She sort of lost her way for a while but when she heard someone was after us, she did what she could. I stayed out in the world because she had her ways of keeping me safe. After a while, I wasn’t safe anymore. That’s when Ratt found me.” I watch the look in her eyes. I want to hold her. I want to hurt her. I want so many things that I don’t know if I can have.
“I need more than that, darlin’,” I tell her. I move my hands from the counter, wrapping them around her waist. Lifting her off the floor, I set her on the counter.
“I need to know who it is that wants you. I need to know how the dots connect, Lia. I get you’re scared. I get that fear but I got you. You have to trust that much.” Lia licks her lips, shaking her head.
“I trust you Draven. I know you’d do whatever you could to keep me safe but I don’t think telling you is a smart idea.” What do I need to do? How am I going to make her realize that I can take care of her? What does she need me to do to prove it?
“I can’t force you, Lia. I can’t protect you from them either if I don’t know who they are.” I press my lips to hers softly before pulling away. I lean back and turn on my heel, leaving her to think about that. If she can’t tell me who the hell I’m up against, there isn’t much I can do. I walk outside and sit on the front steps when I hear a bike pulling up. I glance up and see Mayhem pulling in. I knew the safe house wasn’t far from their clubhouse but that man is fast as hell.
“I came with supplies.” He grins as he holds up a few bags. I nod and look back at the night sky.
“Rough night?” He says, dropping down next to me. He passes me a cigarette and lights his own.
“Mayhem, you ever want somethin’ you shouldn’t?” He turns his head to look at me and nods, “My woman. I shouldn’t have wanted her but it happened. You got a thing for the girl?” He asks me. I nod before I say, “Yeah. I don’t know what I’m fightin’ for. I don’t know what the fuck is goin’ on around me and who the hell might be after her.”
“Fuck her,” Mayhem says. I look over ready to rip his head off when he chuckles, “Not like that. I mean fuck the answers out of her. Works with Tay.”
“I have fucked he,” I snap at him.
“You ain’t doin’ it right, brother.” Mayhem laughs. I can’t help but laugh with him. It’s been a long time since I hung out with this crazy bastard.
“Seriously though, if she can’t tell you that, maybe she ain’t the one, man.” His words aren’t meant to hurt yet they do.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Maybe he’s not.” Her voice sends a chill up my spine. Mayhem and I both turn to see Lia standing there with her arms folded over her chest, a sad glint in her eye.
“No?” Mayhem asks her. He shoves off the porch and moves to stand in front of her, “If that’s the case, you tell my man here what he needs to know. We aren’t fools. We know what the fuck we’re doin’, sweetheart. If you give him that part of you, I think you’ll find he’s a little nicer.”
“Nicer? When the fuck was I not nice?” I snap. Mayhem turns to me and smiles before he shrugs.
“You’re always a dick to me,” Mayhem says as he walks down the steps and back to his bike.
“Yo, Mayhem! Thanks, brother!” I holler at him. He nods and mock salutes me before climbing on and pulling out.
“He’s charming,” Lia says causing me to laugh.
“Yeah, that he is.”
Chapter 28
Lia sleeps peacefully in my arms. I think about what Mayhem said. I don’t know what else I can do to get the information out of her. We’ve been here for a few days now and she keeps silent most of the time. She isn’t the Lia I met. She’s closed off. Deciding I can’t sleep, I slide out of the bed, grabbing my jeans as I go. I slip them on and head out the bedroom door. When I get outside, I look out at the rolling waves as the crash against the shore.
“When did I fuck things up so much? Why is it so hard for me to find a fuckin’ happy place?” The question is meant for no one.
“They’re cops.” I lower my head before turning to face her.
“Why cops? What would cops want with your money?” I ask her. She has to open up to me.
“There was a deal made.” She swallows hard, her nerves taking over. I can see the slight shake in her body, the way she’s tugging at her shirt.
“Need more than that, darlin’.”
“My sister. She was to go in and get information that could shut them down. She was supposed to hand over the information and then they would leave us alone.” Tears slowly fall down her cheeks but I can’t stop watching her.
“Who? Who was
she supposed to get information from?” I ask. Her eyes flick from mine to my chest.
“When they came after me the first time, we blew it off. When they came again, I ran. I ran right into Ratt. He knew. I don’t know how but he knew. Monica said that she would keep me safe. All I had to do was go along with it. Go along with Ratt but once I got inside, he changed. He didn’t want me for sex. He wanted the money.” She gasps for air as the words leave her mouth. I’m shaken but that means nothing. I keep myself together. I reach out and grab her shoulders, shaking her slightly.
“Who is your sister? Who are the people, Lia?” I growl loudly.
“Mona. Mona is Monica. She’s my sister. We were supposed to go after your club.” She breaks down into tears as I pull my hands away from her like they were just burnt. I stand there in disbelief of what she just said to me. She was the fucking rat. She was the one that was trying to take us down the whole fucking time!
“You lyin’ bitch! I trusted you! I put my ass on the line for you, Lia and all you did was lie to me! How the fuck!” I roar. Lia jolts but wipes her eyes quickly.
“No! I never did it. I never told anything and neither did Monica. She said she couldn’t do it. She said the guys were too good to her and she couldn’t just turn them in. We didn’t do it. In fact, the ones that put us up to it think we’re still inside. They don’t know anything.” Lia takes a step toward me, her hands resting on my arms.
“You told me you wouldn’t hate me, Draven. You told me that,” She pleads. What do I do? What do I say? She lied to me. She was working behind my back to turn us in. It doesn’t even seem possible that she could be the one. And Mona? Fuck!
“I get it, Lia. You would throw us into prison to save your ass. I get it.” She holds on tighter.
“It’s not like that. I mean, it was but then I met you,” She says. I laugh. I can’t help it. That’s the line she’s going to use?
“I should have let the boys have their way with you. I should have let Ratt do whatever sick shit he wanted to do. I wish you never stepped foot in my clubhouse. You don’t give a shit about me, Lia. You were ready to throw my ass to the fuckin’ wolves for yourself. And I get it. I don’t fuckin’ blame you.” I slap her hands off me and take a step back. Lia’s eyes hold mine. I can’t tell what’s flickering in there.
