by Brook Wilder
“Okay. Come on. I’ll grab an extra helmet on the way out.”
Christian held her hand in his. They walked forward together, and it felt so god-damned right it made his breath hitch in his lungs.
“Let’s go.”
Chapter 26
Melody held on tight to Christian’s waist, clinging to him as the motorcycle flew down the highway. She had only been on the back of a bike a handful of times in her life, but every single time filled her with a sense of freedom that she loved. It was like flying without wings.
When she and Enrique had first started dating, he had driven her around town on his motorcycle and she would cling to him for hours, just reveling in the feeling. It had been like nothing else on earth. The exhilaration. The carefree weightlessness of it all.
But the rides hadn’t lasted long, and she’d learned all to soon that the sense of freedom she loved so much was nothing but an illusion. It wasn’t real. And it always ended abruptly.
She still felt a little shaky from earlier but, sitting there with her arms wrapped tight around Christian, inhaling the scent of his leather jacket and, underneath, that the clean, male fragrance of him, Melody let herself just be for the moment.
She pushed away all thoughts, all fears, all doubts, all the worries about her past catching up to her, and all wondering as to what the future might hold.
For that one perfect moment, she just let herself relax and sink into the moment like a pebble sinking under a still pond to discover it teeming with life just below the surface. That’s what this feeling was. It was the pure joy of just being alive. And Melody drank it in for as long as she could.
But it was only a matter of time before her doubts came creeping back in like shadows, darkening her pleasure. And once they were there, she couldn’t exorcise them again. She played the scene out from the grocery store over and over again, thinking of all the things she wished she had said to him.
She wished she had been brave. She wished she had been stronger. She wished she could have finally have found the courage to tell the asshole off, like he truly deserved to be. But the best she’d been able to manage was a shaky ‘let me go’.
Melody shook her head at herself. She would have to learn. She would have to keep building her strength like a barricade around her heart so that men like Enrique could never hurt her again.
She hated him. And even more, she hated that he could still make her feel afraid. Melody had hoped she’d moved past that, but he obviously still had some power over her. Power she would have to reclaim for herself.
The scene from the grocery store inevitably progressed to the car-ride back with Bianca, and the old woman’s words. And then fast forward, straight to Christian picking up the pregnancy test and the expression on his face when he had realized what it was exactly that he had been holding in his hands.
He hadn’t questioned her about it. He hadn’t said a word about the test or what it might mean. He had been more worried about making sure that she was safe, that Enrique couldn’t get to her.
He hadn’t even asked her if the baby was his.
I don’t even know if there is a baby yet, Melody reminded herself firmly.
She didn’t want to get ahead of herself. She heard her own mocking laughter echo in her head. It was a little too late for that.
As hard as she tried to keep her thoughts in check, Melody was finding it nearly impossible. Not even the exhilaration of riding on the back of the motorcycle with Christian was enough to banish the doubts that assailed her.
It felt like she had swallowed a brick, and its weight was sinking into her stomach, hard and uncomfortable. Clogging her throat. Choking her. Making it hard to even draw a breath without feeling it there, inside her, immovable.
Melody’s brows furrowed as she skimmed over the past months. What she had told Bianca had simply been the truth. There was no way the baby – if there was a baby – was Enrique’s. She knew that for a fact.
She had come up with any excuse she could think of not to share a bed with Enrique over the last terrible weeks she’d been trapped with him, even since that night when he’d attacked her.
If she was pregnant, the baby was Christian’s.
A sudden thought popped into Melody’s head. It was of Christian, holding a little baby wrapped up safe and sound in his arms, a soft smile on his face and a look of pure happiness in his blue eyes. The image was so bittersweet that it made her entire chest ache.
Melody pushed it away. She knew good and well that there was no use in dreaming up fairytales. He had never asked for a wife, and he sure as hell hadn’t asked for a baby either. Even though things had been going well between them for the past weeks, she knew what he really wanted.
Christian’s dream was to move on and live his own life somewhere else, to become a vet and have his own practice doing what he loved. Helping animals. Protecting those too weak to protect themselves.
Like me, Melody thought sourly. Was she one of those too weak to protect herself? Well, I’ve done a bang-up job of it so far.
Melody shook her head at herself. She had to do better. She would be stronger, tougher. She would figure out what to do. She didn’t have a choice. She didn’t have anyone else.
And now she might have another little life that was relying on her too. It wasn’t just about herself anymore. The thought made that brick in her stomach feel ten pounds heavier.
It was still weighing her down as Christian slowed the bike enough to make a sharp turn down an alleyway. It was narrow and dotted with dumpsters and ran behind a long brick building
When he finally parked, partially concealing the bike behind one of the dumpsters, Christian slid off the bike then held out his hand to help her.
As always, electricity ignited at the touch of his skin to hers and she had to bite back a sigh of disappointment when he let go to head inside a door that she hadn’t noticed.
Melody followed him inside, not wanting to be left out in the alley alone.
She walked inside and winced at the metallic clanging that suddenly assaulted her. Sparks were flying, illuminating the big open garage and glinting off of several motorcycles that were perched on lifts around the space.
Melody caught sight of Craig as he pulled what looked like a very used welder’s mask off his face, dropping it on a table. And then she caught of the expression he’d been hiding beneath it.
“Holy shit, man. What the fuck are you two doing here?” Craig demanded, throwing them both worried look. “You have to leave. Now! Enrique’s men are on their way here now to pick up a bike.”
Chapter 27
“Fuck.” Christian bit off the curse. “Are you sure?”
“Am I sure? Of course, I’m sure. Do you think I’m an idiot?! They’ll be here any minute.”
Craig scrambled back a few steps, leaning further until he could see out of the opening that lead out from the front on to the main street.
“What the hell have you two been doing, anyway? People have been talking.”
Christian glanced over at Melody and saw the fear and uncertainty flicker on her face. He hated to see that look in her eyes. It tore him up inside.
“It’s going to be okay,” he told her, ignoring his friend for the moment.
She met his gaze with a nod, her fear easing a bit, and he was filled with warmth that he could do that. He could make her feel a little bit less afraid. She would learn, one day, that she could trust him.
But he didn’t have time at the moment because, suddenly, Craig was right in front of him, hustling them both towards the back door they had just snuck in through.
Christian took the chance to turn away a little bit, enough so that Melody wouldn’t catch his question.
“What, exactly, have people been saying, Craig? I need to know,” he asked under his breath.
His friend looked away a moment before answering. Christian knew it would be bad, but this was worse than he expected.
“I heard that Enri
que, he, uh, he went into a rage for seemingly no reason and he beat up one of his own guys pretty bad. He’s at the hospital in critical condition. Not sure if he’s going to live through the night.”
“Damn.”
“‘Damn’ doesn’t even start to cover it, Christian.” Craig’s normally smiling features drew down into serious lines. “I guess, during the attack, it came out that…Enrique was crazy, yelling about how the Devil’s Martyrs stole his woman. How they brainwashed her and are keeping her prisoner. He said…Enrique promised he would do everything in his power to get her back, no matter how many men he had to go through.”
Christian winced at the news. He should have known that it was only a matter of time before Enrique figured out where she was. And who she was staying with.
“But why the fuck did it take so long? It’s been over a month since our wedding.”
He’d mused the question out loud, not really expecting an answer, but Craig still gave him one anyway.
“He thought she was dead.”
“What?” Christian glanced up sharply at his friend to see if he was joking, but there wasn’t a hint of a grin on Craig’s face. “They knew about the wedding.”
“Enrique thought it was all a cover up. Said your Melody there would never marry another man. Guess he bruised up his cousin pretty good over it.”
“That’s insane.”
“That man isn’t exactly known for his calm level-headedness, Christian. He’s a drug kingpin with a notorious temper and an ego to match. He would never just accept that Melody would marry another man of her own free will.”
“This isn’t good.”
“What’s not good?” Melody asked.
Christian glanced over to see that, while he and Craig had been speaking in hushed whispers, she’d been walking close enough to overhear. He opened his mouth, not sure what the hell he was going to say, but the sound of engines in the distance stopped his words in his throat.
“Shit. They’re here. You need to go. Now!”
Craig gave him a shove towards the door and Christian slid several feet, but he still didn’t make another move to leave.
“I’ll stall them for as long as I can, but if they see her here…”
Craig trailed off, but he didn’t need to finish the sentence. He knew what would happen if Enrique’s men found out they were there. And it wouldn’t be good.
“Call me as soon as they leave. I need to know what the hell is going on,” Christian said as he took a step backwards. “Did anyone say anything about my place? Do they know exactly where she is?”
Craig gave a hurried shake of his head.
“Enrique doesn’t know. Yet. But he’s on the warpath man. He’ll find out about you eventually. But, for now, your place is still safe.”
Christian nodded, grabbed Melody’s ice-cold hand in his and headed towards the door. He could hear Craig’s voice greeting the men from the front of the garage just as he stepped out into the alleyway, leading Melody behind him.
As quickly and quietly as they could, they crept along the back of the garage. He just prayed that none of them had stayed outside because he would have to ride right past the front parking lot to get back to the highway.
With no other option he climbed onto the bike, waiting for Melody to settle in behind him. He gave himself ten seconds. Ten seconds just to savor the heaven of her body pressed tight against his back. Ten seconds to soak in the softness of her curves and sweetness of her.
She was holding him so tight he could swear that he felt the beating of her heart in her chest, rapid and panicked.
He said one quick prayer, gunned the engine, and tore off down the alley. He didn’t look back as he drove past the garage. He didn’t look anywhere but straight in front of him, his eyes tracking the pavement as they passed it.
Christian held his breath until they reached the highway and didn’t let it out again until he was sure there were no engine’s riding up behind him. They’d escaped without being noticed. For the moment, at least.
Chapter 28
Christian had a white knuckled grip on the handlebars of his motorcycle by the time he made it back to his house. It took two hours longer than it should have because he took side streets and backways, crisscrossing back on himself just in case one of Enrique’s men had spotted them leaving Craig’s garage.
That wasn’t the only reason, though.
Christian loved the feeling of Melody clinging to him as he rode. The warm summer breeze whipped through her long dark hair, tangling it up in glossy waves. He was pretty sure he would be happy to spend the rest of his days like that, a motorcycle purring beneath him and Melody holding on tight from behind, riding endlessly through the Texas sunlight.
The other reason had been because of his detour.
Riding around the Texas countryside had taken him down roads and streets that he hadn’t see for ages and, almost without realizing it, he’d found himself driving down a long familiar path.
The country road led them into a small, one street town. There wasn’t much there of any merit, accept for the main street that was dotted with shops and store fronts that all looked as if they had been plucked straight out of an old western.
Christian didn’t know what made him think of the place, or what had made him turn right instead of left. He hadn’t been there since he had been a kid. His mother used to love to come here on the weekends.
She would bring him with her and they would spend hours walking up and down the sidewalks of the tiny old town.
He braked his bike in front of the blue-shingled building as if it had been his destination all along.
Melody gave him an odd look as he slid of his bike. He knew he probably looked out of place in his leather jacket and boots, but he didn’t care. With a grin he held out his hand to her, and the grin widened even more when she took it without hesitation. Just slid her palm into his, almost as if she really did trust him.
One day, he promised himself silently. But today, he was more than content to turn and walk with her into the pale-blue house with its delicately painted interior. Melody looked around and gave him an even odder look than before.
“An ice cream parlor?”
“I used to come here as a kid,” Christian explained with a shrug.
He walked up to the counter with a grin. It was all just exactly as he remembered it. The same painting of a herd of cows graced the walls, even though they weren’t as brightly colored as he remembered.
There was a bored looking teenager behind the counter who took his order with a sigh and handed over two cones a moment later with the same, unchanging expression.
Christian bit back a grin as he handed one of the treats over to Melody and finally couldn’t hold back a laugh at her expression.
“What?” he asked.
She just shook her head at him, bemused.
“I just… I never would have imagined that you liked vanilla,” she said with a small grin of her own. “How boring.”
He leaned forward, trying to answer as seriously as he could.
“Vanilla with sprinkles. Not boring at all.” He nodded. “I figured you for a chocolate girl.”
“You know me so well,” she joked.
He loved watching her. He remembered her ordering the sweetest thing she could find for breakfast at the diner, after their wedding. He knew she had a sweet tooth.
For an idyllic hour, they sat at the ice cream shop, just eating their treats and pretending that life was normal. That they were a normal couple. That they didn’t have an enraged, possibly homicidal drug kingpin gunning for them.
Christian knew what heaven looked like, now. It looked like Melody, eating ice cream with the sun shining brightly outside and the scent of summer on the breeze.
But all too soon, their time was over, and they were getting back on the bike. He was careful to keep an eye out to make sure no one was following them before pulling into his driveway. And he still tucked the bike away in t
he garage with his truck, just to make sure no one would see it and recognize it.
They walked inside, and he was instantly greeted with an orchestra of animal greetings. Luna, the little white fur ball that Melody had adopted as her own, came stretching out of one of the bedrooms to rub against her ankles. She let out a delicate little meow that made Melody laugh and made Christian vow to keep her, no matter what. Anyone or anything that made Melody laugh deserved the best, as far as he was concerned. There had been little enough of that over the past few weeks.
Christian wandered deeper into the house, sticking his hands into his pockets as tension filled him. While they had been out, he’d been mostly able to keep it from the forefront of his thoughts. But now that they were back, there was only one thing he could think about.
