“I didn’t betray you Candy, I promise,” Destiny sobbed.
“I know,” she smiled. “And that’s why I got you away from all that.”
“But,” Destiny continued, “They tied me up, they put a bag over my head… why?”
Candy shrugged with a smile.
“Old habits die hard I guess,” she laughed. “I think they wanted to make sure I had it right… These men are pretty suspicious as you can probably tell…”
“You’re not kidding,” Destiny sighed.
She looked up at them both in front of her and didn’t know what to say to either of them. She had started her morning being afraid for her life and living with a man she hated, and now she had been saved by the exact people she had been scared of. It was such a bizarre turn of events, it almost felt as if it couldn’t possibly be real.
“Come on,” Hawk said as he held out his hand to help her to her feet. “We need to get you upstairs, cleaned up and fed.”
Destiny scrambled for his hand and was pulled into the safety of his arms.
“Thank you,” she said as she breathed him in.
They made their way towards the staircase, the sweat pants that Hawk had given her dragged lamely along the ground and she hitched them up at the waist, trying to keep herself from tripping over them.
Candy tottered up the stairs and as she neared the top and reached for the door handle, Destiny couldn’t believe what was about to happen. All she had longed and hoped for was about to be given to her, she was about to be welcomed into the fold of the Forsaken Riders. She just hoped it wasn’t some cruel joke…
Destiny opened the door and the light flooded in. Even though she could have only been down in the basement for around an hour or two, Destiny shielded her eyes and winced as the light washed over her. Hawk steadied her, helping her up into the hallway and wrapping a protective arm around her as they made their way into the main body of the clubhouse.
She was about to meet the other members of the Forsaken and her heart was pounding hard in her chest… Could she handle it, or would they all shun her like she had always feared?
Candy rounded the corner to another door and opened it slowly.
“Come on in,” she smiled as she stood back to reveal the large, open kitchen that lay beyond, and the group of around ten men waiting for her arrival.
She nervously stepped inside and looked at the floor. All of the sets of eyes that were fixed on her was unnerving and she was aware that surely some of these men were still not exactly happy with her after what had happened.
“Guys,” Candy said loudly. “I want you to all meet Destiny properly… Now I know there have been some mixed opinions floating around here… But the truth is this… Destiny is just as much a victim of the Iron Riders as we all are, and we’ve brought her here to keep her safe.”
There was a mumble from some of the older members towards the back of the congregation, but then silence took over once more.
“She hadn’t betrayed us in any way,” Hawk stepped in. “She’s been manipulated and abused by the Iron Riders… And we have to make sure that they don’t get away with anything like that ever again.”
“Didn’t she work undercover for them at Red X?” one of the men barked from the back.
“No,” Candy said sternly. “I worked side by side with Destiny for almost the entire time she was there and not once did I see her do anything to compromise our position. She was put there as a pair of eyes, but she didn’t ever see or relay anything that could have been in anyway detrimental to our position… And it certainly had nothing to do with the night that Marv and Tanner were killed.”
At the mention of Tanner’s name, the atmosphere in the room intensified and Destiny could feel the malice. These men were still angry for their fallen brother and they were more than eager to avenge him.
“Lev Cleveland has had his claws in her for the past year,” Hawk said as he tried to hush the group of men. “I’ve watched him control her and set her up in dangerous situations when she’s had no idea what’s going on around her. She doesn’t even know how deep, or why our feud even exists. She’s an innocent in all of this, and I demand that she be respected whilst she’s here. She needs us now,” he said sternly. “And we will not turn our back on someone who is an enemy of our enemy…”
“How does the saying go?” Candy smiled at Hawk.
“An enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine,” he nodded.
Some of the men around the room shifted on the spot and then they began to nod and agree.
“Well alright then,” Steel said as he stood forward and wrapped an arm around Candy. “I guess that settles it… Destiny’s in… She’s a member of this house now and a sister to us all.”
Destiny felt the joy rising within her, she almost couldn’t believe what was happening.
“Hawk,” King said as he stepped forward. “Can you take Destiny up to the top floor and prep her room? She’ll be safest up there.”
Hawk nodded and made his way to the door of the kitchen before he turned back and looked at her with a smile.
Destiny stood there dumbfounded, unsure of what to do, but then she realized she was supposed to be going with him.
“Thank you,” she managed to croak out to everyone in the room. “You have no idea how much this means to me…”
She followed Hawk out of the kitchen and into the hallway. The wooden floorboards beneath her feet creaked as they stepped across them and made their way to the big ornate staircase that ran up the center of the house.
“You’ll be happy here,” Hawk said. “This place is like a family.”
Destiny smiled. She could tell that every word he was saying was true. She could feel the warmness coming from him and from Candy. Even King and Steel seemed to have forgiven her and changed their opinion. Candy really had saved her, and from what she had said, Hawk had helped.
They made their way to the very top of the house and Hawk stopped outside a closed doorway.
“This one will be yours,” he said quietly. “We respect the others, a lot of people sleep at this time of day.”
Destiny nodded. She couldn’t believe how different everything was there than to the clubhouse in Ironhill. Back there no one cared what time it was, day or night, they made as much noise as they wanted and didn’t give a flying fuck if they disturbed anyone.
Hawk opened the door and let Destiny go inside. The room was bright and open, and in the center of it was a big double bed which was covered in plush, soft, blankets.
“Wow,” she smiled. “That looks incredible.”
“After what you’ve been through, we thought you deserved it.”
Destiny turned to look at him. Had this man really been watching her for the past few months…
“You were the one who was watching me?” she asked.
Hawk nodded shyly as if he had been caught out.
“Candy knew something wasn’t right and she wanted proof so that no more trouble came your way,” he began. “When we saw what was happening, how controlled you were and how clearly unhappy… we knew we had to step in. Candy loves you, she cares for you like a sister… there was no way she was going to let a man like Levitt Cleveland hurt you like that.” His eyes were welling with passion for the situation and Destiny could tell that whatever Hawk had seen whilst he was watching her in Ironhill had troubled him deeply.
“I can’t thank you enough,” she smiled. “I really can’t.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” Hawk said. “It’s my duty as a member of the Forsaken Riders to make sure no one affiliated with us in anyway comes to any harm.”
“You’re a good man,” she said.
Hawk looked almost embarrassed at the compliment and he stepped back toward the doorway.
“I’m going to leave you to rest,” he smiled. “Candy will bring some clothes up for you later on, but help yourself to anything in here and the bathroom is just there to the left.”
He nodded
as he left and closed the door behind him.
Destiny flopped back onto the bed and felt as if she was walking on clouds. She really had been saved… Her life could only go up from here…
9.
She took a towel and crossed the quiet hallway, nervously, into a large, open bathroom. In the center was a huge tub and as she locked the door behind her, exhaustion started to crawl through her bones. She needed to relax. She had been anxious and on high alert constantly for the past six months, since that fateful night back at Red X, and now she had to give herself a break.
The Forsaken Riders knew she was innocent.
They were saving her from Lev and the rest of the assholes back in Ironhill.
This, as they say, was the first day of the rest of her life.
She pushed the plug down into the tub and turned on the faucet. The boiling hot water cascaded out quickly and the room started to steam up in seconds. Destiny peeled away the layers of clothing she had been wearing, the sweat pants seemed to melt to the floor and the sweater came off easily. Her own clothes beneath clung to her with sweat and dirt. After her time spent in the back of the van, her jeans and t-shirt were scuffed and muddied and she looked like she had been in some kind of fight.
She threw the dirty pile of clothes into the corner and when the water had cooled enough for her to get in, she climbed into the tub and sank down into the warm water.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had been allowed the luxury of a bath, especially one to herself, and the feeling of being in control of her life again made the tears prick the corner of her eyes and her body heave with relief. She cried happy tears silently and sank right down into the water. She scrubbed herself clean and knew that this was a new beginning for her. She would forget the past and move forward.
After she had bathed for around half an hour, she climbed out of the tub and wrapped herself in a big waffle towel and wrung out her hair. She looked at the pile of dirty clothes on the floor and scooped them up in her arms. As she tiptoed back across the landing, naked apart from the towel, she just hoped that none of the doors opened and anyone saw her.
She pushed the door open to her own room and smiled as she saw a neatly folded pile of clothes waiting for her on the end of her bed. She lifted them up and saw a new pair of jeans, a vest and a cute sweater. She breathed a sigh of relief and got changed into them before she flopped down on the bed and closed her eyes.
The day had been crazy and her body was in much need of a rest. She closed her eyes and it wasn’t long before she drifted off into a peaceful and uninterrupted sleep. The only thing she dreamt of this time was warm and bright light, welcoming her into paradise and keeping her safe.
***
“Destiny?” the voice came quietly from next to her. In her sleepy state, she was confused. It was familiar and yet new. It was rough and yet soft… She knew it was him, but who exactly was he?
She rolled over and smiled before she opened her eyes.
Hawk was sitting on the end of the bed looking down at her.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Mmm, much better,” she said with a stretch and a yawn. She had no idea what time it could be, but the sun had disappeared behind the mountains and night had rolled in. The room was dark and his eyes glinted with the light shining in from the hallway.
“Good,” he said with a grin.
“In fact, I feel so much better, I feel like I could take on the world,” she smiled.
“Well,” Hawk leaned forward, “How about you get up and we get out of here for a while?”
Destiny leaned up on her elbows and looked at him with a smirk. Was he asking her out? Or was he just thinking of her, and trying to make her feel as welcome as possible in her new home?
“But…” she said, “where would we go?”
“I know a little place,” Hawk said with a wry grin.
***
He took hold of her hand and walked with her down the dusty wooden steps at the front of the clubhouse. It was dark out there and the only light was from the full desert moon, but Destiny tried to look around as much as she could and take in her new surroundings. The clubhouse appeared to be completely isolated and surrounded by various garages and out buildings. It almost felt as if it was its own little town in the middle of a valley. And even though it felt as if they were the only people for miles around, it felt incredibly safe.
Hawk stopped as he approached a glinting gun metal Harley which was leaning up against one of the out buildings, and Destiny felt her stomach start to flip. It had been a hell of a long time since she had been on a bike. In fact, she had only ever been on Lev’s maybe once in the distant past, and it was nowhere near as much of an impressive machine as Hawk’s was.
“Wow,” she smiled. “Impressive.”
“Get on,” Hawk said as he helped her cock her leg over and get comfy on the back part of the seat.
He climbed on in front of her and Destiny wrapped her arms around him. As he started the engine with a roar, it occurred to her for the first time that he had been following her every move for months, and probably felt as if he knew her quite well. When in reality they had only just met. She blushed at how intimate they were becoming so quickly, but then she reminded herself that, for him, it wouldn’t seem so strange. He had watched her live and probably noticed and learned things about her that she didn’t even know about herself. She found it arousing that he had cared so much to try and fight for her innocence along with Candy. She had had people backing her, even without her knowing.
Hawk circled around the parking lot and the wheels from the bike kicked up dust into the night air.
“Hold on tight,” he said over his shoulder as he floored it and the bike took off towards the desert road.
Destiny kept one arm wrapped around him, but with the other she let her hand catch the breeze and it floated through the air. She made looping waves with it and reached up high into the sky. She had never felt so free before, and it was not only incredibly liberating, but it was also as if she was being reborn. She was taking charge of her life and she was going to live it how she wanted to, not how a controlling boyfriend saw fit. She was out on her own now, but it didn’t feel as if she was alone… she had a friend in Candy and now it seemed as if Hawk was going to be by her side too. She smiled to herself as she realized that the future was looking very promising indeed.
Hawk steered the bike onto the highway and they flew down it so fast that Destiny found it hard to catch her breath. She wrapped her other arm around him and nuzzled into the back of his neck. He smelled so clean and sexy, his cologne was woody and masculine and for the first time since they had met she realized that he didn’t smell of booze. It was almost like she had grown accustomed to men being that way… chain smoking, whiskey drinking brutes that would just order her around and take advantage. Hawk really did seem like a gentleman. A guy who was old school in his ways and seemed to want to put Destiny at ease and look after her wellbeing. She almost couldn’t believe her luck that she had been taken under the wing of such a caring man.
Slowly, lights started to appear in the distance and Destiny began to recognize parts of town that she had seen before. They were approaching the far side of town, where outlaws ruled most of the area and the businesses which were contained within the streets there. Destiny could feel vibrations running beneath them as they cruised slowly through the empty streets and for the first time in hours, she was beginning to feel anxious.
The streets were dark, empty and felt menacing, as if there was a presence lurking that was about to burst out and destroy them. She clung onto Hawk and closed her eyes for a moment. She knew she was being dramatic, and that she should just calm down. Nothing could harm her now he had her back.
He turned another corner and ahead of them, The Bleeding Bullet loomed up out of the darkness. Its red lights illuminated the streets and the outside was awash with men and women, draping themselves all over one and other, drinki
ng, smoking and making out feverishly. Destiny had seen a lot of things since she had become part of the biker world, but there was something about this situation in particular that made her blush. Maybe it was the raw sex in the air and her close proximity to a man like Hawk. His body heat was radiating out against her, warming her through and making her feel alive. As she held onto him she was sure she could feel his heart beating, and although he appeared calm, she could sense his nervousness. As if being close to her was giving him the same reaction as it was her.
Their attraction to one and other was obvious. And now they were surrounded by other couples licking, biting and sucking on each other, she could barely contain her excitement. She wanted him and she wanted him to know it.
Hawk pulled up to the stairs in front of The Bleeding Bullet and climbed off the bike. He held out his hand and Destiny took hold of it. She looked up at him and smiled.
Even though she was nervous about going inside, she felt deep inside of her that he would look after her and wouldn’t let any harm come her way. Each time their eyes met there was something forged between them that was new and exciting and Hawk was becoming more familiar and important to her with each passing second. Since she had been taken that morning, she had gone through so many emotions, he had been the one to calm her down and bring her back to earth.
“So then,” he said as he turned to her as they stood at the bottom of the staircase, waiting to walk up them to the front doors. “Are you ready?”
Destiny looked towards the doorway and smiled as she heard the pounding music filtering out from inside.
“I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” she sighed as she wrapped her hand tightly within his.
“Well come on then, let’s go…”
They held hands and climbed up to the top of the steps. The door opened in front of them and Destiny took in a lung full of air as they made their way inside The Bleeding Bullet…
[Runes of Argyl 01.0] The Runes of Argyl Trilogy Page 117
