by Naomi West
“Where are you?” Jake asked immediately.
“Outside the Holy Flames' clubhouse. But Jake, I don't want to stay here and wait for you, I want to...”
“Right,” Jake said. “Look, if you get on the number 56 bus that leaves from that corner — it runs every ten minutes or so — that'll bring you from downtown out towards the suburbs. Get off the third stop after that, at the cemetery. That's the one where Frank was buried, okay? I'll meet you there at Frank's grave in half an hour.”
“Okay,” I said in a watery voice. I didn't really like the idea of meeting him at a cemetery when I was already thinking of Max's death, but the instructions were easy enough to follow, and there was a number 56 bus coming up the street even as we were talking. It was easy to get on it and let it whisk me away.
When Jake finally met me at Frank's gravestone, I could feel how worried he was in his arms, in the way he ran his hands over me as though checking for injuries that I hadn't told him about. Then, he folded me into an embrace and held me tightly. “Jesus, Halley, you scared the crap out of me,” he said honestly, his voice raw. “That text...”
“Sorry I couldn't tell you more,” I said. “I was afraid Max would see what I was doing and throw my phone away.”
“No, that was perfect, sweetie,” he said. “Jesus.” He ran a hand over his face, looking exhausted. “What happened? I should have known better than to turn Max free, it just seemed like the right thing to do. But god, I'm going to kill that fucker.”
“Too late,” I told him grimly. “Emilio already beat you to that.”
Jake's eyes widened. “What?” he asked.
I shrugged a little, trying to be casual about this whole thing because if I thought about any of it for too long, I was going to be on the next plane out of there, assuming a new identity, and never coming back. But this was what I had signed myself up for, I had to remember that. Jake had been very clear about the risks right from the start.
“Max came up to the house and rang the doorbell. I answered it. Thank god my parents were out with Cole doing a little shopping before our trip.” I shuddered a little, and I could see the anger build on Jake's face. “Anyway, he dragged me off into his car. I didn't put up much of a fight because I didn't really know what he would do if I made him really angry, and I didn't really want to find that out. I figured it was best to just go along with him until you could come get me, or until he threatened worse than kidnapping. But I figured I was probably worth more to him alive than dead, so at least I didn't really have to worry about him killing me.” I looked to him for approval and was glad to see a small smile on his face.
“That's perfect logic,” he told me warmly, reaching out to stroke back a bit of my hair, his strong fingers brushing my cheek. “I hate that you had to calculate all of that, that I ever put you into such a situation, but at the same time—”
“I knew what I was signing up for,” I reminded him. “You told me about the risks before I agreed to get engaged to you, before I agreed to be part of this whole motorcycle club thing. I needed some way of getting free from Brian, but if any of this had really bothered me, I would have found some other way.”
Jake stared at me for a long moment, a strange look on his face, and then he bent down to kiss me, his frantic movements from before only slightly calmed. Between his worry and my own adrenaline — still humming from the kidnapping and from watching a man be killed in front of me in a way that I thought only happened in movies — well, that meant that the kiss was full of zinging passion, our tongues coming together in a desperate dance. For a moment, I totally lost myself in the feeling of his lips moving against mine, in the feathery touches of his fingertips against my cheek. When we pulled apart, I actually had to catch my breath.
“I never imagined you could be so brave,” Jake told me, his voice raw. I smiled a little at that. “So, what happened next?”
“Well, Max dragged me off to the Holy Flames' clubhouse, I guess. I didn't really know that was where it was until we were inside and he was talking to Emilio, of course, but I was able to piece things together pretty quickly once they started talking — they were acting as though I wasn't even there in the room with them!”
“Was Emilio in on the kidnapping, though?” Jake asked urgently. “Or was it just Max involved?”
“Just Max,” I told him. “Emilio was really pissed about it. He said something about how he had already made hit threats and that you would go along with what he wanted or else you knew that he would do whatever it was that he had threatened you with?”
Jake's mouth tightened a little. “But he may have just been saying that as a show for you,” he said.
“I don't think so,” I told him, shaking my head. “He was pretty mad at Max, both for kidnapping me and for bringing me there to the Holy Flames' clubhouse. He said that Max wasn't being subtle enough and that his actions were pretty stupid. I can't remember his exact phrasing, but that's basically what it boiled down to. And then he went off on Max for having implicated the Holy Flames in the kidnapping, by bringing me there. He really wasn't happy about that.” I took a deep breath, running my hands over my sweater. “So, he pulled out a gun and put a bullet through Max's head.”
Even the thought of it made me want to throw up, but I knew I needed to stay strong, to make sure that Jake calmed down a little and didn't do something stupid like go after Emilio on his own.
Jake stared at me for a long moment, an unreadable expression on his face. Then, he pulled me into his arms again, kissing the top of my head. “I'm so sorry,” he murmured into my hair. “Jesus, Halley, I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn't realize all of what would happen if I brought you under the protection of the Devil's Route or else I never would have agreed to any of this.”
“Jake, it's fine,” I told him. “I'm safe. That's what matters, right? And Cole's safe too. We'll all go on a little vacation while you sort things out here, and then–”
“Are you sure Cole's safe?” Jake asked suddenly, pulling away, his face white as chalk. “What if Max sent someone after them as well? Or Emilio?”
I blanched as well and had my phone out, dialing my mom's number, almost before he had finished what he was saying. I pressed the thing against my ear hard enough that I could hear the plastic creaking under my fingers, but I didn't let up my grip until my mom actually answered the phone, sounding just as pleasant and normal as ever.
“Hey sweetie, what's up?” she asked.
I breathed a sigh of relief and tried to sound normal when I responded, even though I could feel tears in my eyes. I was glad when Jake brought up his hand and began lightly stroking my arm, offering me that small amount of reassurance. “Nothing's wrong!” I said, voice falsely cheerful but not falsely enough that I thought she would pick up on how strange I was sounding. “I just wanted to check in and see how shopping was going. Cole's being good, isn't he?”
Mom laughed a little. “He's being just a little darling, don't worry. Of course, we have promised him ice cream if we can get through all of this on our best behavior...”
I managed to laugh a little as well, practically melting with how relieved I was. “That's good, I'm glad to hear that. Well, I guess I'll see you at home...”
“We shouldn't be too much longer,” Mom told me. “Maybe another hour or two. Depends how long it takes Cole to decide which ice cream flavor he wants!”
“Sounds good,” I said. “See you soon!” I hung up the phone and the practically fell into Jake's arms. “I didn't even think about that,” I said over and over again. “I just didn't think that they might have been kidnapped as well.”
“We have to keep you safe,” Jake said. But there was a note of uncertainty in his voice.
“What's wrong?” I asked him, looking up at him, suddenly afraid that maybe he was having regrets about this as well. What if he told me to leave him and never come back, because obviously, I was too much of a liability? What would I do? I was starting to realize
that I couldn't imagine my life without him—and how was I supposed to explain to Cole that we were never going to see Mr. Jake again, when the kid was already somehow so enamored of his father, without even knowing that it was his father?
“Emilio gave me a choice,” Jake reminded me slowly. He shook his head. “I still can't choose between you and my brotherhood. That's just not...”
“So, don't,” I said simply. “Jake, you're letting Emilio force your hand. Instead of just reacting to whatever he's said to you, why don't you come up with some sort of plan on your own?”
“Like what?” I asked. “God, Halley, if I knew what to do, don't you think I'd be doing it?”
I bristled a little at his tone, but I knew he was only lashing out because he was upset. And I couldn't blame him, not with everything that had been happening lately. And not with ... I looked sharply down at his leg, suddenly realizing that he wasn't using his crutches like he was still supposed to be. “You're not supposed to be walking around like this yet,” I scolded.
Jake smiled a little and sighed. “I know,” he said. “I forgot the crutches at the Devil's Route clubhouse, in my haste to come make sure that you were okay. It's fine, it's just a little sore.”
“Come on,” I said, moving to support him, ducking under his shoulder. “We're going to get you somewhere where you can lie down, and we're going to make sure that we change the bandages on your leg. The last thing anyone needs right now is for you to get, I don't know, gangrene or something like that.”
Jake let me lead him back towards the parking lot.
“How did you get here, anyway?” I asked him, scanning the lot for his bike. Surely, he hadn't taken the bus as well, had he?
Jake snorted and dangled a keyring in front of me. “I own a car too, you know,” he told me, leading me over to a little speedy silver car that was parked over in the corner of the lot. “It's a bit more family-friendly. Or weather-friendly, depending on the time of year. And right now, it's a bit easier for me to drive given that my leg is in pretty bad shape.”
“I'm driving,” I told him, snatching the keys out of his hand.
“All right, all right,” Jake said, sounding amused. “But are you sure you can handle this baby?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Jake Ryce, I just handled watching a man get shot in front of me. Do you really think a car is going to worry me at the moment?” I shouldn't have said that, based on the sad look he got on his face—but it was too late to take the words back now.
We got into the car and he gave me directions to his apartment.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jake
Back at my apartment, I climbed out of my car, gritting my teeth and trying to hide the pain from my leg, which was growing more and more pronounced now that the adrenaline of finding out that Halley was kidnapped was wearing off. God, the thing hurt like a motherfucker. I needed to take a round of painkillers just so that I would be able to think straight about all of this. But in order to do that, I needed to get myself upstairs.
Halley came around the car and ducked under my arm to give me a little much-needed support. She peered anxiously up into my face. “Are you okay?” she asked. “You look pretty pale. Maybe I should bring you back to the hospital instead?”
“I'm fine,” I told her, hating that it came out in a growl and hoping she realized it was out of pain, rather than out of any sort of annoyance with her. She was being absolutely brilliant; it wasn't her fault that I'd pushed myself this hard when I was technically still supposed to be on bedrest.
I probably should have waited until I had recovered a little more before I had gone after Max, but I just hadn't been able to sleep knowing that the fucker was out there somewhere, trying to take control of the Devil's Route. Knowing that Frank's death was unavenged.
It seemed that now I had gotten my wish for Max to be wiped off the face of the earth but not without some sort of penalty. Because now, as if I didn't already owe Emilio one for not killing me. It would have been so easy, while I was there in the clubhouse during the raid, and I had to assume that I had only been saved by his grace. Now I owed him for setting Halley free as well, for not killing her when he had the chance.
Although as she'd surmised, she was worth more to my enemies alive than she would be if she were dead.
Halley got me on the elevator and brought me up to my apartment, helping to get me settled on the couch against, just as she had when I had first come back from the hospital. I sighed and relaxed back, letting my eyes slip shut. There was something I needed to admit to her.
“I didn't really realize how hard I'd fallen for you until I got that text,” I told her. “I mean, I knew I wanted to protect you and do right by you but I thought that was just because of Cole. I mean, not that I didn't like you as a person either, I just...” I trailed off, smiling sheepishly. “I don't really sound like a big, bad biker dude right now, do I?”
Halley laughed a little, but there was something else in the sound that I couldn't place. “No, you don't,” she told me.
When I opened my eyes, she was staring down at me in surprise, and she moved so that she could sit on the couch with me, reaching out a hand to lightly rest on my arm. “I really mean that,” I told her, suddenly sensing what her unease was due to. I shook my head. “By all rights, I probably shouldn't be falling for you, but you're a good person, Halley. Such a good person. You've raised a great kid, all by yourself, and you're still here to look after me even after my stupid actions got you kidnapped. I don't know what I could possibly have done to deserve someone like you in my life, but … well...”
“So, what does this mean?” Halley asked, sounding almost as though she was afraid to ask the question. “I mean, Cole and I still have to get out of here, right? It's not safe, and it won't be until you Emilio figure things out.” She laughed a little. “Anyway, my parents would flip out if I told them that you and I were even seeing one another, let alone...” She swallowed hard and shook her head.
“What are you saying?” I asked her, surprised at her reaction. “What about your parents?”
“They don't like you,” Halley said simply. “I probably shouldn't have told them that you were a biker, but I mean, they would have noticed it the first time they met you, based on your tattoos. Anyway, I told them years ago, when I found out that I was pregnant, because they wanted to know why I couldn't at least ask you for money for the baby, even if you wanted nothing to do with him. And I had to explain that you probably weren't the kind of guy that they wanted to have around their grandson.”
I winced, but that made sense. “But we could still ... build a life together, couldn't we?” I asked. “I'm sure they would come around eventually. I mean, we couldn't tell them about the kidnapping or anything like that. But—”
“I'm not going to lie to my parents,” Halley said, shaking her head. “That's the same as you turning your back on your brotherhood, on your motorcycle club. They're my family, Jake, and I'm not going to lie to them. I'm not going to...” She broke off, shaking her head. “I just can't.”
“That's fair,” I said, as much as I hated to admit it. I sighed and closed my eyes again.
“You should rest,” Halley said.
“Can you stay?” I asked, cracking my eye open to look at her. “I just … I want you to be here when I wake up. Or else I'm probably going to panic.”
Halley blinked at me. “Of course,” she said, squeezing my arm lightly. She sighed. “We're going to have to figure this out at some point soon, though, Jake.”
“I know,” I told her. “Trust me, I know. But like you said, right now, I need to rest. And if you're gone when I wake up, I'm probably going to panic, given the events of the day. So, unless you'd like to be on the receiving end of the phone call where I half-asleep try to find out where you are...”
“My parents will wonder,” Halley said, sounding uncertain. “And I should get back to Cole...”
“Tell them that you're running e
rrands,” I suggested. “Please Halley. Anything. Just please. I don't want you to be gone when I wake up.” I must be more exhausted than I thought, if I was sounding that desperate. But Halley looked as though she understood.
“Why don't we move in to your bed, then?” she suggested quietly. “I mean, we snuggled on the couch last time, but it's a little too narrow to do that comfortably.”
I nodded and let her help me up to my feet and maneuver me into the other room.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I woke up feeling panicked, but when I reached out to the other side of the bed, Halley was still there, warm beneath the covers. I grunted a little and moved until she was nestled against my chest. When I blinked open my eyes, she was staring up at me. “Are you okay?” she asked.
