by Dez Burke
Yuri: Meet me at the garage as soon as you can. I’ve found out something about your father.
The words felt like a bullet ripping through her heart. The past few days had been the best days of her life, but those words of Yuri made it seem like it was only a fantasy, something that never really happened.
After deleting the message, she carefully extricated herself from Helios’ embrace before tiptoeing to his bathroom to change.
When MJ closed the bathroom’s door behind her, Helios’ eyes opened.
Something made him turn and reach for her phone. He checked her inbox, and his expression became shuttered when he saw that there was no recent message.
She was hiding something from him.
Chapter Fourteen
Night had fallen and MJ could not concentrate, which was bad. She had exams tomorrow, and worse, she could feel Helios looking at her every so often. His face didn’t give anything away, but she instinctively knew that Helios was aware something was wrong.
The club had its own study hall, and it was open for use to both bikers and volunteers. It had rows of seats and tables next to each other similar to those in libraries, and MJ was seated at one end while Helios was across the room, standing quietly next to the windows.
His presence in the study hall was rare, making most of the girls titter in excitement. It didn’t matter to them that he was dating MJ. He was Helios Andreadis, and girls would always pant after him.
The thought of what could happen if Helios found out about her secret made MJ’s hands shake, and her book slid out of her grasp. She bent down to pick it up and accidentally bumped into Mercy, the girl seated next to her, who then lost hold of her Starbucks coffee, which she accidentally spilled onto Girlie, who shrieked as hot liquid burned her skin, jumping to her feet and accidentally elbowing Bernice out of her seat.
All four girls turned to MJ with furious expressions.
“Sorry,” she said in a small voice as she slowly lifted her book up to cover her entire face. She was tempted to laugh hysterically. Something was wrong? Heck no. Everything was wrong, and there seemed no way for her to solve it.
Her conversation this afternoon with Yuri played over and over in her mind, and there was no escaping it. There was no escaping her past, and bleakly, she wondered why she ever thought it was possible to escape in the first place.
“Someone bailed your dad out from jail.”
It was not pleasant news, but MJ told herself it was not the worst news either. “Will you tell Helios about me? About...him?”
Yuri looked at her levelly. “It’s your story to tell. But you also have to know...word’s out on the street that your father is looking for you.”
MJ whitened. “I don’t understand. He...he doesn’t really care for me. And...there’s a restraining order...why would he want to look for me when it would mean he could go back to jail?”
Grimly, Yuri said, “I don’t know. I went to your hometown to check on loose ends. Keeping trouble out of the club is one of my responsibilities, and I take my responsibilities seriously. This club is my family – the only family I have. I know you don’t mean any of us harm. I know you love Helios even if you’ve not admitted it to yourself, but I also know something bad will happen if you do not confess—-”
She shook her head wildly. “Confess what? That I have an alcoholic for a father? That I was once jailed for petty theft? That I have a record as a juvenile delinquent a mile long?” When she looked at Yuri, she didn’t bother to hide the terror she felt. The terror over losing Helios.
“I don’t know if I really love him like you say I do, Yuri, and that’s the honest truth. But what I do know is that he matters to me. I don’t want...I can’t tell you why he matters to me so much. But he changed my life. He’s...everything. And I don’t know where I’d be if I lost him.”
She grabbed Yuri’s hand and pressed it to her heart. “If I lose him, Yuri,” she whispered, “you might as well cut out my heart.”
That one moment had convinced Yuri to keep his discovery to himself even if he had never been the one to lie to his friends. No matter what MJ said, he knew that MJ loved Helios.
It was ironic then that witnessing the same moment had convinced Helios of the opposite.
Dressing himself swiftly, Helios headed to his private study in the club and accessed the CCTV network to pinpoint her location.
When he saw her meeting Yuri in secret, he had told himself that it could be anything.
But when he saw her hold Yuri’s hand to her heart, his own had turned into stone.
History was indeed repeating itself.
Now, gazing at MJ with her shoulders slouched, looking so miserable and unable to hide it, Helios wondered bitterly how the fuck he had gotten it so wrong.
Why had she even bothered hooking up with him if she wanted Yuri all along? Was it because he had been too aggressive and had not given her a chance to refuse? Or was it because she was an ambitious bitch who also happened to be such a good actress that she had fooled all of them into thinking she was entirely innocent?
Bitterness nearly drowned him, but it was not as powerful as his desire for vengeance. He motioned to one of the volunteers dusting the windows. “Jenny.”
The third-year brunette hurried towards him. “Yes, President?”
“Contact Astrid and have her come over first thing tomorrow morning.” He ignored the way MJ’s head snapped up at his words.
When Jenny excused herself from the room and Helios still didn’t look at her, MJ tried not to sound hurt and confused as she asked, “Wh-why are you calling Astrid?” The photo shoot was over. There was no need for Astrid to be here. Right?
When Helios’ gaze met hers, the coldness in it had her sucking her breath in.
“There’s something I have to practice with her, a bike stunt, and I can’t exactly do that with you, right?’ After all, you only know how to ride a man’s body and that’s it.” The words were laced with rigid contempt, Helios having no trouble remembering the sight of MJ and Yuri close to each other, the other man’s hand on her chest. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Awkward silence fell over the room, and MJ realized sickly that everyone had heard their exchange.
Helios stared at her unflinchingly, and it was obvious in his stance that he was not going to take it back.
Her fingers curled and uncurled as she tried to make sense of Helios’ sudden cold treatment. Surely Yuri hadn’t gone back on his word? She forced a smile on her lips and said brightly, “I’m just happy I’m good at that.”
Helios’ upper lip curled. “Did I say you were good? I simply said you knew what to do.” The moment he spoke the words, he knew he had gone too far. But even with the stricken look on her face, he couldn’t take it back.
With a silent curse, Helios stalked out of the study hall, leaving another bout of painfully awkward silence in his wake.
MJ bowed her head.
SWISH.
She tightened her hold on her book with shaking hands, feeling like Helios had managed to do what her dad had never been able to achieve. With just a few words, he had crushed her completely.
Chapter Fifteen
MJ did not sleep in his room last night.
Helios had lain awake in his bed the entire night, tense and furious with himself for caring so much for someone who was obviously playing him false. Why did he still feel so strongly about her? He had seen the evidence with his own eyes. She had lied to him, and she was meeting Yuri in secret. If he was smart, he should have thrown her out the moment he had discovered her betrayal.
Where the fuck did she sleep last night?
The question burned inside him like lava, making Helios clench and unclench his fists while watching the younger bikers practice their stunts on the twenty-foot custom-designed ramp in their backyard. While stunts didn’t make money, no one outside the club really knew that, making it a passable front for the club’s underground activities.
MJ stood with the
rest of the volunteers, a part and not a part of them. Non-performing members stood at the opposite side, making the divide between bikers and volunteers distinctly clear. Across her, she tried not to look too often at Helios, who was dressed in full gear with his helmet on. He made a striking figure, and the lovely Astrid, with her clouds of blond hair and her voluptuous figure flaunted in a leather corset top, shorts, and knee-high boots, was a perfect complement.
Astrid’s gaze met hers, and the other woman’s eyes were filled with scorn. You don’t belong here.
MJ dug her nails into her palms at the look. Yes, she knew that now. In fact, it was what she had struggled to accept every minute of last night. She had remained in the study hall the entire time, her limbs frozen with the utter humiliation of Helios’ parting shot.
Only when everyone had gone and she had shut the lights off did the tears finally fall. He had hurt her. He had really hurt her, and she just couldn’t understand why. While neither of them had spoken of love in the week they had been together, MJ had really thought he at least cared for her. He couldn’t have faked it all this time. So what had changed?
It was that question which had given her the courage to face him again today, even knowing that she could be setting herself up for another dose of public shaming. It had already started when she had tried to approach Helios earlier. One of the rookie bikers stood in her way. In a shamed voice and without looking at her in the eye, the biker had mumbled, “Bikers only, I’m afraid. You need to join the volunteers at the back and watch from there.”
Those words hurt, too.
And without looking at anyone, MJ knew that everyone had heard it. Feeling their gazes on her was all she needed to know that everyone knew Helios had taken away the right for her to stand next to him.
It hurt. It...hurt.
“Serves her right.” The sneered words from one of the volunteers behind her jerked MJ back to reality. “She’s been acting too high and mighty while playing the slut in the President’s bed.”
Had she been acting like that, MJ wondered dully. All she could remember was that she had been happy the man who had changed her life wanted her to be in his. That was all she remembered. And then after that, it was just blackness.
She was so tempted to wish that she had her old life back. At least everything James did was predictable, even if there was no guarantee she would live another day. With James, she always knew what she had to do.
Lie flat. Don’t close your eyes. Keep your hair out of the way. Relax. Relax. And think.
With James, she always knew where she stood, always knew that no matter how hard she tried, he just didn’t love her.
But Helios...
Her nails dug deeper into her palms.
Helios was so damn unfair.
He had made her think it was possible he could want her, and now...
And now it was obvious he hadn’t ever wanted her.
MJ looked down at her palms with almost numb fascination, wondering what she had to do to make herself bleed. Anything to distract her from the fact that Astrid was stroking Helios’ chest with her red nails while she whispered something in his ear, a naughty expression on her stunning face.
The sound of applause made MJ look up, and she sucked her breath in when she saw Astrid confidently walk to her own bike, hips swaying provocatively with each step. The crowd of bikers cheered when she swung one leg over the seat before settling down and making its engine roar.
And then she was off, speeding towards the ramp without warning, hair flying behind her. She was a sight to behold as she went up then down then up and down again, doing this several times to gain momentum for that perfect double spin in the air.
Wolf whistles and roars of approval erupted from the crowd as Astrid executed the stunt perfectly. When she rode back to Helios’ side, she switched the engine off and looked over her shoulder.
At MJ.
“Your turn.”
MJ’s eyes widened. Surely Astrid couldn’t have been speaking to her?
But her doubts were soon dispelled when, after not receiving a response, Astrid walked towards her, stopping only when she was a step away from MJ.
Since Astrid was half a foot taller than she was, MJ was forced to look up, and the action had the other volunteers snickering behind her. MJ’s cheeks burned.
One perfectly shaped brow lifted. “Well? Didn’t you hear me?” Astrid asked snidely. She gestured to the bikes behind her. “Take your pick then it’s your turn.”
Astrid had thrown a magnificent fit in her own dorm when she learned that Helios Andreadis had taken a girlfriend of sorts. Being the President’s girl was what she had always aspired to be, and it made Astrid sick with rage that some small-town nobody had usurped her position.
Now, sensing the discord between Helios and the little slut, Astrid was determined to push the two further apart.
She crossed her arms against her chest. “Come on, little girl.” Astrid deliberately used the same reference Helios himself had used the other time, having her own little birds informing her about everything that went on inside the club.
MJ flinched at Astrid’s choice of words, her gaze immediately seeking Helios in her pain, thinking that he was the one who had told Astrid about it.
Helios’ face hardened. It was obvious what MJ was thinking – what everyone was thinking. Even Kellion was looking at him with grim disapproval, and Hallie was glaring at him. He had an urge to strangle Astrid for her taunts, but he kept himself in check.
She deserved this for daring to play him for a fool.
Astrid grabbed MJ’s wrist and dragged her towards where the bikes were parked. “I’m very competitive, but I’m not totally heartless. I heard you’re not so crazy about bikes so how about you just ride one until the end of this lane? No ramps. No stunts. Just one straight ride to prove that you want to fight for Helios.”
When MJ didn’t speak, Astrid asked with a smirk, “Or are you giving up on him?”
The surprisingly apt question had MJ paling, and she unconsciously turned towards Helios. Was she giving up on Helios?
Before she could answer, someone said in a furious voice behind her, “Don’t do it.”
Helios stiffened, recognizing Yuri’s voice even before he saw his friend stalking towards MJ’s side. Yuri looked haggard. He had been missing since yesterday. Had the two been together last night, talking about him? Laughing at him?
He had not used the CCTV to find out where MJ was, not trusting himself with the consequences if he did catch MJ in a more compromising situation with Yuri.
But now, looking at Yuri’s haggard face and the angry concern in his eyes as he gazed at MJ, Helios knew that the two shared something special. Something he was not a part of.
It took a while for MJ to realize that someone was talking to her. Lack of sleep, stress, and the pain of Helios’ suddenly cruel attitude had made her especially vulnerable, and when she found herself surrounded by James’ favorite torture devices, she just could not breathe.
Relax, relax—-
“MJ? She felt someone shaking her and looked up, blinking several times before her gaze cleared. It was Yuri.
“You don’t need to do this,” Yuri gritted out again. He had just come back from another trip to MJ’s hometown and this time, he knew the truth about her. He knew everything about her. She was not going to be good news for the club, but she was good news for Helios. That was enough. Or at least it would be if Helios could get his head out of his ass before he ended up ruining everything for both of them.
The look on MJ’s face was that of a terrified child. Couldn’t Helios see this? When had he gone so fucking blind?
Yuri turned to the club’s president. “Why are you making her do this?”
Why do you fucking care?
Helios wanted to snarl the question out, but to do so would be to admit that he knew the two of them had been fooling him, and that he still cared for...her. Pain made Helios unable to see the
deep-etched fear in MJ’s eyes. All he saw was a woman who had betrayed him. Just like Odessa.
“It’s up to you.” His words were dispassionate. “If you want to prove that you want me, then ride a bike. You should be thankful to Astrid for being so generous.”
Helios’ words were like nails being driven into her own coffin, and that coffin was but a cage...of her own love.
Suddenly, everything became so clear.
She used to think that fear was the only reason she did things for James, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t just fear. Not at all. What drove her to lie on the ground, to risk doing everything James did was because...
She loved James.
And she had wished, by doing what he told her to do, there would come a day he would love her back.
Her gaze turned to Helios, but she didn’t really see him. She saw James. She saw a man she loved. Right now, they were one and the same. And they wanted the same thing, too. Her heart on a platter. Just because.
The tears on MJ’s face made Helios inhale sharply. He wanted to roar. Stop. He didn’t want her looking like that, dammit.
But the words remained unspoken when he watched Yuri grabbing his girl’s wrist, Yuri trying to comfort his girl, and saying words that Helios knew deep inside he should be the one saying.
Yuri turned to him. “Don’t make her do this—-”
Helios cut Yuri off, saying in a coldly pleasant voice, “It’s her choice.”
MJ was already walking towards one of the practice bikes the club lent to rookies. It was obvious to everyone she was shaking.
Something about it triggered alarms inside him, but Helios deliberately ignored it. If she wanted to fucking prove she wanted him, even if she wanted Yuri, then he hoped to God she suffered. He damn hoped she would suffer the way she so easily shredded him into pieces with her betrayal.
MJ looked down at the bike.
James’ taunting voice echoed inside her head. Ready, MJ?
She slowly swung her leg over the seat.
I’m gonna do this fast.
She started the engine without any difficulties. It was ridiculous, the way she had been able to memorize everything she had to do to ride a bike just by watching what James did.
