Five years earlier
Faith wrung her hands together nervously as we sat in my Ford pickup. Spring was just hitting, which meant the days were still cold as shit, and even though heat was blasting through the vents, Faith shivered in her seat while clutching and unclutching her hands around the shoulder strap of her seatbelt for something to do.
“This is going to be bad, Ryker,” she finally said, her eyes watching me hesitantly. “This is going to kill my mom.”
“I’ll talk to my dad, baby.” I reached out and ran my hands down her jet black hair. So beautiful. My fiancé was gorgeous. And kind. She was sweet and tough at the same time, and she had eyes like diamonds that could pierce you with just one look. I’d loved her since the moment I turned sixteen. I wanted to marry her for two years, and two weeks ago, she finally agreed. I couldn’t be fucking happier. I had everything I wanted—everything I needed—sitting right next to me in my pickup.
What I couldn’t sit back and do was let the club turn on Faith and her mom, Roxy, because they had to take out her dad. It wasn’t their fault he had become so nervous and jittery and willing to turn his back on the club for something he didn’t do. But any show of disloyalty had consequences in our world, and Danny Winston faced his earlier in the night with a bullet to the head.
With my hands at the bottom of her long locks, I yanked lightly at the end until she brought her eyes to mine. I cupped her cheek with my other hand and pulled her forward, pressing my lips to her soft and silky ones before I rested my forehead against hers.
“I’m sorry, honey, but you know it had to happen. The club will still have your back though, babe. I’ll make sure of it.”
Fuck Faith’s mom. I didn’t give a shit if she was left to rot. Her drug addiction made her bitchy, insane, and a completely loose cannon. I would have been thrilled if the club had taken her out as well if it hadn’t meant that all of Faith’s family would have been gone.
She shook her head against mine. “You need to patch in, Ryke. They won’t listen to you otherwise, and your dad won’t do shit. It’s the only way my mom will survive.” She paused and swallowed slowly. The pain and sadness in her words hit me in the chest. I hated seeing her upset. My hand moved to her neck. I could practically feel the lump inside of her throat. Her pain and fear saturated the small space between us. “Knowing she’s still connected to the club in some way, it’s the only way…”
“I won’t, Faith.” It wasn’t the first time we’d had this argument. My brother, Daemon, and I wanted nothing to do with our old man’s motorcycle club, The Nordic Lords. We wanted our women, we wanted our lives, and we didn’t want the chains that came with the darkness that shrouded the lives of the men we’d seen growing up.
She blew out a shaky breath and pulled away from me, staring out the window. When she closed her eyes slowly and then opened them, I could see the distance she was putting between us. I never understood why she wanted the club life so bad, except for the reason that it was the only thing she’d ever known.
“Go inside, babe.” I reached across her lap, opened the door to her side of the truck, and pressed another kiss on her cheek. “I’ll go talk to my old man and see what he can do to protect your mom now.”
A tear rolled slowly down her cheek, taking some of her black mascara with it. More tears welled in her eyes. Her voice was emotionless when she spoke. “My dad’s dead, Ryker. He turned on the club, and there’s not a damn thing anyone can do about it. There is no way the club will watch out for us now.” She shook her head, looking lost as she climbed out of my truck. She faced me once her feet hit the ground, one hand on the door and one on the side of the truck.
“I love you, Faith. I’ll be back soon.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded jerkily. Then she slammed the door, rocking the cab of my Ford. I stayed in the driveway in front of her small, bungalow-style house and watched my fiancée walk to the stairs, shoulders curled forward and head down, completely defeated.
Fuck. I ran a hand through my black hair before slamming it against the steering wheel. The horn blared through the quiet air, making Faith jump at the doorway. Her head whipped around to mine and I saw everything she was feeling.
I waved my hand in apology for scaring her before I put my truck in reverse and made the short trek across town to talk to the Nordic Lords’ Vice President—my dad.
For her, I’d patch in and join the club. I’d give her anything she fucking wanted in life if it would erase the sadness in her crystal clear blue eyes.