The group of men stood at the back of the clubhouse on high alert, their eyes darting back and forth anxiously like guard dogs. Blaine had chosen five of his fittest and best marksmen for the ambush. Since he had to try to save the life of Zeb’s female informant, the plan had changed from a shower of bullets to a covert sniper style attack. Luckily, as Frankie was a former marine and a top sniper, he should be able to take out all of the targets before they even knew what was happening.
He shoved his bulletproof vest into a duffel bag, slid his leather gloves on, and tossed the last of the boxes of ammo into the back of the van. Frankie slid into the driver’s seat and Blaine and the three others all sat in the cargo area, their backs to the cold walls of the van.
Over the past week he had picked up his phone to reach out to Olivia but had changed his mind every time. He realized that his lifestyle was too rough for her, and so was he. He didn’t want to drag such a good person into the life that he had chosen. It killed him to know that he was hurting her with his actions, but he felt like he was saving her from a life of gangs and guns. But tonight, in the silence of the van, he leaned his head back against the wall of the vehicle, and started to question his decision to walk away from Olivia. His mind raced back and forth. He longed to touch her again, to look into her eyes and feel her soft skin. He started to wonder if he could take a back seat to the dangerous and illegal side of club life in order to fit the pretty cellist into his life.
Blaine looked around at his brothers’ faces sombrely, knowing that they might not live past the night. When he was younger he didn’t contemplate death and his own mortality. Now, it saddened him that his good friends’ lives, men who were like brothers to him, could be cut short because of their allegiance to the club. As a teen, he would’ve been coursing with adrenaline, but today he realized that his heart wasn’t in it anymore. He could die tonight, never having told Olivia how beautiful she was, how she needed to keep being herself, and that the world needed more women like her. He was still angry at himself for not reaching out to her after she confided in him that she was a virgin. Her words had stopped his heart and apparently his brain too.
He knew what he had to do. “Frankie, exit here!” he shouted to the driver. “We’ve got one more stop to make”.
“Yes, Boss.” Frankie carefully signaled to get off the highway. When they were driving hot, they followed all of the rules of the road to avoid being pulled over. They had most of the police station under their thumb, but if they were pulled over with a shit-tonne of ammo and automatic weapons by a do-gooder cop, they would be done for.
Frankie parked the van in front of Olivia’s house and said, “We’re here B.”
Blaine jumped out of the back of the van, took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He noticed that he was trembling, and it wasn’t from their mission, he was nervous about facing Liv. He saw a shadow in the window and gulped. It wasn’t Olivia that opened the door though, it was Maddie, her older sister.
“Hi. Um, Maddie is it?” he stammered.
“Yeah,” Maddie said. She didn’t move from the doorway or invite him in.
“Is Olivia here?”
“Nope,” Maddie said. “And if she was, I don’t think that she would be interested in talking to you. You’re a cowardly piece of shit.”
“I know.” Blaine hung his head. “I need to talk to her and apologize.”
“It’s probably better if you just leave her alone.” Maddie leaned against the doorframe. She looked past Blaine to the black van idling across the street. “Friends of yours?”
“Look, Maddie. I think that I’m falling in love with your sister.”
“Pardon me?” Maddie said, in awe.
“You have to understand, it’s because I care for her that I walked away. Not because of, um, other things, the reason she probably thinks. I need to explain that to her. I don’t want her to get hurt, that’s the last thing that I would ever want.”
“She’s out right now, but I can pass on your message to her,” Maddie said, her hard veneer cracking. Her eyes searched Blaine’s face and he could see them soften. Blaine hoped that she could sense that he was being genuine.
“I just want to tell her, that whatever happens to me, I care for her and think that she’s one of the, no wait, she’s the most amazing woman that I’ve ever met. I want her to know how special she is, and to never change for anyone.” Blaine’s eyes teared up as he croaked out the final words.
Maddie started tearing up too. “I’ll tell her,” she said quietly.
“Thank you, Maddie,” Blaine said and moved to shake Maddie’s hand. She took his hand and pulled him in for a hug.
Blaine wiped his eyes, turned, and jogged back to the waiting van.
“Everything alright boss?” Frankie asked.
“Keep driving,” Blaine said. He settled back into the van, the lead weight lifted from his shoulders, knowing that Maddie would relay his message. He felt a huge sense of relief. He could go into the fight now, knowing that he had spoken his piece. If he died tonight, Olivia would know how he truly felt about her.