Chapter 8
“Blade, you might want to come out here…”
Blade sighed and pushed his chair away from his desk.
“The hell are you interrupting me for? I’m almost done. Do you have any idea how goddamn drab doing this paperwork can be?”
Jackal shrugged and Blade continued grumbling as Jackal led him to the windows.
“Look outside,” Jackal said.
“Aw Christ!” Blade growled. “What the fuck!?”
Three police cars were parked outside the MC, each of them with their lights flashing red and blue. A small collection of bikers was gathered out front, smoking cigarettes and watching the cars suspiciously, but nobody seemed to dare to move, whether biker or cop.
“Should we go out there and see what they want?”
“Nah, ignore them. The stupid fuck trying to control Michie probably sent them here to try and psych us out. Don’t tell her about this.”
“Too late,” Jackal said, nodding out the window. Blade looked again and cursed loudly.
“That woman is going to be the fuckin death of me!”
Before Jackal could respond, Blade was tearing down the staircase after Michelle, who was strutting confidently through the group of bikers and heading toward the police cruisers.
“And just what in the hell do you think you’re doing?” Blade growled, gripping Michelle’s arm in his hand and pulling her back.
“I’m going to tell them to get the hell out of here and mind their own business!” Michelle exclaimed. “They’re really pushing it!”
“If you step foot near any of those fuckin’ cars, I swear to god…”
“Let go of me!” Michelle exclaimed, pulling her arm away from Blade. He suddenly felt foolish. What was he trying to do by manhandling her like that? It was a good way to get her riled up after the trauma she’d experienced with her loser husband.
“Look, I’m sorry. But if you go near them, those assholes are probably going to apprehend you or some shit.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” Michelle insisted. “They can’t take me for anything.”
Blade raised an eyebrow at her and Michelle’s fire wavered.
“You know as well as I do how crooked these shitheads can be. Why don’t we just go back inside and pretend that they’re not even here. What we’re doing right now isn’t going to help anything. It’s just giving them a shit show to laugh about. It would be far crueler to bore them to death, don’t you think?”
Michelle’s chin jutted defiantly toward the cruisers and Blade sighed. He wasn’t getting through to her. The woman was livid and she had every right to be.
“You know that Alan jerk is probably just sending a few of his friends to keep tabs on you and look out for anything they can try to use against us in court. They’re sneaky bastards. They know that if they stepped foot outside of their little cars, they’d be torn apart for daring to show their faces here. Otherwise they would have come out and grabbed you by now, brought you back to your husband kicking and screaming. They don’t care about you!”
Michelle’s shoulders grew heavy and she turned to face Blade, her features deflated and sad.
“I know they don’t care about me. Do you know how many times I’ve tried to report Alan to the guy in the middle car? He just takes my statement and then brings Alan in so they can make fun of how hysterical and insane I am.”
“They’re all going to pay for this, kid, but we have to give it some time. We’re working out a way to extract you from that guy’s grip completely. Trust me. The MC is powerful. We know a suit or two. But it’s going to be a process, all right?”
Michelle furrowed her brow but nodded, scowling at the ground.
“Let’s get the hell inside so they get their filthy eyes off you. They don’t know how lucky they are I don’t give them what they have coming right now.”
Michelle sighed and leaned against Blade’s shoulder as he led her inside. It felt like the most natural thing in the world for them to do and Blade swallowed hard. Why was it so damn easy for him to feel this way? This was a young girl, half his age. His friend’s child! He was practically like an uncle, right?
No, Blade realized. Actually, he had only seen Michelle a handful of times when she was young. Mostly he had been busy trying to find his feet, traveling the countryside on his bike and seeing all there was to see. He heard bits and pieces about her, enough to know a few little things, and had been there on some special occasions, like birthdays.
Yes, he had seen the girl a few times when she was a child, but mostly he’d heard about her. He wasn’t an uncle so much as an impartial observer in her life. Truth was, he was uncomfortable around children and preferred adult conversation.
The thought made him feel a little bit better as he led Michelle up the stairs, unable to tear his eyes away from the form-fitting skirt and blouse Jo had picked out for her. The woman may well be a goddess for all Blade was concerned, and when you messed with a goddess, the universe had a way of putting you in your place.
“All right then,” Blade said once they reached the common room upstairs. He led Michelle to the couch and they sat down together. “Let’s talk some sense. I know you’re worried, but I’ve got a plan here that will make sure that you’re safe. All right? You listening?”
Michelle nodded glumly and Blade cleared his throat.
“I didn’t want to tell you because I thought it would get your hopes up and we’re not sure whether it’s a sure thing or not, but I have a friend who’s a lawyer. He lives in California, we met when I was traveling the countryside in my 20s.”
“It’s hard to imagine you in your 20s,” Michelle said with a quiet laugh.
Blade pursed his lips at her. “Watch it, kid.”
Michelle’s eyes danced and once again he was trapped within them, a slave to his agonizing desires, but he was able to fight through it and get his mind back on track.
“What kind of lawyer is your friend?” Michelle asked.
“He’s mostly into business law, but he knows quite a few people who could help out in a situation like this. Get the divorce papers arranged and notarized quickly. And, probably, get you the majority of this piece of shit’s money.”
Michelle exhaled in disbelief. “That sounds impossible.”
“It’s not,” Blade said, looking seriously into her eyes. “You’re just too used to bad things happening. But you’re with me now. Try to have some faith in the MC. We’re here for you.”
Michelle shook her head and fell back against the couch, looking up at the ceiling with tears in her beautiful eyes.
“I can’t believe any of this is actually happening,” she whispered. “It’s all felt like such a nightmare. This is the first time I’ve felt safe since I was a kid.”
“Bikers tend to have that effect on people,” Blade teased. “At least, the people that they like.”
Michelle laughed and sat up, peering into Blade’s eyes. She put her soft, gentle hand over his and squeezed it.
“Thank you for everything,” she said, her face radiant with gratitude. “I think you might very well be saving my life.”
Blade swallowed hard and shook his head. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration, I think. But you can always count on the MC. I know Alan probably had his own idea about things, but he’s about to find out just how wrong he’s been.”
The two studied each other and the air between them seemed to crackle with life. Blade had waited all his life to meet a woman who could put him under her spell, but nowhere, in all of the country, did he find a person like that. Not until he saw Michelle. It was wrong. He knew it was wrong. She probably didn’t even feel the same way about him.
But the energy between them was impossible to deny. The thought that maybe, just maybe, she might reciprocate these intense feelings, was enough to inspire the man in him to act. He shoved away all thoughts of right and wrong, and surrendered to the moment. And the moment was fucking sweet.
Michelle gasped in surprise and pleasure as Blade’s mouth suddenly pressed against hers, and he felt her body surrendering beneath his touch. He gripped her close to him, the feeling of her breasts pressed firmly against his torso sending a wave of fire to his loins. She moaned when she felt the hard mound of his cock against her, and they broke away from the kiss, both of them breathing heavily.
“Fuck,” Blade said, cringing. Zeke was probably rolling over in his grave right about now. “I’m sorry.”
He stood up quickly from the couch and retreated from the room, leaving Michelle, gasping and hot, behind him.