CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Brick
Her words hit me in the gut with the weight and force of a ton of bricks. Haven’t heard those three words since I was a young kid. She’s confused. Besides her husband, I’m the only man she’s ever had sex with—I understand how an inexperienced woman could misconstrue lust for love. Regardless of the truth, I need to let her down gently because I don’t want anyone to love me, especially Starlet. “You can’t love me, sweetheart. I’m an asshole and don’t deserve it.”
Her face twists. “I’ll probably never see you again, Brick. I don’t expect you to feel the same way. My words were more for my benefit than yours.” She wanders back to the main room, and I follow.
I scratch my head, wondering what it would be like to have her in my life permanently. As an old lady. I sit on the edge of the couch, then immediately shoot up. “Shit. Creeps me out that my naked ass made contact with Shorty’s furniture.” I locate my boxers and put them on before returning to the sofa.
Starlet laughs, a sound I’d never get tired of hearing—if she was mine.
“We have great sex,” I offer.
“And?”
“I like you.”
She shakes her head.
“A lot.”
“Nice to know.”
“More than most people—more than any woman I’ve ever known. You’re cool as shit, Starlet. Beautiful. Smart…”
She kneels in front of me, folding her hands over mine. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Trying to save me.” She squeezes my fingers. “Means something to me.”
She’s so fucking wrong. I didn’t try to save her—just the opposite, I reported her to my prez. Then all these scenarios start playing out in my head. Break the rules, I think. Pay for a plane ticket anywhere she wants to go. Get her out of the country. Give her freedom. Sacrifice the patch. “Christ,” I say out loud, catching a concerned look from Starlet.
“There it is again,” she points out. “That faraway look. Where’d you go just then?”
I pull my hands free. “Get out of my head, woman.” I stand and walk to the front door.
I open it and step into the fading sunlight. Can’t believe I thought about sacrificing my patch. That’s crazy. Scrubbing my face, I can feel her behind me. I turn around. She’s standing in the doorway watching me. The streaks of gold in her red hair sparkle in the light. Maybe there’s magic inside her, dark magic that gives her the ability to invade my mind.
“You should take me home,” she suggests.
Impossible. She’s supposed to stay with me until her old man picks her up. “Can’t do that.”
“Why?”
“My job to keep an eye on you until the Crusaders show up.”
“Fuck,” she screams. “I can’t believe Eagle would do that.”
“Nothing personal, sweetheart,” I toss at her, hoping for more distance between us. If she hates me she won’t miss me or love me.
“You’re an asshole, Brick.” She whirls around, steps inside the cabin, and slams the door.
* * *
Starlet
My emotions take over and I collapse on the floor. I weep like a baby. I really thought I had a chance in Shreveport. Giving it up isn’t going to be easy. As for Brick…I do love him. Not hard to do when all you’ve known is pain. I swipe the tears from my eyes and look around the cabin. I’d hoped we’d make love all night, cook breakfast together, and say goodbye in a special way. No chance now, he’s purposely pushing me away and I don’t have the strength to fight back. To convince him that we’re good together. It’s a stupid fantasy anyway.
If I have to go back to Alabama, I’m going to do it on my own terms, not on Brick’s or the Iron Norsemen’s. The twisted part of me wants to rub the fact that I escaped the Devil’s Crusaders in Silver’s face. My little piece of revenge. I stagger to my feet and search for my backpack. It’s on the floor near the kitchen.
I open it and dig out my cell phone. Without thinking, I dial Checkers and he answers on the first ring.
“Starlet?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Where are you?”
“Let me talk to Silver.” I can hear hooting and laughter in the background, like there’s a party going on.
“He’s busy.”
“Checkers,” I say, running short on patience. “Tell him to take his dick out of the passaround’s mouth and accept my phone call.”
The background noise gets muffled and I know Checkers covered the phone with his hand.
A few seconds later, Silver gets on. “Starlet?”
“Why do you want to marry me, Silver?”
He sighs. “Jesus Christ. I don’t have time for your emotional bullshit. Does it matter?”
“Yes,” I say. “I refuse to live the way Sammy and I did. If there’s the smallest chance of happiness…”
“Think you killed that chance when you ran away.”
“Then there’s no reason for me to come back.”
“Listen,” he says quietly. “Every day that goes by and you’re not home, you’ll pay for it with blood and pain. You shit on Sammy, your father, and this club when you walked away. I’m not going to make any promises, Starlet. Please me, and there might be a chance for us to make peace. You’re gorgeous, that makes it easier to accept, but I know you’ve got an attitude. Been around you a lot of years, girl. That fake smile and submissive nature you wanted everyone to believe in never fooled me. This is like a business transaction—honoring your father’s name and legacy by giving him the grandchildren he always wanted. Sammy couldn’t get the job done, I will.”
Not even sure how to take his words. “Jesus.”
“He’s not here. Just me, and I’m wearing the president patch now. You belong to me, better not forget it again. Where are you?”
I wrestle with the notion of telling him. Once I do, there’s no escape, not that I have a way out now. Better from my lips than a stranger’s. “Shreveport.”
“How’d you get down there?” He sounds so pissed. “Did one of the old ladies help you? One of the brothers? Tell me.”
I don’t answer.
“Where in Shreveport?”
“The Iron Norsemen’s compound.”
There’s a long pause. “What the hell, Starlet? If I find out one of those motherfuckers touched you…”
Oh, he touched me. Fucked me. Held me. Protected me. Gave me hope. If I told Silver the truth, it would solve all of my problems—he’d kill me. For a brief moment, the idea of death appeals to me. Not too sure I can brave a lifetime married to Silver. Or a day without Brick. “No one touched me, Silver. I just needed a place to go where I felt safe.”
“Stay put, Starlet. I’ll be there by tomorrow afternoon.”