Valiant
“Okay,” I say, because it’s the only thing I can say. Maddox is right, and he knows it.
“Go and wake the girl, get your things together. We’ll make sure you’re safe, Baylee. I promise you that.”
I nod, and with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, I turn and move down the hall, knees shaking with every step. I reach Rae’s door, pushing it open. She’s already out of bed and glancing around groggily, no doubt having heard the noise of the bikers stomping around the apartment. “What’s going on, Baylee?” she asks, rubbing her eyes.
“York was here.”
Her eyes widen, and for a moment, I think she might actually cry, but she gets it together. “Here, as in this house?”
I nod. “While you were asleep, Rae. He left a note. He’s found us. We need to go with Maddox to the clubhouse where we’ll be safe.”
She’s already shaking her head. “No. I’m not going to some dirty clubhouse with a bunch of bikers.”
“Rae,” I say, rubbing my temples. “Now is not the damned time to argue.”
“I don’t have to go,” she says, crossing her arms. “I won’t.”
“Yeah, you fuckin’ will.”
I spin around to see Krypt at the door, his big body filling the frame. Rae’s eyes get wide. Krypt isn’t as big as Maddox, but he’s got an edge about him that tells you not to mess with him. He’s scary. He crosses his arms, eyeing Rae. I wonder if she’ll argue with him, but he doesn’t really give her the chance. He keeps talking.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way bein’ you walk your ass out of here, drop the fuckin’ attitude, and be grateful someone is willing to look after you. Then there’s the hard way, where I will drag you out, kicking and fucking screaming, and believe me, I’ve dealt with men four times the size of you. What’s it going to be?”
Rae packs her bags without further argument.
I’m glad, because I don’t think I have it in me to deal with her right now.
No, the road ahead feels like it’s going to be a long one, and my focus needs to be on that.
On getting us safe, so we don’t fall in his hands again.
I will not go back into the dragons’ lair.
No.
This time I’ll fight if I have to. But I will not go back.
CHAPTER 26
NOW – BAYLEE
“What?” Jack asks, his eyes swinging to me, his voice hurt. “You’re name isn’t even Baylee. What the hell is it? Who are you?”
“My birth name is Madison, I had to change it for protection. So, my name is Baylee now. It always will be.”
I want to shrink into myself; I’m horrified that he’s finding out like this. I should have told him, I know that now, but at the time I honestly thought I was doing the right thing. But seeing him standing here in front of me, looking so betrayed, makes my heart ache. I didn’t want this. I trust Jack more than any person in the world.
“I’m sorry, Jack,” I say again, softly, standing beside Maddox.
“That’s not even the worst of it. You’ve been in danger and you didn’t tell me?”
I can’t look him in the eye.
“Look at me, Baylee, or Maddie, or whatever the hell your name is,” he growls.
He’s angry.
I’ve never heard him angry.
“Jack, she did the right thing coming to us,” Maddox says. “You would have gone off, and you know it.”
“I would have, yeah, but I would have calmed down because she,” he jabs a finger in my direction, “means more to me than fuckin’ losing my mind.”
Oh. God.
I made a huge mistake.
“She was afraid.”
“She should have come to me.”
Jack doesn’t look at me when he spits those words. Instead, he turns and disappears out of the room. “Jack!” I call after him, but Maddox takes hold of my arm carefully.
“Let him go, he’ll cool down. If you chase him now, it’ll only end up in an argument. Trust me. Go and unpack your things, make sure Rae is doin’ okay, and then go and find him.”
I keep staring at the empty door Jack just disappeared out of. “He’s so hurt. I should have told him.”
“That depends on who you ask,” Maddox grumbles. “He’s overreacting because his pride is hurt. I get that, I’ve felt that, but he will calm down.”
I hope so.
I’ll be so devastated if I’ve hurt him badly.
“I’ll go and check on Rae,” I say, my voice shaky.
“We’re going to get to the bottom of this. Swear it. Try and breathe easy. You’re safe here.”
I nod, my mouth in a tight line, and then I turn and move down the hall towards the small room at the end where Rae and I have been set up to sleep until this has been sorted out. Maddox assures me the clubhouse is fully guarded and there are always people here, so we’re safe. I believe him. I don’t imagine York could get through that many bikers.
“Hey,” I say, stepping into the room where Rae is sitting on the bed, arms crossed.
“I don’t want to be here, Baylee. Seriously.”
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.
I breathe in sharply through my nose, exhaling through my mouth to calm myself. My nerves are on their last straw. I’m not coping, at all. I’m over Rae. I’m over her attitude. I’m over her brother. I have hurt the person who cares about me the most, and I’m scared out of my brain.
“I don’t care what you want, Rae,” I mutter. “You’ll stay here because it’s safe here.”
“I don’t have to do anything. You’ve been trying to keep me locked down for weeks. I’m not your child. I can go out if I want.”
Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven.
“Yeah, well, right now you’re in danger, and I’ve been helping you for months, keeping you and your baby safe and fed. The least you can do is show me enough respect to do as I’m asking right now.”
“When did you get so high and mighty? I don’t like being told what to do, especially by someone like you. If it wasn’t for you, we would have never been in this situation.”
I can’t.
I just can’t.