Tommy
Iwas getting good at sneaking around after a month of hiding Briella in my apartment. I spent every minute I had spare with her, and so far Acco hadn't come for her. It was beginning to feel normal.
I would go about club business, work and then go to her without anyone being the wiser. As far as I knew.
It was like we were a real couple. A human couple.
I had expected it to be hard, but nothing about being with Briella was hard. It was as natural as breathing, and I knew she felt the same way. Briella was happy when I was around. Her face lit up whenever I let myself in. I did that. Being with me did that, and it made me the happiest man on the planet. Maybe even the universe.
Still. I hated hiding our relationship from people.
Smiling to myself, I heaved myself up from behind my desk. It was almost six. Briella would be waiting for me, and if I was honest I was aching to see her. Club business had kept me away for the last few days, and I missed her.
Raze watched me go, his eyes hooded as he tracked my movements. “Going somewhere nice?”
His question was innocent, but the tone of his voice wasn't. I threw a glance down in his direction, schooling my face into casual indifference.
“Just going to hit the road for a few hours, let off some steam.” I shrugged my shoulders, but an uneasiness had settled over me. Could Raze know?
“Say hi to Briella for me.”
I froze. “I...” Shit. The words wouldn't come. I stood there, staring at him like a moron. My mouth opened and closed like a fish. He knew. How he knew I didn't know but he did. And if the look on his face was anything to go by, he had known for a while. Were the whole club aware that I hadn't followed orders? Or was it just Raze?
“Don't look so shocked, brother. It was obvious from day one that you weren't going to give her up. And when we found out she had moved out of her father’s house and disappeared, it didn't take long to work out where you had hidden her.”
Slowly, I sank back into my chair. I should have felt alarmed that he knew, because I knew he must have told Leviathan, but somehow all I felt was relief.
“You knew?” I repeated.
Raze grinned again. “Yes, Tommy, I knew. I've had some of the men watch out for her when you weren't around.” He searched my face and then added when I didn’t reply. “I thought that's what you would have wanted?”
Mutely, I nodded. “Yeah, yeah, thanks.” Shaking myself, I forced myself to relax. “You're taking this really well, Raze, I expected more…” searching for the word I held up my hands, “...theatrics.”
Raze's massive shoulders moved up and down as he shrugged. “I like Briella. I know what you're thinking - I haven’t exactly acted like it, but I was acting like an ass on purpose. She would have been safer without you being in her life. But if you have decided she is yours, then the club will back you up.”
I listened to him silently, his words barely registering. “The whole club knows?”
He shook his head. “Some, not all. And the ones that have been roped into helping have been sworn to secrecy. You are going to have to tell Leviathan. It will be better coming from you than him hearing it from someone else, and he will find out.” Raze held up a hand, silencing me when I opened my mouth. “He always finds out, and you are going to have to claim her. Listen-” he shook his head when I went to speak, “if you're not serious about this girl then it's time to walk away. But if you are, then claim her, and do it soon. If I can find out where you have hidden her, then Acco will be able to as well. It's only a matter of time.”
Nodding, I chewed on my lip in much the same way as Briella did. “I am serious about her, but…”
Raze's eyebrows shot into his hair. “Does she not know? Does she think you're human?”
“No, well…no, she knows I'm not human, but we haven't really spoken about it.” We had been intimate hundreds of times, there was no way she didn’t know I wasn't human. “She hasn't asked me what I am. She seems happy to go along with not knowing.”
“No, she isn't...”
Raze's words caused me to pause. “What do you mean?”
“It's what I wanted to talk to you about. She's asking questions. Lots of questions that could get her into serious amounts of trouble. And her internet searches…” He shook his head.
“You’re tracking her internet searches? What the fuck, Raze?”
“I'm not going to apologise for that, Tommy. But you do need to have a little talk to her. What she is digging into is dangerous. Not just for her, but for the Legion. Leviathan won't be happy.”
I opened my mouth to tell him that Levi was never happy but shut it again with a snap. He had a point. I had gotten Briella a phone and a laptop so she could hunt for jobs and entertain herself. I hadn't got her those things so she could get herself into even more trouble.
“I'll talk to her.”
