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Nylah was leaving the gas station and I didn’t say a word, just merged back onto Main St. and followed her as I heard Patriot and Wraith speed up to catch me. We kept a safe distance and I was pretty sure she never noticed our obvious tail. I’d have to speak to her about being more careful. Next time it may not be the Royal Bastards she had hot on her ass.
Once she parked in her driveway, Nylah carried a couple of boxes inside her house as well as a few bags. Frowning, I wondered why she had all that shit in her car. Was she moving or moving someone else in? Her sister? I didn’t like that I didn’t know fuck all about what was happening.
“We headin’ in?” Patriot had dropped the kickstand on his bike and was staring me down with a calculating expression that proved he saw right through my bullshit.
“Yeah, we’re goin’ back to the Crossroads.”
When I didn’t move, still watching Nylah’s movements through the open front window, Wraith suddenly laughed. The noise caught me off guard. I shot him a glare as he shrugged.
“Didn’t figure you for a nurse but fuck it, brother. Go balls deep in that pussy.”
Counting to ten in my head, I made it to five before I popped off. “Fuck off, Wraith.”
“Damn, you do like her.” Patriot was grinning so wide I wanted to punch him in the throat.
Wraith clasped my shoulder and squeezed once. “I’m just giving you shit. We’ll leave you to it.”
Before I could respond, my brothers were already riding down the street and heading to the outskirts of Tonopah back to the Crossroads. My gaze returned to Nylah as she flopped down on her couch and her glassy eyed stare focused somewhere in the distance. She seemed sad and upset and for some strange reason, I wanted to comfort her. Was her sister worse? I was tempted to pull into her driveway and knock on the door, but I didn’t.
These feelings were foreign and strange, and I didn’t like them. Women weren’t more than a warm pussy to shove my dick when I needed it. It wasn’t that I was callous and mean. I just didn’t do attachment of any kind. Not after Willow’s death. The cold, empty darkness of my heart had yet to stir since with any emotion other than rage or vengeance.
I left minutes later but I wasn’t ready to return home. My head and my heart were stirring with emotions I didn’t want to acknowledge tonight. When my Reaper was this restless and I was left with that twitching under my skin and the achiness deep in my bones, only one thing worked.
At night, when the sky was pitch black and not a soul stirred outdoors . . . that was when the Bastards of Tonopah, NV liked to ride with a little Hellfire spinning on their wheels. It was the one option that appealed to my Reaper. He was scratching at the surface of my skin, nudging my body for some kind of release. If it wasn’t inside a woman, it would be on the back of my Harley.
The sky had darkened to pitch and the only things visible were the stars as I drove way out into the desert. By the time I reached my destination, I was one with my Reaper. He rushed forward as my bike caught fire and the three of us merged together as one. I let my thoughts drift away as I unleashed the uncertainty, confusion, and bitterness anchored deep in my blackened soul. Only the intense and brutal cry of rage remained as it launched from my throat. I could drop anything but that persistent and ruthless fucker.
Wrath only had one Master. It lured the beast of the bastard desperate enough to answer his call.
For me, it was revenge. Vengeance was my only goal. One way or another, I'd get it. Any motherfucker who stood in my way would end up consumed and sacrificed to the Reaper.
My Reaper.
And that bastard was one scary son of a bitch.
My monster was real. He not only knew how to kill. He reveled in it. Lethal and cunning, there was a reason I was the SAA of the Royal Bastards Motorcycle Club. The need to spill the blood of my enemies had been the deciding factor in accepting my contract with the Reaper. We were one thought, one motivation. One simple truth.
Death.
As long as my enemies suffered, I didn’t give a fuck what happened to me.
Redemption was never a possibility anyway.
Chapter 8 – Trixie
I came back into awareness quickly, gasping as my eyes flew open only to be greeted by a level of pain that was so excruciating that I immediately cursed and then groaned, clenching my hands into tight little fists. Slightly groggy, it took a few seconds for the horrific memories to resurface. The gang rape and brutal beating I’d taken. The smell of gasoline and the fear that had taken over my entire body. The smell of my own flesh burning and the subsequent agony that short circuited my brain to the point of passing out.
My last thoughts had been overtaken by the knowledge that Alexi had sent those college guys to completely ruin me. They’d almost succeeded. I could still feel the heavy drips of lighter fluid as they landed on my skin and the spark of that match, the knowledge that I would be forever altered. Staring down at my right side, I could see my arm wrapped up from shoulder to my fingertips.
How bad was it?
My body was covered in multiple blankets, but I wasn’t hot. In fact, I still felt slightly chilled. I’d heard once that the body could go through hypothermia when severely burned because of the loss of body heat. Maybe that was why I needed all the extra warmth.
Funny enough, the pain wasn’t as bad as I expected. Most of my arm was numb. That wasn’t good. Were the nerves destroyed?
The door to my room opened as my sister Nylah entered and closed it behind her with a soft click. She didn’t notice I was awake and I nearly panicked, wondering if I should close my eyes and pretend to be asleep. She wouldn’t understand. Nylah never did. She couldn’t grasp my choices or the depth of my addiction. I didn’t know how to bridge that gap.
I’d felt judged and condemned for years. No one knew what I went through. They didn’t comprehend that loss of control. Addiction wasn’t pretty. Even now, I was going through the early stages of withdrawal. I needed a cigarette and a shot of strong liquor until I could get my hands on what I needed. Hands shaky, I burrowed them deep under the covers as Nylah turned and a small sound of surprise escaped her throat.
