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The urgency and hostility in his voice surprised me. Was he that concerned about my safety?
“I will,” I promised as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.
The rest of the day Peter’s eyes followed me. In class. At lunch when he ditched his own classes to sit with our group. Across the hall. Everywhere. I couldn’t tell if he was watching me because he was attracted to me or because he knew I was upset about Step-Vader.
Hayley grinned more than once, wiggling her eyebrows as I stuck my tongue out at her.
“Don’t say a word,” I whispered when Peter was distracted.
“I won’t, for now,” she promised, but her eyes hinted that we would be discussing this at l
ength tonight.
I didn’t doubt it.
Chapter 6
I fought to rein in my anger as my grip tightened on the steering wheel. The entire way to school I was seething, pissed at Step-Vader and his bullshit. Charles was a problem. For weeks the guys had been watching him for me, waiting for Charles to make a move. The tension and stress left me ready to snap. Both Jake and R.J. had taken shifts to share the burden, but I preferred to stay as close to Rae as possible.
Beckett and Shane popped in once or twice to help too. They weren’t prospects or patches to the Ravage Riders MC, but they were close to me and some of my best friends. Jake and R.J. were my brothers and fellow MC prospects. They did all the dirty work I didn’t have time to do. Luckily the RRMC had enough prospects and wasn’t too concerned about me or my guys until we graduated.
We were cut a little slack, and that had entirely everything to do with my father. Rae’s father too.
Being owned by Rafe and the club wasn’t what I wanted for my future, but I would bide my time for now. No sense in starting a bunch of shit until I was ready to handle it. There was little choice in becoming pledged to the RRMC. My blood demanded my allegiance.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t find a way out of it.
For now the biggest threat was Step-Vader, and I was so caught up in protecting Rae that my focus was entirely on her. Nothing was going to screw up my chance to be with her or prevent me from keeping her safe. I promised Rae’s dad, and I hadn’t broken that promise yet.
I was extra attentive at school, watching out for Rae as I always did. No, I didn’t stalk her but I sure as hell protected her from the harsh reality of life and things better left unspoken. My enemies were never far. Not only mine but her father’s too. If I had my way, she’d never know just how close to danger she lived on a daily basis. It was my duty, a deathbed promise to Ron, and I took that shit seriously.
In Providence, there weren’t many options, but you had better make it clear which side you chose. Or it may be chosen for you.
My word was my oath. Men lived by their word . . . and died by it, and their allegiance.
Ron, Rae’s father, certainly had. Mack nearly did too and all for me and Rae. The past was a fucked-up place of revenge, regret, and unresolved issues. None of that shit was getting anywhere close to Rae. Buried in secrets, lies, and the bitterness of loss I held on to the one thing that mattered.
My promise to keep Rae safe, even at the expense of my own life.
My highest priority was her safety.
I wondered off and on all morning if she was still upset about Charles and his cruel behavior. She appeared happy enough, laughing with Hayley and our friends but I still wasn’t sure she was alright. Her normally happy glow was a little dimmed today.
I didn’t like it.
I made it my personal mission to cheer her up, even if I had to resort to leaving the school and taking her somewhere else for the day. I could always sense her moods, even from a distance. She wore her heart and her emotions right on her pretty face, but it was something more. We shared a connection since we were young, one that seemed a bit different than other kids our age. Maybe we were destined to love each other. Or perhaps fate had brought us together for a reason, but the closeness I felt to her was more than simple friendship or a new relationship.
Rae and I have been able to sense each other as long as I can remember. We used to play a little game where she would reach out to me with nothing more than her thoughts and feelings and see if I could perceive her pull reaching toward me.
I could.
Every single time.
And when we reversed the process . . . she could always feel the same sensations from me.
Because of that Rae and I grew close when we were young and spent a lot of time together. Our dads noticed the deep connection and encouraged it, but I was never sure if they understood how strange and out of the ordinary these moments with Rae and I always seemed to be.
This was the reason I knew how she was feeling, even when she could fool everyone else.
