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The look of shock on her face was instantaneous. She shoved at my chest, so she could get away from me. She moved so fast, she fell off the couch onto the floor.
“You're crazy! I’m not spying on anyone. Get out.”
I smiled. I had my answer. She wasn’t a threat to my club. At least not in the way Terror feared.
Cassia: Chapter 5
I must be living in an alternate universe where nothing made sense. That was the only excuse I could think of for what just came out of Blade’s mouth. He was smiling at me like he was happy. All I wanted to do was run and lock myself in my bedroom. I scrambled to my feet. I wasn’t quick enough. He was there to crowd me.
“Baby, calm down. I believe you. I had to be sure. I know it doesn’t make sense, but a friend’s club was recently targeted by people trying to infiltrate it and take it over. Since then, we can’t be too careful.”
“Stop telling me what to do! I have the right to be upset and to think whatever I want. You had no right to take me from the bus station and to use a police officer to do it. You’re acting just like all men do. You tell women what to do and they’re expected to do it and keep their mouths shut. What if I insist you let me go and I get on that bus anyway? What’re you going to do? Lock me in a dark cellar until I behave? Beat me? Starve me? Or maybe you think you’ll use your strength against me and force yourself on me?” I yelled. I’d had enough of being afraid and being pushed around. I swore that would never happen to me again.
Blade was the one to back away this time. He had an expression of horror on his face. His hands were up, almost making him look like he was pleading. When he answered me, his voice cracked.
“Ca-Cassia, God, baby, what in the hell happened to you? Did someone do those things to you? Jesus Christ, I never want you to think I’m trying to take over your life. Of course you can say anything you want. You have your freedom. The only reason I stopped you from leaving is I needed you to listen to me one more time. I needed to try and convince you that we’re destined for each other. Fuck! I need to know who did this and when, but I can’t take this right now. Son of a bitch, let me think,” he muttered.
He paced around my living room. I cautiously went to take a seat on the couch. He didn’t stop me. I watched as he muttered and tugged at his hair. As he did, I got lost in admiring him. Like every time I saw him, I was sucked into noticing what a sexy, handsome man he was. He was older than me, maybe thirty or so. He was taller, standing over six feet tall. His head was covered in thick light brown hair. His neatly trimmed beard and mustache had hints of red in it, and his eyes were an intense blue-green color. I could tell his jaw was strong. His tattoos were evident on his arms, where his shirt was rolled up. I wondered where else he had them and what they looked like.
I was jarred from my inappropriate musing by him yanking his cell phone out of his leather vest and pushing a few buttons. He put it to his ear and waited. Someone must have answered because he began to talk.
“Storm, I know it’s Saturday, but I need help. I’m at Cassia’s and it’s bad. Shit, I think she should talk to someone. She’s not comfortable with me. Is Bryony available, or is she busy with Tristan?”
He listened for maybe a minute then responded, “I think so, yeah. Hell, if I could get Brielle, Wren, and a few others for her, I would, but for now, at least one. I don’t know the details but it’s bad, I think. Really fucking bad.” He paused again to listen then rattled off my address. Before I could say anything, he told Storm goodbye and hung up.
“Who is Storm and why are you asking for Bryony? Who is she? Why do you want me to talk to her?”
He came over and sat down but made sure he kept distance between us. He reached out and took my hands in his. I forced myself not to tug them away. The look of concern on his face surprised me.
“Boo, I asked my club brother, Storm, to send over his old lady, Bryony. She had a really bad experience and I think if you had a woman to talk to, maybe it would help. Keeping whatever happened bottled up will kill you, Cassia. Take it from me. My club and I have seen a lot of ugly stuff. Several of the old ladies have lived through shit that would break other people. They’re some of the strongest people I know. Bryony is one of them. I’m here if you want to talk, but I know a woman might be better. I never meant to push so hard and make you think I’m anything like the man who did those awful things to you.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything. We sat there in an uneasy silence. Eventually, I couldn’t stand it and I got up to go to the kitchen. When I was stressed, I baked. I pulled out the ingredients to make a cake. He followed me and sat at the table as I worked. It should have made it worse, but it didn’t. I was so involved in making the cake and getting it into the oven to bake that the knock at the door startled me. He got up to answer it.
In walked another man who looked dangerous like Blade. With him was a beautiful woman. He had his arm protectively around her. In the other arm, he carried a little boy. I’d estimate him to be around two years old. Both of them looked at me. I could tell they were trying to evaluate me. The boy was looking around in curiosity.
“Hey, man, sorry, we got here as fast as we could. Introduce us to your lady,” the man, who I assumed was Storm, said.
Blade came over to me and put his arm around me, as they came closer. “Storm, Bryony, this is Cassia. Cassia, this is my club brother, Storm, and his old lady, Bryony, who I told you about. And this little guy is their son, Tristan.”
I didn’t know what else to say other than to greet them and act as a hostess. Lessons that had been drilled into me since I was little. “Hello, nice to meet you. May I get you something to drink? I have tea and soda or water.”
“We’re good. Please don’t bother. What are you baking? It smells wonderful,” Bryony said as she walked over to me. Her smile made me relax.
“Oh, it’s a chocolate cake that I’ll be making into a German chocolate once it cools.”
“Storm said you work as a baker at the bakery in town. I like to cook, but baking isn’t my forte. Not like it is Alannah’s. Wait until you meet her. She’s awesome at baking.”
“Meet her? I doubt that will ever happen.”
She exchanged a look with Storm that I couldn’t interpret. Blade cleared his throat, getting our attention.
“Babe, I asked Bryony to come because I thought it might be easier on you if you talked to another woman. The things you said tells me that there are some big issues in your past. Ones that I want to help you with. Why don’t you and Bryony get to know each other? Let her tell you about herself. Storm, Tristan, and I will be outside. I saw there’s a small play area for kids. We’ll take him to have fun. Bry, just text us when you’re ready for us to come back.”
I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t sure I’d be comfortable opening up to a complete stranger about my life, even if it was a woman. I had worked so hard to leave as much of that life behind. I hated to give it substance, however, it didn’t look like Blade was going to go anywhere. Maybe if I did tell Bryony, she could convince him of the futility of him thinking there was a chance for us. As much as he made my body tingle, and even though he gave me my first orgasm by accident, I didn’t think I’d be able to trust a man with more of me.
Storm came over and gave Bryony a kiss. It was more than a peck on the lips. I looked away, only to have Blade sneak in and kiss me. It wasn’t anything like the one we had in the alley but it still made me tingle. All too soon he pulled away and they bid us goodbye. As the door shut, I sat there awkwardly, wondering what to say or do.
“Okay, they’re gone. Thank goodness. Guys can make things so much more difficult. Tell me, how did you meet Blade? I've never seen him so intense with a woman. I can tell he really likes you.”
