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“Get defensive?”
“You turn inward, right?”
I nod. She’s talking to the fucking girl who put the definition of isolated in the goddamn dictionary.
“Well, we don’t. We band together.” She shifts a little to face me more. “Think of us as a unit. When you threaten one of us, then you issue that threat to the whole club. If a member is in danger, we stand side-by-side with that person until the threat passes or is resolved.”
“But I’m not one of yours,” I stress. “Besides, how does that explain being in a fake relationship with your uncle?”
“First, you’re mine, so you are ours.” Her mouth hardens into a line. “Second, the relationship ruse with Digger is us standing by your side, Rae. It’s the Reapers doing things the unconventional but effective way.”
“And he doesn’t mind.” I worry my bottom lip between my teeth.
“I don’t think so.” She slings an arm around my shoulders and tugs me against her side. “You’ll have to ask him that.”
“I did,” I groan.
“What did he say?”
“Nothing.” I cover my face with my hands and moan.
She gives me two jiggling tugs. “Snap outta it. If he was mad about it, you’d know.”
“Would I, though?”
Maddie chuckles, releasing me to rise to her feet. “You do remember what he did to Connor, right?” She sighs. “Fuck, I wish I’d been there to see that. Did it look awesome?”
“I guess.” A grin curls my lips. “I was kinda panicking too much to pay proper attention.”
“Fair enough.” Mads sets her hands on her hips and regards me with nothing short of pity. “It’ll be okay, Rae. Trust me.”
“I want to.”
“You want me to stay in here with you tonight?”
My throat thickens at her offer. “I’m okay. Thanks, though.” Normally I’d jump at the chance for companionship when the shit’s this deep, but tonight…
Tonight, I won’t feel right mentally unpacking the way her father and uncle made me feel while she lay next to me.It’s wrong, Rae.Or is it? Maybe this is how these bikers treat women. Maybe it’s me who reads the situation all wrong?
I give Maddie a tight hug and then shut the door behind her, plastering my back against it the second the latch clicks.Fuck. I’m so confused. So torn. Overwhelmed and in need of release. I’ve never been a big drinker, too shy to dance with an audience, and too broke to invest in something liberating like a horse to ride to blow off the steam.
All I have is my fucking libido for release, and that bitch is in overdrive.Goddamn ovulation cycle.Two or three days max and I’ll feel myself again. I’ll be flat and complacent. Just the way my family always expected me to be.
The way they made me.
My phone lights up where I left it on the foot of the bed, the screen dimming to black again. With a shake of my head toclear the swirling thoughts, I step across to retrieve it, finding a message waiting from an unknown number.
You won’t be safe there.
My heart jerks painfully against my ribcage and then sets into a sprint. The only logical explanation would be Connor. Or Terry. Shit. Who else knows this is where I am other than maybe the ladies at the diner? Although texting me doesn’t seem like a man of Terry’s standing style.
Who is this?
The cadence of my heartbeat drumming within my ears sets the pace as I tap my foot, waiting for a reply.
I could have kept you safe, baby.
Fucking, Connor.My knees give out, and I crumple to the floor, the phone still clasped in my hand. Every so often, I glance down at the screen, at the words that become nonsense the longer I stare at them. What is safe anyway? Is there such a thing?
