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I hated Jake with a burning passion. There was no question in my mind that he’d drugged me multiple times over the course of the past week.
The man was a monster. He was a narcissistic psychopath who had wanted me to discover he’d violated me after I passed out in the worst possible way.
Aside from feeling like I had a hangover, the grape-sized diamond was the first thing I’d noticed. I’d thought I was having a horrible dream. Then Jake entered our room with a mug of coffee in hand and told me we’d be married in two weeks. It was non-negotiable if I wanted Cade to live to be old and gray.
But it was the teeth marks on my body that had shattered my soul. They were everywhere. It was as if Jake had wanted to show he owned me and could do whatever he wanted to me. Thank God, I’d been passed out and didn’t remember what all he’d done to me. Of course, the soreness I felt alluded to the depravity I’d unconsciously experienced.
I hated Jake Phillips.
With each passing day since being in Burntwood, a piece of the mask he’d been wearing fell off, revealing a person I didn’t know. How could I have been so blind to who he really was? Howwould I get away from him without risking the lives of the people I loved?
I wouldn’t dare risk my parents’ and siblings’ lives. Or Cade’s.
But I also couldn’t stay with Jake forever like he wanted.
I’d rather die than let him touch me.
18
Cade
A dust storm swept across the dirt frontage road, clashing with the blue morning sky as an army of bikers neared my ranch. The leader was Storm, a fitting name for such a tornado of a man. The fierce man and his crew arrived like kings of the open road. They were impressive as hell and drew attention from the locals. I just received several calls from concerned folks.
Naturally, I put their minds at ease. The Knights were in town to help, not destroy. I was fucking happy to see them in Burntwood. After everything that had gone down with Rocky and the Hells Bells MC, I’d made a lot of friends in the club. I trusted the Knights.
“They rode their motorcycles?” Boone asked.
“Yep.” I crossed my arms over my chest. I wasn’t surprised they were on their steel horses instead of in cages. Old Man Winter hadn’t arrived, and every biker would prefer to be on a hog than in a cage.
“Christ, did he bring his entire club?” Graves asked on my left. “I only have eight men, but plan to change that once the clubhouse is ready.”
“Nope, a lot more.” From my vantage point, I counted seven hogs and a SUV, with who knew how many.
“How many members does he have?” Travis shifted to the side for a better view. He had come out to the ranch tomeet Storm and the others. He’d liked Rocky and Ella at the anniversary party, and thought it’d be cool to meet the notorious Storm.
“Last I heard, a fifty plus spread out throughout Minnesota.” It felt weird to talk about KLMC to Travis. I’d kept my former biker life separate from Burntwood. Mixing the two didn’t seem smart, but now I had no choice but to bring them together to protect what I held dear.
“That’s freaking awesome.” Travis grinned widely and watched the crew turn onto my property.
I turned toward Graves. “I thought David gave you a limit of how many you can patch into your club.”
“The controlling ass did.”
“Well, it’s his state.” I shrugged, glad to hear David would not let Graves move in and do as he damn well pleased. “There are literally hundreds of Knights in the Upper Midwest, and the numbers are growing. I wouldn’t risk anything for your boys.”
He grunted and diverted his attention to Storm, who stopped just short of where we were standing.
I stalked over. “Thanks for coming.”
“It was nice to get on the open road.” He got off his bike and checked out his crew. “Angel says, hi.”
“I wondered if she’d let you leave.”
Storm snorted and shook his head. “It’s the other way around. I never want to leave her. But I do so we can miss each other then fuck for days.”
“Dude, you’re the goat.” Travis laughed.
“Why the fuck are you calling me a goat?” Storm shot him a murderous glare.
