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“No, but once they brought it to me, I had to go. Couldn’t live with myself if I hadn’t gone.”
“And Rocket knows that and takes advantage of it.” Brick was all business now. “It stops now. They have a noble cause and I’m all for helpin’ out, but you can’t be the one to go, Eagle. Not anymore. Especially not if you’re serious about makin’ Nyla your old lady.”
“I am. And I know you’re right. It brings the nightmares crashing around me. She doesn’t need that.”
“How you doin’, by the way?”
I shrugged. “Nightmares are kinda rough, but I’m good. I stay far enough away from everyone not to get triggered until the whole thing fades a bit.”
“Well, when you get your head right, you need to tell her what the fuck’s goin’ on with you. She needs to know so she knows what to do if you go off.”
“I won’t be goin’ off around her. ‘Cause I ain’t gettin’ around her close enough to go off.”
Blazed snorted. “Let me know how that works out for ya. You can’t expect her to make any kind of commitment to you if you’re never around her.”
“She can’t be around strange men much either, so it’ll work out fine. We’ll figure it out.”
“This is a disaster waiting to happen.” Blaze sat back in one of the chairs outside and crossed his feet where he propped them on the table. He laced his fingers together behind his head. “You better be ready if she runs, ‘cause you only get one chance if she does.” We had a good view of the women and the entire playground area under construction.
“I ain’t claimed her yet. I put the word out she’s mine, but we ain’t made it official and Sting would never hurt a woman who didn’t know the score. Not over something like this.”
“He won’t let her get hurt no matter what until she’s in a better place. Serelda says she has trouble sleeping. When she does, she nearly always wakes up screaming less than an hour after she dozes off.”
“I know. Been sittin’ outside her door at night. One of the women always stays with her. They must rotate every night.”
“They do,” Brick said. “Serelda and Winter usually are the ones to stay. Said she thinks because they both wear the signs of their torture, that she can see the scars, especially those on their faces, that Nyla seems more comfortable with them. She feels like they know what she went through, though Nyla’s scars are on the inside.”
“Always amazes me how people don’t appreciate what they have. A good woman. Awesome kids.” Blaze rarely expressed himself seriously except in battle, but the mistreatment of those who were so vulnerable was something none of us tolerated. For any reason. “I’ll never understand how someone could hurt another person under their protection. Speaking of -- you heard from Wylde about that Milo character yet? He found anything on his whereabouts?”
“No,” Brick answered. “But judging by the empty pizza boxes and Coke Zero cans in his office, I’d say he was up to his eyeballs in research. And, whatever you do, for God’s sake do not open his office door. Not sure the man’s showered since he started the hunt.” That sounded like Wylde. When he was working like this, he was hyper-focused and the rest of the world could get fucked.
I made my way to Wylde’s office. The women were occupied and watched closely by a couple of prospects, as well as Blaze and Brick, so I felt comfortable leaving Nyla. Barely. Knocking on the door lightly, I waited.
“What?” The question was a sharp bark. Obviously, Wylde didn’t want to be disturbed.
“Just checkin’ in,” I said, not opening the door. Not only did I believe Brick about the state of our tech guy’s office, but even though Wylde was the easy going one of the club, he had a darker side. Especially when he was hunting difficult prey.
“I’ll fuckin’ tell you when I fuckin’ have somethin’. Go the fuck away.”
All right, then.
“Grumpy bastard,” I grumbled.
I was walking back down the hall to the back of the compound so I could keep Nyla in my sights when a deafening explosion rocked the building.
BOOM!
The clubhouse shook with the force, raining down plaster and dust. Wylde jerked open the door and tossed me a gun. He needn’t have bothered. I was always armed, but when he was hunting this deep, Wylde was always armed and made sure everyone around him was armed as well. Wylde tracking prey we couldn’t find always meant danger was close.
BOOM!
We stumbled as we ran through the clubhouse. “Nyla!” I yelled for her as I shoved open the door to the outside, needing to get to her. I could hear the women scream and the men shouting orders both to the women and each other.
