Page 6 of Haunted By the Shadow of Death

“You needed a guide, and I needed a safe harbor. We get along fine together, so maybe we should leave things as they are? Why mess up the situation? Just be discreet in your actions.” Fine together. That was what we were. They suddenly felt like such ugly words. How many times had I been absolutely horrid, my world falling apart while I watched my mother slowly fade away, and said I was fine? The whole conversation made me want to empty my guts out on the forest floor.

I waited for him to reply, a small, hopeful seed buried in my chest hoping he’d put up a fight, say that no, he wanted more.

“However you want to proceed is fine,” he said.

There was that dirty little word again. It didn’t matter to him whether we were truly together or not.

“Then I guess we know where we stand.”

He shrugged, looking a little stiff. Did he want something more? Was that a sign of disappointment?

He shifted his head and cracked his neck. Yeah, all he probably wanted more of was a comfortable sleeping situation.

He barely waited for me as we walked back to the group.

Chapter Three

We rode down a long lane until we pulled up to Bri’s pack. The place was quaint, with small cottages scattered about what appeared to be plenty of farmland.

There didn’t seem to be a patrol so much as a few people hanging out near the main road that led in. They didn’t even stop us—Kicks merely waved as we passed.

He drove into the heart of the small community. I got off the bike as soon as we stopped, already feeling the awkwardness of the situation pressing down on me. It would be worse when he disappeared later on, or maybe not even that late. He might disappear as soon as he saw her. After all, I’d just told him we were nothing more than a business relationship, and he had a history with this woman.

I kept reminding myself there was nothing really between us. Whatever he did shouldn’t bother me. He’d told me on different occasions he wasn’t going to be celibate for the rest of his life, and I didn’t blame him. We’d both gotten into this with our eyes open, but I wasn’t going to be his sex partner of convenience.

No matter how much it bugged me if he made his situation with Bri obvious, I wouldn’t cling to him. He’d do whatever he wanted anyway.

I took a few steps away from the bike, giving him the space to handle this however he liked, putting whatever spin he wanted on it. There were already plenty of eyes on us, people who’d seen me get off his bike and were questioning who I was. That would be easy to downplay, explaining to her that this was a mating of convenience. Our body language would speak much louder than any words ever could. If I put space in between us, then I might be able to get out of here with my dignity intact—at least somewhat.

I slipped deeper into our group as hellos were being made, old friends coming out to greet friends they hadn’t seen in a while.

I’d never seen Bri, had never heard her name before today, but I knew her as soon as I saw her. She had black hair that went nearly to her waist and seemed to flow behind her, as if even the wind was bending to her will. She had a firm, tight body and didn’t look like she spent much time sitting. She wore old jeans that should’ve been dumpy but clung to every firm curve. Even the flannel she had on seemed to stretch tight in all the right places and then hang loose in such a way that she looked better than most models I’d seen in a lingerie spread.

Her eyes landed on Kicks and lit up. Her pace quickened as she moved toward him, a smile on her face.

With his back to me, I wasn’t able to see the matching smile and was glad for it.

“Bri, I’m sorry I didn’t give you any warning we were coming. We were on our way from Groza’s and the ride took longer than expected.” Kick’s voice carried easily in the area, even as I tried to ignore the lovers’ reunion.

It was like walking into Groza’s pack all over again, except this time I was ready for it. The only difference was that Kicks hadn’t had me ride in with Buddie, and this time I was more prepared for what was to come.

“Of course you know you’re welcome. I’d be upset if you didn’t stop by,” she said.

Her voice was as lovely as her face, and yet her words felt like a wasp nest attacking me. Had he stopped here on the way to Groza’s? He probably had. It sounded as if this was their regular routine.

“I wanted you to meet…”

He was still talking as I tried to weave my way behind Rastin, who was nice and tall and broad. He’d be easy enough to disappear behind and would find it amusing enough to not move. It was either going to be him or a bush. He rolled his eyes as I ducked past him.

I mouthed, Shut up.

Rastin looked as if he wanted to laugh but held back.

Either way, it didn’t work, as a hand wrapped around my wrist a couple seconds later. Kicks was tugging me out of the group. The instinct to resist came and fled as the idea of a worsening spectacle entered my mind.

He tugged me until I stood beside him staring at Bri, who looked as if she’d just stepped out of a salon. Meanwhile, I’d been on the back of a bike for the last ten hours. I tried to nonchalantly run a hand through my mass of knots, afraid to look down and see how dusty and dirty my clothes were.

“This is Piper. She’s my mate.” Kicks somehow managed to introduce me in a tone that sounded apologetic toward her, and yet not quite remorseful enough to make it seem as if he were sorry about me. He walked a razor’s edge and didn’t even catch a nick.

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