Page 46 of Where We Ended

He stopped mid wipe, slowly standing, still naked and sweaty. His longer hair fell across his forehead and my fingers shifted to push it back.

“Mean what?”

For some reason I was nervous saying it, but I swallowed and said, “Making me your wife.”

He stepped forward; his mouth parted right as a hard knock landed against the front door.

Instinctively, I covered my breasts with my arms, but I was in the kitchen, out of sight of anyone who would be on the porch.

Silas narrowed his focus on me, standing close enough to hold my hip.

“Go take your shower, baby. I’ll stay until you’re out and I know you’re safe.”

I knew better than to draw this out; he had to get back to the club.

With a dip of my head, I moved toward the hall, but before I’d entered the bathroom, Silas called at my back.

“I’ve wanted to make you my wife since I was seven years old. Whenever you’re ready to carry my last name, you’re welcome to have it.”

I paused, smiling back at him. The knock came again from the front door and before I could reply, he was turning around to pull on his clothes. I dipped into the bathroom and shut the door while hope blossomed in my chest.

Hours slipped by while I remained huddled in Sasha’s closet. It had the wardrobe she and Silas would hide in all those years ago. It was big enough for me to lie down in when I took out all her guns and ammo.

Half an hour after my shower, I heard the first signs that something might be off. More members than normal were pulling in, drinking, yelling and getting worked up. There were too many, and if any of them decided to check out who was in the house, there would be no hope for me. So, I’d taken my phone, my sandwich and two bottles of water with me and pulled the wardrobe doors shut.

Sometime after that it sounded as though the entire sky had fallen on us as the rumble of even more engines rattled the windows and the very foundation of the house. There were shouts and a few gun shots. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew it wasn’t good. My fingers trembled as my nerves tangled into a ball of anxiety in the pit of my stomach.

I’d texted Silas, but he hadn’t even seen the message. Same with Sasha.

At some point I fell asleep and when I woke, it was still dark outside, but Silas had finally texted me.

Silas: Where are you?

I shot back a text explaining the wardrobe and within minutes he was knocking against the door.

Sliding out from behind the space, I let him pull me into his arms and carry me back to our room. Sasha was sitting at the kitchen table smoking a cigarette, which was something she never did unless she was scared.

“What happened?” I asked Silas quietly, as he shut and locked the door.

He moved to the windows and checked those too, then pulled all the bedding off the mattress and laid it on the floor. I watched him with a quirked brow.

“What’s going on?”

His voice was all gravel as worry threaded each word. “We’re sleeping down here tonight. Not risking gun fire.”

I lay down next to him, curling into his chest as he began stroking my hair.

“Dirk had someone kidnapped tonight. The daughter of Simon Stone.”

The word Stone caught my attention. “Stone Riders?”

He hummed a yes, still staring at the ceiling, so I waited for him to continue.

“Her father came to broker a deal for her, but before he showed up, her boyfriend snuck in and rescued her.”

It slowly registered then the seriousness of what had actually happened. Dirk had abducted someone…a girl.

“How old is she?” My voice was thick with emotion as fear began forming and taking a new shape in my chest. Of what Dirk was capable of.

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