Page 85 of Where We Ended

“Simon Stone agreed to trade a shipment of weapons he just received for your safe passage to his club. He’s not the sort of man that would hurt you, Natty. You’ll be in the club, your own room, protected…and most importantly, away from Dirk.”

“Why would Simon trade such a large shipment for me?”

It was the only thing I could even think to ask because my mind was whirling, pieces of information felt like fragments of shrapnel missing and hitting all at once. I couldn’t grasp what was happening, or how I’d lost control of my own life.

Sasha’s gaze softened as she moved a piece of my hair to the side. “Other than because I asked him to. He has a daughter, honey. One that’s your age. Their club has a code about women and how they’re treated. You’ll be safe there.”

I believed her. I vaguely remembered when Simon Stone had shown up to reclaim his daughter from when Dirk had kidnapped her. I had never seen him myself, but he was a good man.

“Does Simon know I’m technically patched to Silas, which breaks a few codes between clubs. It could be cause for a war…”

Sasha winced the smallest bit, then gave me a sad smile.

“Once you enter the doors of that club, it’s better if no one knows who you belong to. Don’t speak of him being anything to you.” Her gaze flicked down to my ring finger and I had the urge to curl my fist.

“And what about Silas, he won’t just accept this.”

Sasha let out a sigh then gave me a flat look. “Leave that to me. I’ll talk to him…in the end, he’ll understand.”

But I knew Silas in a different way, and I doubted very much that he would understand.

Sasha began walking, and as I followed, I felt like I was walking the edge of a plank.

The dreams in my chest felt like ash fluttering around with still burning edges, images of a life I dreamed up still visible.

“Sasha, I’m scared.” It came out as a whisper right as the rumble of motorcycles reverberated down the street. We were in Rose Ridge; I could see that now. The motel, the only one in the city, and from where we stood, I could see the road into town from Pyle. A group of leather clad riders headed toward us.

“You’re going to ride back with a man named Killian. He’s the vice president of the club. He’s a good man from what I understand, but from there, a woman named Red will take over and help get you settled.”

My hands were shaking, and I noticed that my head was as well.

“Wait…I…what about Silas. I have to tell him.”

Sasha kept her focus on the oncoming group.

“You have to give him space, Natty. You need to let him go for a time. He’s doing something bigger right now than you or him. I’m asking you not to let him come for you. You will have to be the one that creates the distance. You’ll need to leave your cell behind, because if Silas thinks he can get to you then he will and right now, in order to avoid a very ugly war, he can’t.”

She was asking me to give him up. My chest strained; my very soul felt like it was silently screaming for someone to hit pause on all of this. It was all happening too fast.

While I knew it wasn’t permanent, I could still feel seven-year-old me seeing that head of dark hair for the very first time when he’d pulled me into that wardrobe with him. When he’d first held my hand and told me he’d protect me. There was a wrongness to this…something that shouldn’t be but was too far out of my control to stop it.

“They don’t know at all about Silas?”

The group of riders drew closer, until they were stopping directly in front of us.

Sasha gave me one last look. “No, they only know that you’re escaping Dirk.”

Simon Stone let his thick boots fall to the asphalt, his bike slowing to a stop at the front of the group. His patch said he was the president…he had long dark hair that was starting to gray. It was pulled back into a low ponytail, which somehow left his handsome face exposed, and a very rigid jawline. His tattoos were vibrant along his arms and hands, but his hazel eyes seemed kind. The man next to him was much younger, a few years older than me…maybe by five or six years. He had ink as well but not as much as his leader.

His cut had a patch with a wolf’s head on it, and under his name and rank said that was a nickname for him. Another man pulled up next to the VP, and I remember Silas mentioning his name years ago.

Wes Ryan.

His ranking didn’t clearly put him anywhere in the club other than an official member. I wondered if he was still dating Simon’s daughter…or if maybe she was in the club, and we’d become friends.

Sasha stepped forward until she was standing close to Simon’s leg. It almost seemed intimate how close she was. “Dirk accepted?”

Simon nodded, flicking a quick gaze to me. “Yep. She’s ours now, under our protection at least…but you need to know we’ll never force her to stay there. She’ll be welcome to walk out the second she gets there if she wants to, but for as long as she wants our protection, we’ll offer it.”

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