Page 32 of Vapor's Blaze

“Watching that vicious old fool slap her down for not wanting to marry a Digger really got to me. I knew the guy was coming for her, so I made sure I got there first and took her to our shop to get her cleaned up. Once she found out I was with the Savage Legion, she almost lost her mind. I guess she was raised to think we were the bad ones. I tried to talk her down, but she ran from me. I offered her sanctuary at our shop and money to run if she needed it too. I don’t know if she’ll ever trust me enough to take me up on it though.”

“It sucks when women run right back to the abuse.”

“I don’t think that she was running back to the abuse, so much as running away from me.”

“There isn’t a lot of difference, you know?

I nod, clearly still messed up by the whole situation. “Sitting in our shop cleaning blood off her face really got to me. I wanted to hunt King down and beat the ever-loving shit outta him.”

“You sound like you’re really into this woman.”

“I’m feeling that way.”

“Are you sure you’re not just attracted to element of danger she represents?”

I sigh and tilt my head back to look up at the sky. “I don’t know. This one pulls out feelings I didn’t know I had, and I felt that way before I knew who she was.”

“I always knew this would happen. You’d be the first one to fall in love.”

I can tell by the tone of his voice that he’s just joking around with me to raise the mood a little. This is a grim situation after all.

I look over at him sheepishly. “Maybe I’m destined to experience the soul crushing defeat of falling in love and then losing the love of my life. Did you ever think of that?”

“No,” he states gruffly. “I’m not a fatalistic bastard like you are.”

“You think we should get back to the party?”

He sits all the way up and eases himself close to the edge. “Yeah, why should Crow suffer because we’re about to be in the fight of our life. Besides that, I hear that Harvey has done himself proud with the canapés this time.”

I scoot forward as well. “Good thing we love a good fight, right brother?”

“True, brother,” Haze says.

My mind pulls away from what may be awaiting us in the future and goes firmly back into the present. “Canapés? Has he made the salt beef and rye ones again?”

“Yep, and the mini smoked salmon bagels with dill cheese,” Haze says as he climbs down off the shed.

I followed suit and we head back inside to congratulate Crow and participate in his party. You only get patched in once, after all.

Chapter 12

Trix

It’s got to be at least two in the morning, but my tiny cell has no windows, and the steel bar door looks out onto the hallway, so I can only make a guess as to how much time has passed. I’ve been on lockdown for five days while my grandfather tries to iron out a new truce with the Grave Diggers MC, involving their oldest son. He was recently married, but I hear it didn’t even last a month. Everyone’s pretty hush-hush about it, so I don’t know the details. I can guess though. Decker’s creepy family probably scared the shit out of her, and she made a run for it.

I’ve had a few days to consider what I learned about my grandfather’s involvement in my mom’s death. Try as I might, I can’t recall all the details. I really wanted to ask Jamus or even see if Tracker remembers anything, but they’ve both been busy, and I’ve barely had a moment alone with either of them. I don’t know what’s happening tonight, but I’ve not seen a living soul for hours.

Suddenly, the door at the far end of the basement creaks open and someone in black slips through. I rise from the bed in panic, but then relax. It’s my younger brother, Hark, coming toward me.

“Hark,” I whisper. “You know you’re not supposed to be down here. If they find you, you’ll be in serious trouble.”

He places a duffle bag on the ground, pulls a key out of his pocket and begins unlocking the door. “Nice to see you too, sis.”

When he goes to pull the door open, I grab it and hold it closed. “No. I want to get out, but not if you’re going to catch the blame for it.”

“Look, we’ve got three minutes before the security feed comes back on. Do you want to spend it arguing or escaping? Either way, I’m not leaving until you’re free.”

I step back and allow him to open the cell door. He shoves the duffle bag into my hands and guides me along the hallway to the door he entered through, leading from the basement to the outside.

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