Page 103 of Empire of Savages

“Couple of hours? The doctor wants to see me one last time.”

He nodded, straightening. “I’ll be back to pick you up.”

With one final, lingering kiss, he picked up his rucksack and left.

As I stepped outside the hospital doors, I breathed in the midmorning air. It was nice to be out of the hospital. The orderly beside me scanned the cars coming and going.

“Who did you say was picking you up?”

“My partner,” I replied, liking the way that it sounded. A truck pulled up to the curb then, something big and covered in a tarp in the back. My eyes shot to the driver’s seat where Nick was shutting off the engine.

“This is him,” I told the orderly, relieving him of his duty.

I watched Nick exit the cab. “Ready, baby?” he asked, pressing a kiss to the side of my head as he wrapped a hand around my waist. He opened the door for me, and I climbed inside. A loud whine made me look into the back seat to find a huge wire crate and Lucifer inside it, a plastic collar around his head to stop him from licking his stitches. Despite recovering from a gunshot wound, he wagged his tail at me.

“Buckle up, baby,” Nick said, slamming his door and starting the engine.

“Where’s your bike?” I asked. “And whose truck is this?”

“Bike’s in the back, and Vox lent me his truck. He’ll come and get it in a couple of weeks.”

We were really doing this. We were leaving Detroit. For good.

“Can we make one more stop before we go?”

Nick’s eyes darted to the rearview mirror before coming to rest on my face. “You want to say goodbye to Bliss?”

I nodded.

“We can spare a few minutes.”

Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to Bliss’s apartment building. I sent her a text asking her to come downstairs.

“Oh my God, Alex, are you okay?” she asked, wrapping me in her arms and squeezing.

“I’m okay,” I assured. “I’m okay.” Holding her at arm’s length, I looked at the woman who had broken past my barriers and inserted herself into my life without shame. “I’m leaving with Nick,” I told her. “I’m sorry Maddox brought you into this shit. I don’t regret trading my life for yours for one second. You’re too precious to me, Bliss.”

Her blue eyes flickered to Nick, then back to me. “Make sure he treats you right,” she said.

“He will.”

She let out a sigh, shoving her hands into her pockets. “So, you really do know a thing or two about motorcycle clubs. Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

I shook my head. “It wasn’t important. I was trying to escape that life, but I should’ve known better. I should’ve known it would catch up with me.”

“Where will you go?”

“Nick’s going to be a nomad so wherever we want, really.”

“Will I get to see you again?”

With a sad shake of my head, I told her, “Not in Detroit. Not in Michigan. If Nick comes back…” I couldn’t even finish the thought.

“I get it,” Bliss replied, tears starting to form. “I’ll keep in touch.”

“You better.”

“Alex,” Nick said gently from the driver’s side, wanting to give me my space to say my goodbyes, but knowing time wasn’t on our side. “We gotta go, baby.”

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