Page 6 of Wild Bliss

If he was back at the clubhouse… Well, it wasn’t like therewould be some homey, happy shit going on. Nope. Joy was not what the ColoradoHorde was known for.

Years. He’d wasted years of his life because he’d tried tomake his father happy and then his brother. All those years gone because hehadn’t understood there was a world outside the brutal one he’d been born into.He hadn’t understood it until he’d met Sawyer Hathaway.

You ever decide to get out of this hellhole, you come tomy place. It’s just outside of Bliss.

Just outside of Bliss, the crazy little town he’d talkedabout all the time. The town where Sawyer had friends and a couple ofbusinesses he’d been forced to walk away from to try to protect his dumbassbrother, who should have known better. Wes had joined the MC because it soundedcool. Wyatt had been born into it.

Damn, but he wished he’d let Sawyer save him back then. Ifhe had, he wouldn’t be standing out here in the freezing cold waiting for theman to come home, his chest aching like a motherfucker.

He hoped he hadn’t bled through again.

He sat on the porch of the surprisingly large andcozy-looking cabin he’d discovered was owned by Sawyer. He’d thought aboutsitting at Hell on Wheels until Sawyer returned. They’d kept in touch over theyears, mostly Sawyer asking him if he was ready to get out and telling him notto call him if his ass ended up in prison. Wyatt took those calls as Sawyer’ssign of affection. He was pretty sure the guy didn’t check up on any of his old“friends” from the Horde. They came through his bar every couple of weeks, andSawyer was mean enough they mostly behaved. They always stayed out of town eventhough Wyatt had been dying to see it.

Ain’t no use unless you get out of this life. All itwill do is tempt a man with something he can’t have. Because you cannot havethe whole happy family, wife and kids thing if you’re constantly under threatof going to prison.

He could, he supposed. His brother had an old lady and threekids he barely paid attention to. His brother would tell him he had it all. Thefamily. The power. All the women he can possibly want to fuck.

Wyatt wanted more.

Of course none of it would matter if he froze to death here.What had he been thinking? Sawyer might be out with a lady. He wasn’t at thebar. The nice lady there had told him Sawyer had taken the night off. He wouldprobably be gone all night.

Wyatt was pretty sure he’d used the last of his energy towalk up this damn mountain, and now he was going to die. Freeze to death andall because he didn’t have a cell phone. They’d taken his when they’d taken hisbike and every cent of cash he had.

You want to leave, brother? You do it the way you cameinto this world. With nothing except a reminder that you are no longer family.

Wyatt took a long breath and tried to forget his “reminder.”He’d survived the ceremony and hidden out for a couple of days with a woman whowas club adjacent while she nursed his wounds and got him some clothes. He’dhated taking her money for the bus to Alamosa, but there’d been no other way.He couldn’t stay with her because she wasn’t leaving the club.

So this was the end of the road. Either Sawyer would let himin or he would die on his porch sitting in an Adirondack chair and watching themost beautiful set of stars he’d ever seen.

The sound of tires on dirt let Wyatt know he’d at least hadone lucky break in all this misery.

His gut twisted because he was about to find out his fate.He was betting everything on a friendship that had been strongest years andyears ago. Sawyer was kind of a dick most of the time.

Twin lights shone on the tree line in front of him, andWyatt stood up. Sawyer was also a guy who probably shot first and askedquestions never. He moved off the porch, holding his hands up.

The door opened and a big dog bounded out. Wyatt closed hiseyes because he was probably about to be eaten by a guard dog. Sawyer wouldhave the biggest, nastiest, best-trained guard dog in the world.

Wyatt managed to stay standing as the dog hit his chest. Andthen he felt a wet tongue on his cheek.

“Well, shit,” Sawyer said with a sigh. “I probably shouldhave taken my chance with the schoolteacher.”

Wyatt opened his eyes, and the dog let its paws go back tothe ground, running toward Sawyer with a happy bark. So not a guard dog. “Hey.You remember that time I saved your brother’s life and you said you owed meone?”

Sawyer stepped close enough the moonlight illuminated hisstark features. “You know I owe you for more than one night. You saved me, too.You finally wake up and leave the cult?”

Something eased within Wyatt. He supposed there had been aknot in his gut telling him no one would help him, that he was truly alone inthe world. From the moment he’d known he had to leave, there had been a pieceof himself thinking he would die. “Yeah.”

Sawyer looked him over, taking in the T-shirt and trackpants and sneakers. None of which fit since they’d been Lydia’s ex’s. “Supposethey took everything. Your bike?”

He nodded. “A friend got me a bus ticket. I hitchhiked fromAlamosa. Don’t call me a dumbass because I didn’t call.”

“They took your cell, too.” Sawyer stared at him for amoment. “How’d they take your tat? I’m betting they didn’t let you laser itoff. Or black it out.”

“I’m okay.” He had to be. There was no other way to be.

Sawyer cursed under his breath. “Acid, or did they burn itoff you?”

“I’m okay.” He didn’t want to think about it. Or rather hedidn’t want to talk about it. It still hurt.

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