Page 40 of Tess, Property of Blaze

Tess

Irush out of the clubhouse with tears streaming down my face. All eyes are on me as I reach the main room and run between members of the Blood Brothers.

“Hey, are you all right?”

A hand comes down on my shoulder just as I exit the clubhouse, and I trip and fall to my knees. My keys, which I had out ready in my hand, fly to the ground, and I cover my face with my hands and cry uncontrollably, not caring that my knees are probably scraped up from the concrete.

I can’t seem to control the tears that are falling. Blaze was angry, hurt, I get that, but I hadn’t expected to find him in that state. I was gathering my courage to confront him, lie that I was leaving him, tell him that I didn’t love him anymore—but I was too late, he’d already found out everything. The real truth. A whole file filled with my past, and just like that, he knows it all.

“Hey, Tess, what’s going on?”

I get up off the hard ground with the help of Luísa’s arm.

“Thanks,” I say, bending down to pick up my keys.

“Tess, what’s going on?” she repeats, unaware I was trying to ignore her question.

I wipe my tears with the back of my hand and start to head straight to my car. “Tess… talk to me,” Luisa yells out, but I can’t answer. I feel bad I’m ignoring her like this, but I don’t know what to say, or how to tell her who I really am. I’ve already seen disappointment in enough people today, I don’t need one more on my conscience.

Unlocking my door, I hurry behind the wheel and start up the engine. I look at Luisa through the window, and only then realize she’s following me to my car. I quickly take off before she has a chance to reach me and drive out of the clubhouse.

Turning the corner out of the driveway, I notice a biker parked on the other side of the road. As I pass him, I slow down, and spot the Forseekers patch on his back—a skull with two snakes intertwined around it. I should be surprised, but I’m not. Of course Viper would have a member follow me—he’s found me now, and he wants to make sure I follow through and come meet him tonight.

I push down hard on the accelerator and my tires screech as I take off. I hear the sound of a motorcycle behind me and know there’s no use trying to lose whoever it is Viper has tailing me. My little Corolla has no hope of outrunning a motorcycle. I look at the time on my dashboard; it’s just after 4:00 p.m. There’s so much I wanted to do before I leave New York, but now I don’t have time for all that. I’m ready to face the music and pay for my sins.

I wanted to avoid saying goodbye to Jeff, but he’s been a good friend and I can’t just leave without a word. He deserves better than that. And I’m hoping he’ll stay at Ink Me and run the place without me there. I’ll miss the shop, but my time of being free has come to an end. I need to accept that being married to Viper is my life, and that there’s no use in trying to run away, because he will find me again.

Was it only two days ago that I thought my life was perfect, and that I couldn’t be happier? Boy, have things changed. I’m just glad that in this fucked-up life, I got to feel some kind of happiness, and the love of a real man, even if just for a brief amount of time—a man who still owns half of my soul, a man I will never, ever forget. I hope that Blaze will find true happiness with another woman one day, one he deserves, not someone like me, who lied to him the whole time I was with him.

Parking my car in front of Ink Me, I look in my rearview mirror. The Forseeker who followed me is parked directly behind me, not even trying to be subtle. I switch off my car and get out, locking the door before I walk over to the biker. As I approach him, he lifts his helmet off his head, and recognition hits me when I see that it’s Snake. Snake is probably midforties, with jet-black hair and dark brown eyes. He still has stubble covering his face; however, I notice a few gray hairs scattered through now. He was one of the good ones—possibly the only biker I could talk to in the club—but even Snake couldn’t stop Viper from taking his rage out on me.

“Teresa… so nice to see you again,” Snake says, smiling at me and holding his helmet in front of him.

“What’s wrong, Snake? Does Viper need a bodyguard to follow me, to make sure I come tonight?”

He sighs and shakes his head, rubbing at his jaw. “You know Viper, he doesn’t trust anyone.”

“Figures. Well, you can wait out here if you want, I have things to do before I meet him.”

Snake nods then takes a cigarette out of a pocket in his jacket and lights it up. “I’ll be right here.”

I turn around and head inside the shop. The sound of Jeff’s tattooing needle and him conversing with his customer travels around the room. The chime above the door that goes off as I enter must catch his attention, because he turns toward me and frowns. I only give him a quick wave, then head out to the back room to grab some stuff. I’d planned to pick up some of my belongings from the clubhouse, but when I saw what Blaze had done, I needed to get out of there. The hatred showing on his face was too much to bear, and to be honest, nothing in that room felt relevant anymore, if Blaze wasn’t going to part of my life.

I usually keep some spare clothes here at the shop, but I never thought I’d be needing it this way. Looking under my desk, I spot the set of keys I hid that belong to my safe, which is hidden behind a painting on the wall. I grab the key then turn around to move the painting aside, unlocking the safe and sighing in relief when it appeared nothing had been disturbed since the last time I had it open.

I grab my birth certificate and passport, and some cash I’d saved up for a rainy day. I never knew that the rainy day would involve me running back to Viper, though. I shut the safe, then head toward the locker on the other side of the wall to grab the duffel bag I keep in there. It contains only a change of clothes and some basic toiletries.

“Hey,” I hear from behind me as I’m tucking my cash and documents into the duffel. I turn around to find Jeff standing in the doorway, and I swing my bag over my shoulder, a feeling of guilt filling me.

He cocks an eyebrow. “Going somewhere?” he asks, looking at my bag.

I walk back to my desk, looking for the landlord’s card in a drawer. I need to leave it for Jeff in case anything happens and he has to contact him.

“Tess, what’s going on?”

I pause my search and glance up at Jeff; his arms are crossed and he’s leaning against the doorjamb.

“Don’t you have a client out there?” I ask him, nodding my head beyond the doorway.

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