Page 5 of Hellraiser

Disappointment flashed in her brown orbs.

“But I need evidence. Your statement could be crucial to?—”

I swung my head, my expression firm as I cut her sentence off at the knees. “I said no. It’s too fuckin’ risky, and I’ve already risked a hell of a lot behind your ass, all right?”

Her perfectly arched brows furrowed as she sighed.

“But this story needs to be told,” she protested. “I don’t see why you’re fighting me on this. I promise to keep your identity anonymous if you’re worried about that.”

“You think I’m worried about some lil fuckin’ article? This shit… this world is much bigger and darker than your pretty lilass even realizes. It’s cute. But being cute won’t cut it here,” I growled, giving her the cold, hard truth.

Mercy smacked her full lips before she scoffed. “Whatever. I’ll finish it with or without you.”

“Listen up,” I barked, switching subjects. “Here’s how this shit is gonna go while you’re here. You’re my guest and under my sole protection. You’ll sleep in my room and not mess with or even interact withanyother guys in the club. You understand?”

Mercy looked at me with a blank stare. “Whoa. Wait. I thought this was just for the night, and you’d take me back to my car in the morning.”

“We’re past the point of that now, gorgeous. Keep up.”

Her glare hardened as her expression clouded with fear and uncertainty. “What about my job? I’m on a deadline.”

I sighed, running a hand through my locs. My eyes darted over to her phone charging on my nightstand.

“Make up a lie or call in sick. Do whatever you have to do to buy your ass some time. I don’t know how long this will take to get the Outlaws off our backs. If I know them like I think I do, they’ll want to make a deal soon enough.”

Mercy nodded, slowly starting to understand the gravity of the situation. We’d put each other in difficult positions, and Ihatedhow much she frustrated me, trying to fight me at every turn when I’d already said what I said. That shit made my dick brick up in my jeans. I really wanted to fuck all that back-talk and defiance right out of her. I hated that I couldn’t stop imagining smashing her fuckin’ pelvis and putting her ass through the fuckin’ mattress. I hated how much arguing with her made me fuckin’ want her. I hated how badly I wanted to hear the sound of her moan my name while I punished her fuckin’ pussy.

I was at a crossroads. On the one hand, the beast in me wanted to bend her over, tear off her clothes, and bury all teninches of my thick dick inside her. On the other hand, I knew I needed to stay far away from her. Aside from the occasional MC groupie or two, I didn’t normally keep a woman around me like this, but there was something different about her. I couldn’t help but want to shield her from all harm and had no clue why.

I’ll never let Cannon or any other nigga lay a hand on her.

I left the room with haste, afraid of what I might’ve done if I remained in her presence. My legs didn’t stop until they’d propelled me outside. The night air was cool as I marched to my truck, lighting a blunt. The dark sky was dotted with a few stars, and the sound of crickets chirping competed with the loud thoughts racing through my head.

I leaned against the back and took a deep drag, watching the orange ember glow in the dark. I heard the familiar crunch of gravel and twisted my neck to see Ghost, our enforcer, walking toward me while lighting his own blunt. He stood next to me in silence, watching the smoke curling up into the sky, the scent of marijuana fusing with the night air.

Ghost broke his silence, his voice low. “Quite a fuckin’ scene tonight, huh?”

I grunted. “Did you get a final report from Doc? What’s the damage?”

“A few broken bones, a few bruises, but hey, nobody died.”

“Yeah.”

“What about you? How’d you make out?”

It was the first time I’d thought about myself all night. My world began orbiting around Mercy the moment I saw her walk into that fuckin’ bar. I looked down at myself, noticing the bloodstains on my shirt and a few open cuts on my hands from all the flying glass.

I shrugged. “I’m good.”

“And the lady?”

I tensed up at the mention of Mercy. “She’s good too.”

“I hope she’s worth it.” We traded silent glances before Ghost continued. “So, what’s our next move? The Outlaws will be looking for her, but you already know that.”

I exhaled a curl of smoke as I contemplated the situation. Mercy was a wildcard, and I was prepared to go all in.

“She said she had car trouble. Get with Blaze and have him ride out with a few prospects to find and haul her car back here so he can take a look at it. The sooner we get it fixed, the better.”

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