Page 51 of Priest

He grabbed my hand and pushed me behind him. We headed straight for his bike and did not stop to say goodbye to anyone. On the ride back to the cabin, I buried my face in his leather cut and let the past wash away.

“Are you okay?”I asked when I went to her room later that night. It was almost eleven. We had gone to the clubhouse around seven, and we had been there for two hours before someone told me that September had headed outside to get some air. I didn’t think she would try anything, but I couldn’t be certain with her feisty ass.

The minute I stepped outside and looked in every direction that she could have run in, she wasn’t there. There was movement to my left that drew my attention. I walked further into the parking lot and headed to that corner where there was nothing but a large concrete wall and a few bikes. I saw Mutt, Blue, and Ice standing in a semi-circle. I figured at first they were fucking with one of the sweet butts, but I noticed Blue lean down and reach his hand out. When I saw someone slap at his hand, I started to turn, until I heard her voice. She was shouting “no” repeatedly.

“Yeah,” she replied.

September scooted to the right side of the bed and pressed her back against the wall. She closed a book that she had been reading and wrapped her arms around her knees, which were pulled to her chest.

It fucked with me that she wouldn’t even look at me. I sat carefully on the edge of the bed because I didn’t want to spook her.

“What happened back there?”

She shook her head.

“I know you don’t want to talk about it, Ember, but how can I protect you if I don’t know?”

September’s head jerked up, and I noticed that her eyes were red rimmed as though she’d been crying. When I drove us back to the cabin on the bike, she’d clung to me so tightly that I could barely breathe. I knew it wasn’t fear of riding the bike because she’d become accustomed to it. It was fear, though, of what, I wasn’t sure.

When we climbed off the bike at home, she had been shaking like a leaf. I’d tried to console her, but she pushed me away and said she wanted to shower. I waited for an hour before I decided to check on her again.

“How can you protect me, Priest, when you’re my captor? If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be in this situation.”

I tried to control my anger and remember that she was not in a good place. I angled my head and looked at her. “Hey, it ain’t my fault you’re in this situation. It’s your sorry-ass daddy’s fault. His ass wasn’t looking?—”

I shook my head and cut myself off at the look that passed over her face.

“My bad. I shouldn’t have,” I apologized.

“No. You’re right. It’s his fault as much as anyone’s,” she agreed softly.

“Will you please tell me what happened back there? I swear that I’m gonna deal with my men, but I need to know what went down. I was more interested in getting you away from there so that you would feel safe again than I was fucking them up. But trust me when I say I’ma fuck their bitch asses up.”

September looked at me like she was trying to gauge if she could trust me or not. I decided to throw her a bone and hoped that it might get her to open up. “I know a little something about fear and people intimidating you.”

When she looked at me with curiosity and an open expression, I continued. “My mama didn’t always choose the best men to bring home, let’s say that. I encountered more fists in my face and kicks to my ribs in my early days than I’ve done in all my years of being in this MC. More hungry days too. So, I know something about suffering.”

My jaw clenched as I wondered why I’d said that much. I hadn’t meant to tell her about the hunger.

“Is that why…?”

“Why what?”

“You’re so defensive. Have a difficult time trusting people.”

“Part of it.”

She nodded and then sighed. “I had a flashback out there. They accused me of trying to run, and when I said that I wasn’t, one of them reached out and grabbed me.”

“Who?”

“The dark-skinned one. He’s really, really darker than the other two.”

“Blue,” I grumbled. That’s how he had earned his name. He was so black in some places that his skin looked blue.

“Anyway, the other guy with hazel eyes said that touching me wasn’t all he wanted to do to me when I told them not to touch me.”

That would be Mutt’s bitch ass. And being a dog was exactly how he’d earned the name.

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