Page 25 of Blade: Blade Outlawz MC

As soon as Evan and Cayenne left, I jumped on my bike and went back home. I told Axe I would call him later.

When I walked into the house, I went to my room and grabbed Pepper’s phone. I knew it died, so I charged it for her but never turned it on. As soon as I did, message after message came through. I didn’t read them until I got to one from Jalen, the nigga she was fucking with.

Jalen:

Pepper, please call me. I need to know that you are okay. I promise I won’t ask about us being together anymore. I miss you. Even if you don’t want to talk to me again, please at least let me know that you are alive.

I didn’t need to read the rest. If I had it my way, she wouldn’t be seeing his ass anymore. I walked down the hall to the room and unlocked the door.

Pepper’s head popped up when I walked in. She sat in the middle of the bed surrounded by coloring books and crayons. I almost smiled at how cute she looked.

She looked at my hand and noticed the phone. Her eyes lit up, but she sat stoic like she didn’t want to seem too eager.

“I need you to call your uncle and cousin to let them know you are good.” I handed her the phone but snatched it back. “I’m trusting you to tell them just that, nothing else. If you tell them anything else, there will be consequences.”

I hadn’t had plans on harming her, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Okay,” she said and pushed a couple of the books to the side.

I passed her the phone and sat down.

A few seconds later, I heard her talking.

“Cayenne.” She paused. “Yes, it’s me. I can’t talk for long, but I’m fine. I promise I will call you again as soon as I can, but trust me, I’m fine.” She looked into my eyes. “Tell Uncle Evan I’m fine, and I love y’all. We’ll talk soon.”

Her eyes were still on me. I could hear Cayenne on the phone asking questions, but I snatched the phone from her and hung up.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome. They came to the clubhouse because your father said I had you, and I didn’t want them to get the police involved. They seemed really concerned, so I wanted them to know you were fine.”

“Oh, okay.”

Silence lingered between us. She probably wondered why I hadn’t left. At first, I didn’t know either, but I decided to converse with her.

“What do you want in life?” I asked as I shifted on the bed to get a little more comfortable.

She blinked her eyes rapidly. I was sure my question threw her off.

“One of the main things I’ve wanted since I was a little girl was to be in my father’s motorcycle club, but my father won’t let me. I don’t understand why because there are plenty of women in there, but not me. Motorcycles are the only thing my father and I have bonded over. He was the one that taught me how to ride and everything else I knew about them.”

“Except how to fix them,” I teased.

She sucked her teeth. “There are some things I know how to fix, like basic maintenance. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with it that day. I wish I could have fixed it myself.” She mumbled that last part, but I heard her.

“These clubs can be dangerous sometimes, so maybe he just didn’t want you to get into any trouble.”

That was bullshit, but I didn’t know what else to say. She looked sad, and I didn’t like it.

“I guess.” She pushed her braid behind her hair. “Can I ask you a question? Well, maybe two.” She played with the bottom of her shirt, then scratched her arm. She scratched so softly that I didn’t think she realized it.

“You can, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to answer.”

She rolled her eyes, and I smiled. This damn girl had me smiling more than I cared to admit.

“What’s your real name? And why are you the way you are? I know you said you don’t want to be in love or whatever, but it has to be someone you love.”

I rubbed the hair on my chin. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell her my real name. I liked her, didn’t I? Maybe telling her my real name could help her gain trust in me.

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