Page 7 of Decoding Morse

My chest constricted.

What would I do if she refused to come with me? Would I force her? Link would probably flip his shit if I did, but to save her life, I could justify just about anything. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.

Goddamn dumbass, pull yourself together and focus.

Havoc was still staring at me, waiting for orders.

Swallowing past the fear trying to strangle me, I instructed Havoc to cover the front, to which Rabbit informed us he preferred to hit it from behind anyway. Havoc clipped a handheld radio to his belt and turned it on. Despite the fact we all carried cell phones, he’d insisted on bringing coms. Special Forces didn’t play.

“Radios on channel three. You see something—anything—you speak the fuck up.” He stuffed an earpiece into his ear, gesturing for us to do the same.

“Ten-four motherfuckers,” Rabbit said, clapping me on the shoulder. “Good luck, Romeo. Hope she doesn’t wig out when she learns you’re into gardening porn.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, grinning at his stupid inside joke.

This guy.

We were about to terrify and hopefully rescue the most important person in the world to me, and this idiot thought he was funny. I still couldn’t believe I’d let the asshole sneak up on me. He was likely the worst person in the world to catch me watching Amelia. He wouldn’t turn me in, wouldn’t question the ethics of my behavior, but I sure as shit would never hear the end of it.

“Keep your fucking voice down and worry about yourself, crazy asshole. Don’t you fucking die tonight because I’m not explaining that to your other half.”

He cackled. Rabbit was one crazy motherfucker, and his newly acquired girlfriend threw off a psychopath-mad-scientist-who-holds-a-grudge vibe. Despite that, I trusted him at my back. He was a mechanic for the club, and on more than one occasion, I’d seen him donate his entire salary to pay for the parts to fix an elderly veteran’s vehicle. Or a single mom’s. Or anyone who bent his ear with a halfway decent sob story. None of my brothers were saints, but they were all upstanding men beneath the beards and bullshit.

Even Rabbit.

And instead of ruminating on the questionable moral fiber of my club brothers, I needed to get my ass in gear so we could evacuate before assassins showed up and I got us all killed. Shaking my head, I refocused, straightening my spine. Ambling toward the door, I did my best to project confidence and authority but worried I looked like I had a stick shoved up my ass.

She’s counting on you. Get it together.

Amelia’s front yard was a mess. Shaded by giant evergreens, it couldn’t seem to grow anything but moss and weeds. She’d planted grass last year, but the seed never took root.

I could have helped her with it, but I’d stayed away—like I always did—because that was best for both of us. I’d sworn to never return, a promise I’d kept since I left for boot camp.

Now, I was about to barge back into her life.

At least this time, I didn’t need to be stitched up.

Movement flickered at the window, and a curtain fell into place.

Should I remove my cut to look less threatening?

No. After the military, these patches had given me a purpose. A family. I wouldn’t hide what or who I’d become. Especially not from her.

The front door opened, and there she was, looking like a goddamn angel in a pair of leggings and a hoodie.

I shook my head in a jumble of disbelief and relief. Three loud-ass motorcycles had rolled up in front of her house, and instead of calling the police like she should have, Amelia appeared in the doorway, meeting the threat head-on. No surprise. She’d always had a spine of steel and a questionable sense of self-preservation.

Shit. That’s probably gonna make this task a hell of a lot harder.

Getting my game face on, I discreetly spun the fidget ring on the third finger of my right hand, letting it ground me.

“Hi. Can I help—” She squinted, then her eyebrows shot up in recognition. “Levi?”

No one called me by my birth name anymore, and it felt wrong. That name belonged to someone else. Levi had been a captive, a weapon, and a fool. Levi no longer existed, but I didn’t correct her.

I couldn’t. For a second, all I could do was stare.

Amelia stepped onto her front porch, her eyes lighting up. Makeup-free, her thick brown hair up in a messy bun, she was even more beautiful in person. I gobbled up the sight like the starving fool I was.

“Levi?” she asked again, startling me from my gawking.

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