Page 37 of The Devil's Redemption

“Yes,” I sniff, wiping my eyes.

“I wanted to make sure no one was in there, that’s all,” he explains backing out of his parking space.

Once we’re back on the road, he pulls out his cell phone and makes a call.

“Yeah, we’re on our way back. Jasper sent Sasha a message,” Blade tells whoever it is he called. “I’ll tell you more when we get there.”

There is another pause where he listens to the person on the other end of the phone.

“I don’t know. We may be headed for another lockdown.” Blade ends the call after that and places his phone in the cup holder of his truck.

“Lockdown?” I squeal, not feeling any better about getting away from my apartment.

“I’ll give you all the details when we’re safe inside the clubhouse, okay? You don’t have anything to worry about,” Blade assures me.

When we get to the red light at Main Street, he reaches over and takes my head in his hands.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, ever again. Do you understand?”

I look back and forth between his unfaltering, steel eyes before answering. I do believe him, to an extent. I believe thathebelieves he can keep me safe from danger, but having seen an evil worse than Blade and the Skull, an evil worse than I ever could have imagined, I know there is a good chance Blade won’t be able to protect me if Jasper were to come after me again.

I get the feeling Jasper is the kind of evil who believes he’s untouchable. That scares me even more because there isn’t anything he won’t do to get what he wants. I’m living proof of that.

When the light turns green, Blade steals his gaze back and hits the accelerator. He doesn’t let up until we’re back at the clubhouse.

* * *

“I’m going to get you settled in my room. I’ll bring you some water, and you can lie down for a little bit while I talk to the guys.”

“Oh no, you’re not. This ismylife, Blade. It wasmyapartment. It wasmythreat. You’re not going to discuss it with anyone else unless I’m there. I know you feel like you need to protect me, and I get it. I’m not going to tell you not to anymore. But to leave me out of conversations that concern me and my safety is the opposite of protecting me. I need to know what’s happening. If there are things I need to look out for. Things to avoid… Whatever it is.”

With one hand firmly planted on the roof of his car and the other holding onto the open door frame, he stares at me, considering what I said. When he finally speaks, I almost have to ask him to repeat himself. I can hardly believe what he says.

“Okay.”

“Wait, what?”

“You’re right. It’s better for you to know so you can be prepared. But there are some things I won’t be able to tell you in front of my brothers. So here’s the deal. I’ll let you be part of the discussion, but if at any time I ask you to leave, I need to you listen without argument. I promise there will always be a good reason for it.”

I think about his compromise for a moment. If this relationship is going to work, I need to be all in. I can’t sit around wondering if he’s telling me the truth or not. I no longer have to worry about taking care of Michael either, which means I don’t have to watch what I do or say as much. I have the ability to be all in. But more than that, Iwantto be all in.

“I’ll only agree to that if you promise to tell me everything. I don’t want there to be secrets between us. I can’t live like that, wondering if what you’re telling me is the truth or a lie. It will cause me to question everything you say to me. So I get it if there is a conversation you need to have with your family, but I still want to know everything. If it involves you, it involves me.”

The only other time I’ve ever seen Blade look this conflicted was just before he fucked me for the first time in the basement of the clubhouse. It’s like his emotions are battling each other, and he’s waiting to see which one will come out on top. At the moment it looks like he feels as though I’ve backed him into a corner.

What is he thinking? Did I cross the line? Is he going to tell me I’m just an insignificant girl whose opinion doesn’t hold any weight in his life? I immediately regret everything I said to him, because the last thing I want is for him to resent me. Before I open my mouth and start to backpedal, his expression morphs into something different.

Unbridled lust.

I worry he’s going to try to kiss me again, to run his hands over my body. I want to crave him like I used to, but I can’t think of him without thinking of… I inhale sharply and close my eyes, trying to push the thoughts and images away before they take over again.

My actions cause another internal rift in Blade. When my eyes find his next, I’m struck with a look that I’ve never seen from him before. I thought I had, but I realize now that it was merely intense admiration. Because this look? This one tells me more than his words ever have. I’ve heard him tell me over and over again that I am his.

And I am.

But this look of unwavering devotion tells me that he is mine.

Completely and irrevocably mine.

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