Page 12 of Aftershock's Fury

“I’ll be there soon. Don’t give up on me.” He chucks my chin and then walks away from me. I’m upset and about to holler at him that I don’t want to wait when his father starts laughing.

“That boy is ready to take you home and never let you go.” Cy chuckles and turns away from me.

“What?” I look between him and where Crue headed.

“Okay, boys, load up,” Rylan says as he leads me through a different door.

We step outside, and the sun has finally gone down. The parking lot is lit by overhead lights. From the sound of it, the party is in full swing inside the bar. Then the roar of several bikes starting up draws my attention to the side of the clubhouse.

“I don’t need an escort. I’ve been doing things by myself for a few months. Daddy always said I’d have to be tough to make it in this world. I can do more than other girls can.” I stop walking, and Fezzik sits at my side.

“Yes, you do,” my brother says, his voice firm and leaving no room for argument. “Aaronov isn’t going to try taking you out up close. The asshole is a coward. He uses long-distance shots or runs people off the road. That’s how he killed Mom and Aunt Clarice.”

It warms my heart that he still thinks of her as his mom. His biological mother was long gone by the time Daddy and my mom got together, but Rylan had warmed up to her and called her Mom. She loved him just as much as she loved me. The only difference she ever acknowledged between us was that I was a girl.

“Okay.” I give in.

He helps me into my truck after we load up Fezzik, and I watch as he walks to his bike. Another motorcycle pulls up to my driver’s side, and I turn to see Crue’s blue eyes staring back at me in the darkness.

Crue’s eyes have always fascinated me. They’re blue, but around the pupil is a ring of brown the fades into a lighter blue before deepening into a dark blue outer rim. His dad got the road name Cyclops because he has one dark blue eye and one pale gray.

I start up my truck as Rylan knocks on the hood. We take off, and I follow him north toward Houston. A few miles down Big Lake Road, he takes a right, and we follow a two-lane road back until he turns again at a small fire station. I know it won’t take me long to remember how to get here. I’ve always had a good sense of direction.

We pass a dark lake lined with houses before he turns down a long driveway. The bikes follow behind us until we pull up in front of a large red house with an attached three-car garage. One of the garage doors is extra tall. Rylan points to the side, and I park at the end of the building beside the tall door.

Crue opens my door before I even have a chance to turn off the truck. He holds out his hand, and I take it as I grab the gun I set on the seat before we left the bar. I slip it into the back of my jeans as he opens the back door for Fezzik.

“Do you want to have lunch in a few days?” he asks, his deep voice sending a shiver through me. I pull my leather jacket tighter, not just because the night air has cooled but because every time he speaks in that tone, I want to rub against him like a cat and purr.

“I don’t know yet. I want to start looking for a job tomorrow and stop by the campus to see if they have any summer classesthat will let me finish my degree. I only had a couple more months left before I would’ve been done.”

I hate that I missed graduating from the college I was studying at, but I’m glad to finally be back home. I’ve been working toward a degree in English literature and creative writing. I already have a couple of manuscripts I want to send to agents as queries. I want the degree, though, because my father was so proud of me for going after it.

“I’ll see you in a few days, then.”

“Okay.”

Crue returns to his bike, and I watch as he and his father take off. I want to stop him, and I almost do, but I can’t. I have to move forward with my plan for revenge, and I don’t want him to get hurt in the process.

“Come on,” Rylan says, leading me to the front door. “Your bags should be here soon enough.”

My brother opens the large double doors, and I follow him inside. I pause to take in the black leather sofa, the giant screen television above the huge rock fireplace, and even some of the mounts—moose and Dall Sheep with full curl horns. The kitchen is on the right, open to the living room, with a large granite bar in the middle.

He walks past a door and points. “That goes to the basement. Just a pool table and the safe room. I’ll show you later.” I nod, and he takes another step. “Your bathroom.” I peek into the small but adequate space.

Across from it, he opens a door. “Spare room.” I start to enter, but he stops me. “No, you have the next one.”

He moves down the hall past a laundry room with a door that must lead to the garage, then opens a door on the left. “You’re in here, and I’m right there if you need me.” He points at a door straight in front of us.

I step through the door he said was mine.

Spinning around the room, I take it all in. A large cedar log bed dominates the space, topped with a black and red comforter that depicts a wolf. The carpeted floor looks soft and inviting. I can’t wait to sink my toes into its plushness. The room is sparsely decorated, but everything looks new.

“Did you just do this?”

“Yeah, I had a couple of baits help me. They said they knew what you’d like.”

I shake my head. “What is a bait?”

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