Page 19 of Aftershock's Fury

“We aren’t sending you away. We are ending this. I’ve got Vortex heading back to the clubhouse to review the footage from the brewery.”

“I thought I could handle it. I was prepared, but I’ve never had to defend myself for real. He said they wanted me dead or alive, preferably alive so they could have fun with me.” She trembles again, and both Fezzik and I push into her body, surrounding her.

“We need to consider sending her into hiding, though,” my father says, and I look up at him.

“Please no. I’ll do whatever you say. I have a new life here. Marnie and Oly depend on me. I have school. I’m just getting to know Crue again. Please.” Her tears start flowing again.

Before we can answer her, there is a knock on the door. All the guys who were with her tonight walk in. I want to slug Loki, but he’s blaming himself enough already.

“How did someone know you were taking her there? Who did you tell?” I ask as I lift Harlowe off the floor.

I walk over to the large sectional sofa and settle on the chaise with her between my legs. Fezzik jumps up next to us. My dad grabs a blanket to cover her exposed skin and to help with the chill still lingering after riding on the bike. It does bother me that she was riding behind my father, but I know she had to get here somehow and away from the police. We can’t have them involved. They would make it harder for us to get our revenge. Plus, they’d probably brush it off and say it was just some guy admiring what she was wearing.

Once I have her settled, both Loki and Kodiak come sit near her too.

When she first arrived back in Alaska, she would say she had no one. She doesn’t realize how much family she truly has.

“How did he get away from all of you?”

“He ran for the emergency exit. There was a car waiting outside the door. I got the plate number and gave it to Vortex,” Gunny says in his deep, gravelly voice. “Sorry, Princess. I should have escorted you to the restroom.”

“We’ll discuss that later. From now on, she’ll be with me.”

“No, Shock, she is coming home with me.” Kodiak shakes his head.

I’m not going to change my mind. I could have lost her tonight, and it would have been my fault for not having the balls to go see her.

“No, she isn’t. I shouldn’t have let you make me make that promise.” I shift from behind her and stand up. Kodiak does too, and we square off.

“I’ve been without her for years. I get to spend time with her before you take over her life,” Kodiak says. “Besides, she should have a say. You don’t even know if she feels the same way about you.”

I press into him, ready to prove I’m the man for her.

“Stop,” she says and stands on the sofa, making us have to look up at her. Fezzik growls, letting us know he’s there to protect her. “Rylan, it’s my life. I do get a say. So much has been decided for me through the years. It’s time I start making my own choices. Daddy wouldn’t let me have a normal young life, going out to parties or hanging with friends. It’s my time.”

She turns to me and brushes her hand down my face. “Crue, I deserve to be swept off my feet. You should want to date me and show me how much fun we can have together. Not this claiming.”

Her eyes leave mine to look at the others in the room, and she takes a deep breath before biting her top lip. “I wore this outfit tonight not only to piss you all off but because I wanted to prove a point. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I know he didn’t attack me because of what I was wearing but because of who I am. I appreciate all of you putting your life on the line for me. But I deserve a life too.”

She moves off the sofa, and I itch to pull her into me again. But she’s right. I’ve had years to know she’s mine. She didn’t. She was always on her own, and until recently, she didn’t know we were all ordered to stay away.

It kills me to watch her walk out the door. Loki and Gunner take her and Fezzik to Kodiak’s. They have an escort with them. She’ll ride in Loki’s truck since everyone else is on bikes and knows not to put her on the back of one.

I wait until the door closes, and that’s when the real meeting begins.

“Well?” I sit on the edge of the sofa, already missing her.

“Vortex got them on camera in Anchorage heading toward Aaronov’s place in Bear Valley.”

“Well, fuck. It’s not hard to figure out she’s back if he’s tracking her name. But how did he know about tonight?”

“Loki came to the clubhouse and said he was taking her out, but only members were present at the time,” Romeo offers.

“You’re telling me a brother of ours is betraying us?” Wing barks.

“We suspected it years ago too,” my dad says. “When Charisma and Clarice were killed. I’ve always suspected there was something behind Viking’s death as well.”

“So it would be an older member? Or someone who is a legacy?”

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