Page 51 of The Bonds We Break
Switch shakes his head. “Man, we don’t mess with family.”
I glare at my medic, then sniff and bite my lip. “Depends on if you consider Saint family or not. If he’s the enemy, a little insurance goes a long way. Saint made the call to fuck with our club, our family. So, I decided to fuck with his. Literally.”
“You bastard,” Saint says. “Point made. But if you’ve hurt her, I can’t guarantee I won’t kill you myself. So, I guess it’s game over.”
For a moment, I catch a glimpse of the pain I’m causing Saint in his eyes as he tries to find his usually stoic demeanor.
“It’s not. You have a choice. Pay the cash and leave Rae in my safekeeping for the next six months while you prove your loyalty to the club. Or leave and take her with you. Doesn’t matter to me. She’s a shit lay but seems to like what I do to her.”
19
RAE
Pay the cash and leave Rae in my safekeeping for the next six months. Or leave and take her with you. Doesn’t matter to me. She’s a shit lay but seems to like what I do to her.
It’s what I’ve always been told, but I thought with King it was something more. He’d managed to pull the elusive orgasm from me. He always came. I always participated.
But I’m still not enough in bed.
I’m a shit lay.
And it’s only when I’ve processed that gut shot that I realize what he just said. I’m long-term collateral for a deal.
Six whole months.
"What?” No. I thought the lesson was over and I’d be let go. My brother is back. King would show him he could take me to scare Ryker. I can’t stay here with him for six months. I have a home, a career, a life. Tears sting my eyes, but I fight them back.
“This was never the deal.” The man’s patch says his name is Spark. This is the man my brother blew everything up for. I’m glad he’s sticking up for Ryker.
“I’ll leave,” Ryker says. “Let Rae go now. I’ll have Briar come get her.”
She’s a shit lay.
How can King think that when I felt as though together we were something bordering on magic? Perhaps we weren’t. Maybe because my experiences of sex have been so dire, our connection just felt like it to me.
“So, the answer to what you were prepared to give for the club wasn’tanything, was it?” King asks. There’s a tight smirk on his lips.
“King,” Clutch says, coming to his feet. His badge saysVice President. “Man, you’re losing the plot here.”
“‘Vengeance is in my heart, death in my hand.’” The words come out almost on a whisper as I think them. “‘Blood and revenge are hammering in my head.’”
“What the fuck was that?” Niro asks.
“Stay out of it,” Spark says.
“Don’t tell him anything,” Ryker instructs me.
I look at King. “Titus.” He knows what I mean. At least he should by now. “It’s all a tragedy. Right, King?”
I try to swallow the sting of tears again, that I’m not even worth my price as collateral. I was just supposed to keep Ryker alive, and I thought I had done it. Now that I know King wants me for another six months, I want to run. But I want to keep Ryker safe more. I owe him for all the years he tried to shield me from our father.
King looks up at me, and for a moment, I’m struck by the remorse I see there. His hand moves, as if to reach for me, before he slams it on the table and straightens his shoulders.
“Make your pick, Saint. The club or your sister.”
I watch as Ryker shakes Spark’s hands and those of another man, called Halo, off his shoulders. “Of course I’m leaving with my sister.” He looks down at the table, and I can see the grief on his face. He really wanted to be welcomed back here. “You crossed a line, King. You went amoral. I’ve been shot for you. I rode with you to save Gwen when she and Clutch were being shot at. I’m in this mess so Iris doesn’t have to go through what Briar went through to recover. And in repayment, you took my sister. You’ve done to her what we saved Iris and Briar from.” Ryker swallows as if he’s going to be sick. “You took my fucking sister, you cocksucker. For what? My right to wear this?” He slams his hand against his patch. “There is not one thing on this planet more important to me than my family. So, yeah. I’ll go.”
“Not until Bates cuts the Iron Outlaws ink off your back with a knife,” King says.
