Page 78 of Tank
With a flick of my wrist, I turned the knob and pushed the door open hard enough that a loud bang rang out through the room when it hit the wall behind it.
There I stood, at the threshold, knowing better than to step foot into their room but also wanting to make my wants and demands known. With four guns pointed at my back and another six at my front, I held my head high. Noah’s eyes met mine and they swirled with emotions. Happiness. Panic. Confusion.
“Get those guns off my damn woman now!” He roared as his body lunged towards mine in an attempt to block me from half the danger I was in. My hand met his chest and my eyes looked up into his before I took a small step to the side and pinned the man at the head of the table with my glare.
“Guns down,” the big man commanded, and all of them hesitantly let their guns fall waist side. “Can I help you with somethin’, sweetheart?” His lips twitched under his bushy beard as if he were amused.
“I want in,” I demanded.
“Fuck no!” Noah said, his hand circling my wrist as if to ground both of us somehow.
“How’d you get in here?”
“You have a hatch on your roof. It was just a matter of waiting for an opening. And as you can see, I got one,” I said with a small shrug.
“Hmm,” the big man said. “You see, I got a problem where I like to keep women safe and away from all this shit, but you don’t seem like the type to need that.”
“Nope. I want to help. I want to be there. I want to put a bullet between Savage’s eyes,” I said my eyes moving up to Noah’s at the end. I never pleaded for anything in my life and I hated to do it now, but it was the only way I could get him to understand how much I needed this.
“Where have you been?” he whispered, sadness apparent in his tone.
I had left him, after all, and I was sure that he didn’t think I was coming back. And for a while, I didn’t think I was either.
“Playing go fish in the middle of the woods,” I said back low, knowing he would understand what I was saying.
My eyes wanted to look at anything else but his as I said it, I was scared to see his reaction. I only imagined how pissed he would be. But I couldn’t tear my gaze from his and his expression changed as the realization of what I meant set in. His eyes went wide with surprise for a second, then a slight smile graced his lips and his eyes lit the fuck up. And that was when my mouth tipped up too. I had never imagined the happiness I saw in his eyes but I found my heartwarming the longer he looked at me.
“Well, it seems that you came just in time,” the leader said pulling my attention away from Noah. “We are about to roll out.”
“No,” Noah roared and I hated what he was doing. “No fuckin’ way in Hell, Angel.”
“I want this. Ineedthis.”
“If you are there I won’t be able to concentrate. I won’t be able to do what I need to do.” I knew what he was saying was more than likely partially true, but he was doing his best to figure out what would make me surrender. That wasn’t to say that any words coming out of his mouth were false. I knew him well enough by then to know that the man didn’t lie and he had no problem showing his heart to the world.
“Noah,” I said, standing strong.
“I won’t take the chance on losing you,” he said firmly, not giving a fuck that everyone was witnessing this. “I can’t lose you.”
That was when my heart broke. Shattered. Splintered so hard that I wasn’t sure I could put it back together. I was torn like I’d never been before. I had revenge and hate running through my veins and a deep need to be there to help them end this, but now I had the overpowering love from a man begging me not to go.
Then I did something I never thought in a million years I’d do, I backed the fuck down.
With a firm nod and sad eyes, I took a step back, completely bowing down as much as I fucking could. I didn’t mistake the huge relieved breath that escaped his lungs. That should have been enough to make me plant my ass down somewhere and wait. But I was me and there was no way I was going to sit by while he went riding off into the Devil’s territory. I just had to let him think I was.
That was why I had a plan B.
Fucked up of me? Yes. But I was going to walk through the hottest fires of Hell for him so he could get his son and life back and nothing could fucking stop me.
“Time to go,” the leader said from his place at the head of the table as he stood.
Noah moved me out of the doorway only to use his body to plaster mine against the wall just outside the room as all the men shuffled out. There was something else on top of the antsy energy, something deeper than them going off to kill the man they all hated. If I wasn’t mistaken, there was a sense of urgency in the air, like they couldn’t wait another second to get on the move. I had no idea what was up and as much as I wanted to ask, I didn’t want to take up any more time.
And I knew they wouldn’t tell me anyway. I was smart enough to catch on that I was an outsider and the brotherhood ran strong. I would more than likely never know what went on in those meetings. I may not have liked it but a sense of loyalty that ran that deep I respected.
“Killer,” Axe said in a greeting as he passed with a tight tip of his chin.
My eyes narrowed on him as I studied his face. Something was going on with him. I may not have known him at all, but I knew people, and the look in his eyes was pure fear and desperation.
