Page 24 of Damascus & The Wildfire
“Nothing? I seem to remember you being completely opposed to me protecting Eva when she first started working with the club. Now you’re outside Kenna’s house all night?”
I narrowed my eyes but kept my mouth shut.
“Yeah, I know you were there last night,” Reaper continued. “I saw your truck. I drove by, too. Eva was worried, so I offered to check up on her. Color me surprised when I saw you standing guard.”
“Kenna’s a friend of the club, and we need to watch her back. It’s that simple.”
Reaper raised a brow at me skeptically. “That’s it? She’s a friend of the club? That’s the only reason we’re putting club resources on her?”
“She’s Eva’s best friend. Eva is your old lady. It’s no different from when you protected Eva when she was only Rhetta’s best friend to you.” My tone grew irritated.
Reaper huffed a laugh. “I see the way you watch her when she’s on Hatchet’s arm. If you two let a woman get between you?—”
“Enough,” I snapped. “I’m not debating this with you. Kenna’s a friend. If she wants to be with Hatchet, I won’t stop her.” I let out a bitter laugh. “Not that it would last long.”
Reaper flexed his jaw. He stared at me before releasing a long sigh. “If you say so.”
He clapped me on the shoulder, his grip tightening for a second before he let go. The unspoken warning hung heavy in the air between us.
Don’t let this get messy.
Don’t let a woman get between Hatchet and me, and tear the club apart.
Chapter Nine
The nights following my downtown mugging blurred by in a fit of restless dreams and panicked awakenings. I tossed and turned all night, tangling my sheets around my legs. My body tensed at every creak as the house settled around me, and the echo of imagined footsteps made my heart race. In the dark, shadows seemed to shift in the corners into the shapes of men and monsters.
My mind replayed the moment over and over. The stranger’s grip on my purse, the punch to my jaw, the sharp sting of my palms scraping across the pavement. The paralyzing helplessness.
Eva and I met up at a local trail to go for an easy run with Hawk. The morning air was already thick, and the scent of dewy grass and wildflowers tickled my nose. Mockingbirds chirped in the trees, and the distant hum of traffic was a reminder that life drove forward despite my nightmares.
We slowed to a walk after a mile or so to give Hawk a rest. “You look tired,” Eva commented as she took in the dark circles around my eyes.
My instinct was to make a joke, to turn this bruised, hauntedsleeplessness into something lighter for Eva’s sake. But I knew she’d see right through it.
I sighed. “Every little noise wakes me up. I don’t know why. It’s not like anything happened at home. But they have my purse, which means they have my driver’s license. They have my address.”
Eva handed me Hawk’s leash so she could rustle around in her purse. With a rubber band, she pulled her hair off her sweaty neck and into a ponytail.
“Maybe you should get a dog. A big one. The shelter’s always looking for fosters.”
I laughed as Hawk caught sight of a squirrel and pulled at the leash, jerking me forward. He let out a small yip in frustration.
“Maybe. It would be nice not to be alone at night.”
Eva bumped my shoulder. “I can think of other ways to solve that problem, based on the looks I see Hatchet throwing your way.”
I laughed, but it was hollow. “We’re friends. That’s all. I’m not ready for more. I told him that.”
“Sorry I keep pushing,” Eva said with a sad smile. “I know you and Alec were together for a long time. But he wouldn’t want you to be alone. You know that, right?”
I glanced away, pressing the emotion down and swallowing the lump in my throat. “I know. But I’m not ready to move on. I’m not over it.”
Eva squeezed my arm. “I don’t know that you’ll ever get over it. You can make space for someone else without losing what you had with Alec.”
Her words settled over me. But the thought of opening my heart again, of letting someone in, was terrifying. The mugging had only made it worse—reminding me how fragile my safety was. I stayed silent for a beat before shifting the topic. “Maybe we should take a self-defense class or something.”
Eva scoffed. “As if our personal bodyguards will let anyone get close enough for us to need to use it.”
