Proving him wrong will be my life’s mission.
It has to be, because the only way Wraith and I will be free—together, or separately—is with David dead.
Once I’m finished in the bathroom, I head to the kitchen and grab a bag of chips. Good thing about living with two men who aren’t concerned about watching their weight is that the kitchen is stocked with wonderfully unhealthy snacks. Rather than go to bed, I rewatchZombielandfor the billionth time because it’s been ages since I’ve done something as simple as kick back and enjoy a movie without having to keep one eye on the television screen and the other on the door.
Isn’t that what life is all about? The quiet moments? The simple pleasures? Navigating through the storms to get to calmer weather? At least that’s my hope because, honestly, I don’t know how many more hurricanes I can withstand before I buckle under the winds.
Well, this right here is my calmer weather, and I intend to enjoy the hell out of it because as much as I want to believe we’re going to take David out, nothing is guaranteed. If my life is cut short, I want to go out knowing I lived these gifted days without a single regret.
15
Wraith
“Good?”
Jamie shakes her head, testing to see if the black motocross helmet fits snug on her head. She gives me a thumbs-up.
“Outstanding.” I secure goggles over the headgear and give the top of the helmet a playful tap. “Ready?”
“Absolutely.” She’s already off, practically skipping toward my Honda TRX250X.
I’ve never seen anything hotter than Jamie dressed heat to foot in O’Neal gear. It’s like her body was made to wear it. I grab her hand and help her up as she swings her leg over the quad. Christ, if we weren’t with my friends, I’d lay her out and devirginize her right here in the woods. Figure it’s as good a place as any. Peaceful. Pretty. Surrounded by nature and all that nice shit. Instead, I got Malice to my right, being his typical irritable self. Jester’s fucking around with Havoc, getting that ornery prick all worked up for no reason. And Discord’s being the typical younger brother, feeding off Jester to provoke Havoc’s temper.
Out-fucking-standing.
I almost feel sorry for Jamie because once we’re done riding and the drinking starts, that’s when the bullshitreallybegins. But she’s the one who wanted the full riding experience, so that’s what I’m giving her. Worst case scenario is that she won’t be reckless with her wishes after today. Best case is that she’ll shit the rest of the stick out of her ass and actually have a good time.
By the look of her sitting on that quad, I’m hoping it’s the latter, because Jamie unleashed must be one hell of a thing.
Once she’s comfortable, I climb up in front of her. She snakes her arms around my waist, and I place my hand over hers. “Got me?”
She grabs fistfuls of my jersey. “Yes.”
“We ride hard,” I warn.
“Good,” she yells.
I smile at her muffled shout and think back to yesterday morning when I woke up with a killer hangover after spending the day drinking at Sanctum. Jamie, in contrast, woke with a fire lit under her ass. I want to think my kiss had something to do with her sudden race to catch up with life.Yeah, no.More like she’s catching up on lost time.Whatever. Don’t care. Just want her happy. If it means taking her riding up the mountain with my friends, we go riding up the mountain with my friends.
I offered her an ATV of her own. She insisted on riding with me. No complaints here. There are worse ways to spend the afternoon than with Jamie snuggled against my back.
The boys finish gearing up, and I feel Jamie’s breathing quicken. Her little hands curl tighter in my jersey. The mouthpiece of her helmet bangs against me, and she mumble-yells an apology. I suspect she’s going to bump me black and blue by the time the day’s done, and it’s all good.
Again, just want this woman happy after she spent a lifetime absolutely miserable.
“Ready, assholes?” Malice shouts.
“As ready as your mother was last night, you prick,” Jester calls back.
Malice flips off Jester, and everyone starts their quads. Goddamn, Jamie has strong legs, and that sends my mind crashing into the gutter. She tightens her thighs around my hips, and my dick jumps to attention. But I have no time to linger on my uncomfortable erection situation because in the next instant I’m reminding Jamie to hold on and we’re off. Ripping up dirt. Whipping around trees. Racing over foliage. Speeding through streams. Climbing hills. Tearing it all up as we head higher, deeper into the forest that separates Mayhem from Falls Creek.
Jamie bangs around behind me, but she’s holding on, the mouthpiece scraping across my back as she turns her head right and left. Now I get why she didn’t want her own ATV. She wanted to sit back and enjoy the ride. Just look her fill and relax. I figure this is her time to let someone else take control. No worries. I got her. She can sit behind me and do her thing. I mean, fuck, she got me out of a goddamn dungeon. Least I can do is give her a proper tour of her own fucking mountain.
And itisher mountain.
Like it or not, Jamie’s Mayhem. Same as me. Same as all of us who were born here. This town’s in her blood. It’s why we found ourselves in that fucking hellhole together. Life, Fate or whatever, put us there because Mayhem’s gravity and it found a way to pull her back—even if I had to get torn apart to bring her home.
* * *
