“It’s not an obsession. I have to stay.”
“Why?” he pokes, trying to get information out of me.
He ignores my glare and folds his arms across his chest. “Give me one good reason why you have to keep stalking this chick like this, and I’ll leave you alone.”
“Because she’s in danger, Voor!” my shout echoes across the street. “More danger than we thought.”
“In danger how?”
The puff of breath I exhale blows up my bangs, revealing just a portion of my scars. “She has a contract with Moseley she can’t get out of, not without my help.”
“What kind of contract?” he asks, his head slightly tilting.
“There was some kind of clause in her lease agreement with him that stated by signing the contract, she was handing her life over to him, making her his. He called it a marriage clause.”
“What the fuck?”
“That’s what I said.”
“You gotta tell Drac.” When I don’t immediately agree, he shakes me. “Snap out of it! You can’t protect her alone, Brother. If you’re going to keep her safe, you’re going to need the help of the entire club.”
“She doesn’t want my help, Voor. I offered it, and she turned it down.”
He notices my uncomfortable shift, and frowns. “Shit, you kissed her, didn’t you?”
I suck in another frustrated breath.
“Did she reject you?”
“Not exactly. Fuck, Voor, she’s the first woman that’s come into my life and actually admired my scars. Do you know what that does to a man?”
He leans back against the table, his elbows propping him up. “Fuck, so not only does she bake some killer sweets, but she’s also sweet on the inside too.”
“Not to mention the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. That red hair… God, it does shit to my loins that would make even your whorish ass blush.”
Voorhees chuckles. “Sounds like you may have met the one, man.”
“And that’s what fucking scares me, Voor. I’m already so attached to her, and she’s pushing me away. She doesn’t want to leave her bakery; she says it’s her dream. Now she won’t even talk to me because I tried to pull her away from that. She’s marked to be trafficked, and she doesn’t even care.”
“So, everything we heard that night was true? Moseley’s got plans to sell her?”
“Yup,” I grit out, popping the ‘p’ in frustration. “And there ain’t shit I can do about it. Not with her pushing me away.”
“It’s hard to pull someone away from their dreams, Brother. Take our fearless leader, for example. His dream was always to marry Amber, and even after five years of separation, you couldn’t change his mind about that.”
“He’s an exception.”
“True. But you can’t blame the girl for wanting to stick to something she’s put blood, sweat, and tears into. It’s not like she’s alone. Amber’s been there with her every day to help her run her business.”
“Which is another reason I’m here. Drac would kill me if something happened to his wife.”
“Tell you what. Come back with me to the club. Get yourself cleaned up, sit down for Church, then you can come back here and continue your stalking.”
“I don’t know, Voor. I’m afraid to leave her.”
He lays a friendly hand on my shoulder. “She’ll be fine. I promise. But it’s important for Drac to know what’s going on. The last thing we need is for him to get upset because you’re keeping shit from him.”
“I guess you’re right.”
