Standing there in that empty parking lot, I felt the weight of my choices pressing down on me like a physical burden.For the first time since I’d met Vittorio, I felt pulled in two directions, torn between duty and the unexpected need I had to be with Wren.To protect her.
I ran a hand through my hair, muttered a curse that fogged in the cool night air.There was nothing to do but continue.See it through to the end.Maybe, if I was lucky, I'd find a way to make Wren understand when it was all over.Maybe she'd listen when I could tell her the whole truth.
Or maybe I'd already lost her for good.
I turned and walked back to my apartment, each step on the cold ground a reminder of what I'd sacrificed.The door closed behind me with a hollow click, sealing me in with my divided loyalties and the lingering scent of Wren's skin on my sheets.
Chapter Nine
Wren
Igunnedthethrottleandshot out of Rocky's parking lot, peeling out and fishtailing dangerously as I skidded on some loose asphalt.Once on the road, the night air bit my face, cold fingers reaching beneath my jacket collar.Tears blurred my vision and cooled my face as I leaned into the first turn, taking it too fast, the back wheel skidding slightly before catching the asphalt again.That was twice, but I didn't care.Let the bike slide out from under me.Let the road tear my skin to ribbons.It couldn't hurt worse than the knife Rocky had just shoved through my chest straight into my heart.
The engine screamed beneath me, matching the silent howl building inside my throat.I pushed the bike harder, faster, blowing through a red light without slowing.Horns blared as a car swerved to avoid me.The rush of adrenaline did nothing to dull the pain.
"Fucking Copperheads," I spat into my helmet, the words a curse that burned like acid.I clenched the handlebars until my fingers went numb.I'd been so fucking stupid.So goddamn naive.Rocky had picked me out like a target, zeroing in on me because of who I was to Ghost and Bound in Blood.Every touch, every kiss, every whispered word had been calculated.A means to an end.
Wind whipped at my clothes, finding its way through to my skin.My T-shirt —his shirt, I realized with fresh rage— offered little protection against the chill.I should have taken time to grab my own clothes.I snorted a laugh that sounded suspiciously like a sob.Should have done a lot of fucking things differently.
The streets blurred into a maze of lights and shadows as I wove through late-night traffic.I leaned into a curve, scraping my boot on the pavement as I took the turn too tight, too fast.The danger felt good, felt real.Something solid to focus on besides the hollow ache in my chest.
I had no destination in mind, just…away.Away from Rocky, away from the lies, away from the look on his face when he realized I'd heard his phone call.That pleading, desperate look that almost — almost — made me want to believe whatever bullshit story he was spinning about working with Vittorio Luca.As if the Luca family would work with a Copperhead.
Suddenly the city lights fell away as I found myself climbing the winding road toward Taylor's Peak.My bike roared against the steep incline, pushing harder as the road curved up toward the overlook.I hadn't consciously chosen to come here, but some part of me must have known I needed space from everything below the remote overlook.
The parking area sat empty, a crescent of cracked asphalt bordered by a metal guardrail.Beyond it, the city spread out like spilled jewels against black velvet.I killed the engine and sat for a moment, the sudden silence pressing against my head, broken only by the ticking of the cooling metal beneath me.
My legs shook as I dismounted.One step, two, then I turned and shoved my bike.It toppled with a crash, the headlight flickering then dying as it pointed uselessly at the dark sky.The fall probably scratched the custom paint job, but I couldn't bring myself to care.
"FUCK!"The scream tore from my throat, raw and animal, echoing across the valley below."FUCK YOU, ROCKY!"
My voice bounced back at me, mocking.I grabbed the metal guardrail, the cold steel biting into my palms as I squeezed until my knuckles went white.Tears burned hot tracks down my cheeks, dripping onto the metal beneath my hands.
"Stupid, stupid, STUPID!"I pounded my fists against the rail, each impact sending shocks of pain up my arms and hands.The physical hurt felt good, felt deserved.What kind of idiot falls for the oldest trick in the book?Ghost had warned me.Jack had made it clear.The Copperheads were dangerous, were pushing into our territory, were looking for any weakness they could exploit.
And I'd handed them one on a Goddamned silver platter.Opened my legs and my heart.Thank God I was smart enough to not have said anything about the club.Though, honestly, Rocky hadn’t asked me anything.We’d always been too focused on sex for much pillow talk.
My legs gave out and I sank to the cold pavement, hugging my knees to my chest.The sobs came in earnest now, deep and painful, tearing through my chest like the slash of a very sharp knife.I'd trusted him.Worse, I'd let myself care.Let myself imagine, just for a moment, that whatever was happening between us might be something real.Even if I hadn’t acknowledged those fantasies to myself.
My own words to him about his lies echoed in my head.But maybe I was the one who couldn't tell truth from lies.Maybe I'd imagined the gentle way he'd touched me, the look in his eyes when he thought I was sleeping, the way he'd held me like I was something precious.
The wind picked up, cutting through my clothing and forcing a shiver from my body.I couldn't stay here all night, feeling sorry for myself.Ghost would worry.Honey would freak out.And I had information that the club needed to know, regardless of how I'd acquired it.
I wiped my face with my hands.Standing up felt like climbing a mountain, my muscles protesting as I forced myself upright.The ground tilted beneath me for a moment before steadying.
My bike lay on its side, looking somehow smaller and more vulnerable than it had standing upright.Like me.The bitter thought had the sickening ring of truth.I bent down and gripped the handlebars, hauling it back onto its wheels with a grunt of effort.I started the engine and it rumbled to life beneath me like an angry beast.
I took one last look at the city spread out below, the lights now blurry through my tear-swollen eyes.Somewhere down there, Rocky was in his apartment, maybe planning his next move, maybe reporting to his Copperhead brothers about the stupid girl he'd managed to fool.Did he laugh about me to them?I snorted.Of course he did.
Not anymore.I wasn't that girl now.I was Wren of Bound in Blood, Ghost's daughter, and no fucking Copperhead would get the better of me again.
I turned my bike toward the road leading down the mountain, toward the compound, toward home.My chest still ached, my eyes still burned, but my jaw was set, teeth clenched against the pain.I'd cry tonight, hate myself tonight, but tomorrow—tomorrow I'd make damn sure Rocky regretted ever crossing my path.
It wasn’t long before the compound loomed ahead, its familiar outline both welcoming and threatening.I couldn't face Ghost, not yet.Not with tear tracks still fresh on my cheeks and Rocky's betrayal still burning in my chest.I guided my bike past the main building, circling around to the converted garage apartments where Honey and Jack now lived.The red neon glow from the sign out front painted everything in a bloody wash as I killed the engine and stared up at their window.Light still glowed despite the late hour.Someone was awake.
I climbed the metal stairs, each step clanging beneath my boots.My hand hesitated at the door.Honey would take one look at me and know something was wrong.Jack would demand answers, and once I started talking, there'd be no taking it back.No pretending I hadn't fucked up royally.
But Honey was my best friend.I had no one else to turn to.
