SHADOW
Itake a deep breath before resting my hand on the front door of the clubhouse. I have no regrets about what I did to save Mika, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be repercussions.
“I’ve got your back,” Wraith says, clapping a hand over my shoulder. “It wasn’t just your girl you saved in there.”
I look over at one of my oldest friends, and there is an intense emotion in his eyes. His comment confirmed what I thought I saw last night – an instant, overwhelming need to protect a woman he hardly knew.
“We’ll find her,” I promise. I can’t imagine what he’s going through right now. I have Mika safe and sound at home, but Wraith watched his woman storm out into the night alone.
“Oh, I know,” he says confidently, a little smirk on his lips. “Because I’m gonna be the one to do it.” Wraith gets a far-off look in his eyes, one of admiration and determination. I assume he’s thinking about the first time he saw her. “She’s a fighter. She walked right up to a Sons of Destruction member and yanked his gun out of his hand before shoving it in her bra and kicking down the back door. God, she’s gonna be trouble. And I’m going to love it.”
“Why aren’t you out there already looking for her?” I open the door to the clubhouse, and we both walk inside, finishing our conversation.
“She made it to a motel last night, and I stayed up watching the door like some obsessed creep. I fell asleep at some point and woke up to a text from the Prez about church. When I checked her room, she was gone.” He shakes his head, though there’s a spark in his eyes. Wraith has always loved a challenge. “The enigmatic woman left me a note telling me to fuck off.”
I chuckle a bit at that. He’s going to have his hands full, that’s for sure. “And you think Reaper will give you resources and permission to leave during this time?”
“My plan is to let you take the brunt of Reaper’s anger, and then I’ll follow up with a simple request to check on a lead with one of the women at the auction that night. Easy peasy.”
I glare at Wraith, who gives me a shit-eating grin. The bastard. He’s a tough motherfucker, and loyal to the very end. He might have a killer sense of humor and confidence, but Wraith has his insecurities like the rest of us. It’s going to be fun watching him meet his match in Athena.
“Will you stop gossipping and get your asses in here?” Reaper shouts from inside the conference room.
Wraith and I give each other a look, and he nods for me to go in first. “Scared?” I tease.
“Now that everyone’s here,” Reaper says, staring a hole through my head, “I can ask the question that’s been burning on my mind since last night. Shadow, what the hell were you thinking?”
I know the President well enough by now to know that wasn’t a real question, and he’s not ready for an answer anyway.
“I thought my instructions were very clear. Gather information. Don’t make a scene. I believe the term I used was stealth mission. Did any of that filter into your brain beforestorming through the auction house and disobeying every order I gave you?” His accusations hang heavy in the air, the shouted words in striking contrast to the silence. “Well? What possible explanation could you have for wreaking such havoc on the club’s plans?”
Reaper has been our president for years now, and we all respect the hell out of him. His anger comes from a good place. Reaper wants the auction house, as well as Sons of Destruction, out of our town just as much, if not more than, most of the people in this room. That’s why I know he’s going to understand.
I stand from my seat and face the President of Wicked Riders MC with my shoulders squared and my head held high. I look right at him and speak the truth. “Because they were about to auction off my wife.”
A few snickers are heard around the room, and then my brothers break out into whispers and speculation. They might not look like it, but bikers gossip worse than the head of the prayer chain at St. Mary’s.
I don’t give a shit about their opinions, though. I only care about what the President thinks. Reaper clenches his jaw, his eyes roaming over my face as he digests my words. A few weeks ago, Reaper would’ve made me clean the bathrooms and everyone’s bike for a year, or hell, kicked me out altogether for ruining a mission like that. But now? The big, burly President has a woman of his own. Lynx. He would do anything to keep her safe, and he knows the fear of having someone threaten his very reason for breathing. I hope he sees the same devotion he has for the love of his life reflected in my eyes.
Reaper nods once, then crosses his arms over his chest. That’s it. Without so much as a word, he’s not only accepted my explanation, but he’s shown his support for my relationship.
I sit down, and Wraith winks at me. “Good job,” he whispers. “You two bonded over falling in love, and I’ll have to do thesame. The three amigos!“ I roll my eyes at my friend, but I can’t hide the smile on my face.
The President launches into a breakdown of what happened last night for anyone who missed it. I can tell he’s biting his tongue during some points, even though he really wants to cuss me out.
“...So, while we disrupted one auction, we were unable to find out the key players. Sons of Destruction scattered to the four winds like the cowards they are, and the stampede of filthy, rich, vile bastards made it difficult to find the Madame or anyone else associated with management.” Reaper gives me a sharp glance, letting me know that while he understands why I did what I did, there are still serious consequences.
An hour later, I’m pulling into the driveway of my home. My head is swirling with thoughts of seeing Mika again, as well as the church meeting that just ended. We’re waiting on more intel for the next auction before we can do anything again, and Reaper made it clear that the next time will be the last time. We’ll go in, guns blazing, with enough evidence to put everyone away for a long time. Those we don’t put away, we’ll put down for good.
I walk inside, expecting to see Mika in the living room, but she’s not there. Peering into the kitchen, I frown when I don’t see her there either. She might be taking a nap in her room, but I don’t want to disturb her. Still, I should take a peek just to make sure she’s safe.
Before I get to her door, however, I stop short when I see she’s in a different room altogether. It’s my favorite room in the whole house, actually, and seeing my precious girl snuggled on the love seat with a blanket wrapped around her and her nose in a book has me feeling all warm and fuzzy in a way I can’t quite explain.
She hasn’t noticed me just yet, so I lean against the door frame and take a moment to appreciate her beauty. Golden rays of late afternoon sun pour through the window and highlight Mika’s red hair, making it sparkle. Her long eyelashes flutter against the smooth, porcelain skin of her cheek, and I have the strongest urge to kiss her there. Hell, I wanna kiss her everywhere, but now isn’t the time.
“I see you found my dirty little secret,” I say as I step further into the room. She looks up at me with a soft smile that I eat right up. Her honey-colored eyes meet mine, and it’s all I can do not to drop to one knee right here, right now.
“Having a library isn’t a dirty little secret.”
