“It’s ok, baby.”
She swallows and then looks to the door as Juggler and Griff walk in.
“Easy, Flex,” Griff tells her. “It’s just his bike being ridden here.” She relaxes a little, but then I sense her looking at me as my eyes stay fixed on Juggler.
“Wrath?” She asks, but Juggler speaks.
“Flex, we love you, but you need to go home with Wrath.”
“What?” she cries, climbing out of my lap and moving toward her dad, but he stops her, and turns her to face him.
“Kiddo, he’s right.”
“Dad?”
He pulls her into a hug. “You ran to protect him and his club, but he followed you. Sweetheart, you need to go home with him; you need to tell them. I know you’re keeping the truth from them but knowing that the son-of-a-bitch is still out there is killing you.”
I see her body tremble as she looks at him. “But what if they hate me? What if telling them hurts them more?”
“What if he hurts someone else?” her father asks, and she lets out a sob.
Needing to give her strength, I step forward, pulling her back to my front, my hands grabbing at her sides. She leans into me and nods. “Ok.”
I breathe a sigh of relief and wrap my arms around her. “I know you’re being pushed right now, but I need you to tell me you’re ok with this. Forget the reasons why, forget the shit you’ve been through for thirty seconds and tell me you want this, you want me?”
She turns in my arms and looks up at me; she grabs both sides of my face.
“Wrath.” She smiles at me. “Of course I want this. I love you too.”
“Thank fuck.” Relief floods through me.
Chapter
Fifty-Four
I’m exhausted, sore and terrified by the time we reach the Soulless Knights clubhouse. I’d begged Wrath not to bring me here when we stopped for a rest, but he said that they were expecting us. He said that his brothers wanted to see me, they wanted me home. I can’t help the fear that courses through me as I step up to the door and freeze on the spot.
“You’re safe, baby. I promise you,” he whispers in my ear as he grabs my hand and pulls me through the door.
I grip his hand tighter and my body trembles as the room goes silent and everyone turns to face us. He pulls me closer to him and I feel the heat of the prospect on my other side. Taking the strength that they give me I let my eyes flick around the room, scanning for him, for them.
I watch as Maria and Georgia-Rae run up to me and wrap their arms around me.
“Thank God he brought you back,” Maria tells me as Georgia just hugs me and then steps back to give me a smile and a nod. Then I see her glance to her right as Nitro steps up right beside her. He gives her a quick look and then looks back at me, I don’t have time to really wonder what the looks mean as he steps up and pulls me into him.
“You’re safe here, Flex.” I let out a sob at the nickname Griff gave me when we were teenagers.
Wrath doesn’t let go of my hand as he leads me in the direction Nitro just indicated to. As we reach the doors to Church, I stop; shit, are they going in there and leaving me out here to fend for myself. I didn’t see them here, but what if they turn up when Wrath is in Church. I turn to look at the prospect, hoping that he’ll at least be out here with me. But he smiles and nods, then looks behind to Wrath.
“Firecracker, I need your phone.” I look down at his outstretched hand then back up at his face confused. “No phones in Church, baby,” he tells me, but it only adds to my confusion.
“Marissa.” Nitro steps up to me. “We need you in Church, sweetheart. As soon as we’re done you can get some rest, but we need to talk first.”
I lick my lips and glance at Wrath, he smiles squeezing my hand, letting me know it’s ok. I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, my hands shake as I hand it over. Wrath places it in a locker on the wall just outside of the door and then guides me into the room.
The clubhouse is an old, abandoned hotel; the room they use for Church is what used to be a conference room; there is a large wooden table in the middle of the room, the Soulless Knights crest carved into the middle of it.
As I look around the room, I’m surprised at how clean it is. The walls are a light grey colour. I turn to face the large window that looks onto the side of the grounds, and I’m thrown by the fact it’s not been boarded up.
