"I don't want to talk to anyone about it, Brady." I wrap my arms around his waist and lean into him. His scent reminds me of better times. I take in a big whiff and close my eyes. The feeling of flying on his bike is something that I love and something that I never want to lose. If I had succeeded tonight, I wouldn't have been able to feel this again.
I lean when I need to lean. I don't bother opening my eyes. I know where the clubhouse is and I know exactly which roads we are going down. When he slows down to a stop, I feel him lower his feet and use the kickstand. He climbs off and then lifts me into his arms again.
"I can walk, Brady."
"I know, but I nearly lost you tonight, Lyssa. I just need to hold you close."
I sigh. He is going to make someone a good husband one day.
Chapter
One
TANK
What the fuck was Lyssa thinking? If she had succeeded in killing herself tonight, Spider would have rained down holy hell on whoever is responsible for making her feel like that is the only way out.
Actually, I would be too. Lyssa is my best friend’s sister. I've known her since she was small. She's always been an annoying brat, but seemed to have grown out of that stage over the last couple of years. We haven't really seen her much, she's been hanging with the 'I've got money' crowd. I'm not sure I know what she does for a living, but I think we need to find out.
When I ran into that room and saw her with a gun in her hand after she had shot the bullet, I freaked. Thank god we went in when we did or she would have died. Russian Roulette is a fool’s game.I don't know what I would have done if she had succeeded. I've long since harbored a crush on Lyssa. I don't like showing it, but if I'd ran in there first, she would have been in my arms and not Spider’s, and I'd never let her go.
We are back at the clubhouse and I see Spider carrying her upstairs to one of the free rooms. "I'll have a beer, prospect." I look at the young kid who wants to be a patched member of the Rebel Heart MC.
"Here you are." He hands me a bottle and I take a swig. I drink down nearly half of the bottle and he reaches down and opens another one for me. "Was it tough out there?"
"It was torture." I finish the first bottle and then pick up the second one, pushing away from the bar.
"Hey Prez," I say as I walk through the clubhouse to where my brothers are sitting.
"Hey, Tank. We're just wondering what got Lyssa so worked up that she thought the only way out was to kill herself."
"I was just thinking the same. She has always been levelheaded and not tempestuous at all." I see Spider coming back down the stairs. "Hey Prospect, another round of beets please."
Spider comes and sits next to me. "She's sleeping. Tank, what the fuck happened? Thank god we went over there, man. I sensed something was wrong from her text. But I did not expect that. You know that last bullet would have killed her, right?" He takes the beer offered to him by the prospect. "Thanks." We all get new bottles and the prospect takes the old ones away.
"Spider, what the fuck has been happening in her life. She was happy with that schmuck, what the hell went wrong."
Spider looks at me. "Schmuck?" Then he laughs. "He was a bit of a schmuck alright."
We laugh. "How is she, though?" I ask when everyone else is talking to each other.
"Not good. She wouldn't talk to me and tell me what was going on. Do you mind trying in the morning? She might talk to you."
I laugh. "Really, she's going to talk to me more than you?"
He laughs, then puts on a serious face. "I know she had a crush on you for years."
"What? She did?"
"Yeah." He takes a sip of his beer. "Didn't you notice how she felt about you? I'm glad, because I never wanted you to fuck her and leave her, so it was a good job you didn't notice. But I need you to use that advantage and find out what happened. We need to find out and then we need to deal with it the Rebel Hearts way."
The last thing I want to do is betray her trust, but Spider is right. We need to deal with this the Rebel Hearts way. "Of course I'll speak to her. I'm not sure she's going to appreciate it, but I'll do it for you. For me. For all of us."
We drink more beer and then me and Spider go upstairs to bed. We stop at the door to her room and open it silently. She's tossing and turning on the bed, we can see beads of sweat on her forehead and her hair looks wet. She still looks beautiful though and all I want to do is climb into the bed with her and hold her. But that is not going to happen. Not tonight. Not ever.
"Should one of us stay with her?" I ask and silently kick myself for even thinking it.
"I'll stay with her. She's my sister."
