19 OLIVIA
It’s been a hell of a long time since I’ve been at the Saint’s Outlaws. Their compound has moved. They took over my brother’s place where Ghost Town In The Sky used to be. They reopened the lift and gave the place new life. It’s cool. I don’t really like being here, though. The place where Bear and I were held is totally different from this place. Still, knowing the Feral Kings and my brother used to live here have my nerves stretched tight.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Blade asks, one hand on my lower back and the other on Winnie’s. It might seem strange to anyone who knew our story, but it makes me smile—despite the stress I’m under.
I have my hands in the blazer I’m wearing. My fingers are wrapped around a pistol that once belonged to Bear. Cross gave it to me not long after I moved out of the treatment center and in with Winnie. The two of us used to go to school and later to target practice so I could get my conceal and carry license and learn how to operate the gun correctly. I already know I’m going to kill Ayita. I promised that to Bear. He was too delirious to understand, but I swore I would, and I’m definitely going to be the person to end her miserable life. I also swore I’d do the same to Douglas. I don’t know if I’ll be strong enough to do that—or even get the opportunity, but I’m damn well going to try. If Lucky and Demon were still alive, they’d be on the list also.
“I’m fine. It’s just weird being here … You know?” I answer Blade, and Winnie reaches over and squeezes my arm. I give her a smile. “I promise I’m okay.” She nods.
I’m glad she believes me. I took extra anxiety meds and fought off a panic attack. This is too important for me to lose it now. I’ll worry about doing that tomorrow. I just need to get through this, then fake it enough that Winnie goes home with Blade. I can hide from Mrs. Dynes.
Cross comes over and pulls me into his arms. I have to admit I feel better being closer to him than to Blade. I’m glad Blade and I have buried the hatchet—and not into one another—but Cross has been a saving grace for me. He and Winnie kept me going. It’s why I’m so glad Blade called him the minute I told him the truth about Ayita. I need Cross beside me.
“Hold up. There’s something missing here before we go face down the bitch and let her know we’re on to her,” Cross says.
“What’s that?” Winnie asks.
I turn to look at her and notice that Blade has moved so that he is reaching into Cross’s truck. He pulls out a box. I gasp, air lodging so tight in my chest that I feel like I might explode. It’s the cut that Bear had made for me years ago. He told me when we were being held that it was the only way he was allowed to claim me and honor my wishes. God, I was so stupid. I stepped aside for a woman whom I thought was a sister to me. I thought she loved Bear. I thought he loved her, and in a way, he did. I know he was good to her, and he never cheated—at least physically. He put her first, even before I got with Blade. For her to betray him the way she did makes me sick.
As I look at the cut, tears sting my eyes. I immediately put it on over my blazer. I look at Blade and then at Cross. “Thank you,” I tell them, my voice thick with unshed tears. I fight to get control over my emotions. This moment is too important. When we stand at the door, Blade looks at me. “Are you sure you’re ready, Olivia? Cross can take you home, and you can stay there and let me deal with this. I promise that every single one of us would understand.”
I immediately shake my head no. “I need to be here. I promised Bear I would be. I’m not going back on what was essentially my last vow to him.”
Blade nods, his face tight. He walks in first, Winnie beside him.
“Blade, you didn’t tell us you were bringing a woman by. Is she a new play toy?” I hear one of the boys ask.
“No, she’s fucking not. She’s my old lady. Show her some fucking respect. Arwen, meet the assholes that I sometimes call my brothers.”
“Hey guys. Just call me Winnie. The only one to call me Arwen is Blade, and I’m pretty sure he does it just to annoy me.”
“Hey, Cross. What are you hiding back there?” Hangman asks.
I take a breath. This is it. I step around Blade and look at the men that Bear loved.
“Holy fuck,” Hangman says, getting up instantly. “Livy.” He hugs me tightly and I smile. I’ve always liked Hangman. I was friends with his sister, and their family was special to me.
“Hey,” I whisper.
He places a kiss on the top of my head. “Missed you, girl.”
“Missed you, too,” I respond.
He turns his gaze to Blade. “You’re not going to?—”
“Olivia is under our protection. She’s family,” Blade says at once, and I let those words slide over me. It feels good.
“The fuck she is!” Ayita screeches coming from the hall. “How the hell could you let that bitch in our clubhouse?”
“She belongs here,” Blade says, his voice hardening.
“Maybe you forgot how she set your brother up to die—or the way her brother took his life, but I sure as hell haven’t! Damn it, Blade, are you so weak that you would let this whore lead you around by her dick?”
“That’s rich. You calling me a whore,” I growl, all the hate I have for this woman rising inside of me.
“Are you going to deny that most of the Feral Kings hasn’t had you? You were nothing more than their plaything.”
“I can’t deny it,” I answer, beating down the shame I feel. It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault. “Especially since you helped my brother order them to rape me.”
