I squeezed her hand softly. “Hey, you know we can always have a girls’ day at the clubhouse.”
“I can’t be a recluse for the rest of my life. I never thought a bullet would keep me down. You would think I’d be scared of the Reapers with how burly my ex was, but men do not scare me.”
“Well, you have us to help you, and once Everly is dead, then we won’t have to be scared anymore,” I reassured her. “I wish you didn’t get hurt, and I wish Layla was still here.”
“Hey—” Fallon nudged me, “—none of that. It’s not your fault. Layla will get her peace and Everly will die for taking her from us. We will always remember Layla and her life.” It didn’t help the guilt. I knew it wasn’t my fault, but Everly and her partner did it because of me.
“I know. I’m sorry for killing the vibe.”
Annika grabbed my hand this time. “We can worry about the rest of the world later. Right now, we focus on quality time.” Annika sipped her coffee. “I’ve missed you, but I know waking you with the person you love is better than waking up to an empty bed.”
“It is definitely nice waking up with Blaize and not waking up to the sound of you fucking one or all of your men.”
Fallon laughed, clutching her chest dramatically. “You’veheardthem fucking?”
“I’veseenthem fucking with Blaize’s fingers buried in my pussy, but I play the music. It felt like I was invading their privacy, which was dumb to think ‘cause she likes it,” I told her. “Anyways, I’ve missed you, too. We need to plan more girls’ nights. I’ve been okay. Finding out Everly was behind everything hurt. It felt like I was stabbed in the back because I trusted her. Hell, I used her to make Blaize jealous.”
“What did she do?” Fallon asked. “Hawke never told me. Said he didn’t want me to worry about it, but I know it meant he didn’t want me to be pissed off.”
“Hawke kidnapped me, basically. He was pulsating with rage as he slammed me against the wall and drugged me with something. I woke up chained in the basement of the clubhouse. I had a panic attack because I was terrified, and I ended up cutting my wrist. Blaize triggered me when she ripped my babydoll dress, and I went into a panic attack.”
Fallon tensed next to me as fiery anger flashed through her blue eyes. “I’m going to fucking castrate the asshole.”
I grabbed her hand, giving her a thankful smile. “There’s no reason. I’ve healed from it. I’ve made Blaize pay, and Hawke had to see you in a hospital bed. I understand why they did it, but they reacted horribly. There’s no reason to be angry anymore.”
“I’m still going to torment him just for you, babe. I still can’t believe Everly did this,” Fallon sneered.
“She fooled everyone,” I admitted. “Hunter was fucking her, and didn’t even know. She had a goal, and she accomplished it. The dumb bitch should’ve left Dom out of it if she wanted more time to sabotage. I’m just glad they know it’s her so she can’t hurt anyone under their nose anymore. I want to be happy without the fear and without Blaize’s paranoia. I get why, but I want to be happy with my girlfriend.”
My phone chimed, and I smiled at Blaize’s name. “She’s about to ditch us, Fallon.” Annika laughed.
I looked at the text message, and there was a picture on the cliffside with a picnic set up. “She has a date set up for us. She said she wanted to do something special for us today.”
“Go,” Fallon said. “We can do something together at the clubhouse. I’ll make one of Annika’s guys bring me home or call Hawke. Go see your girl.”
“I love you guys.
I grabbed my things and headed back to Blaize’s Jeep with a fluttery feeling in my belly. A picnic? Blaize didn’t exactly scream hopeless romantic, but she did have certain aspects of one.Either way, I didn’t care. Anything she did made me fall deeper in love with her.
CHAPTER 79
KADENCE
When I made it to the cliffside, the sun was kissing the horizon, leaving a romantic golden glow in its wake. I saw the picnic set up in the same area where we made confessions before we made love for the first time. Maybe I needed to fuck Blaize on the cliffside to really add to our relationship. It was breathtaking, and the way the sun hit it made it even more romantic. Then my stomach dropped. I really hoped she wasn’t planning on proposing to me tonight. I loved Blaize more than anything, but that was something I was not ready for. Unless I was?
I was only twenty-three. I’d never thought of marriage or a family because of the fuck up I’d been in my parents’ life. I’d never had anyone love me like Blaize did. What if I passed my fucked-up genes to children? That was even if Blaize wanted more kids after what happened to her daughter. My nose scrunched at the thought. I didn’t even know if I wanted babies, but we were nowhere close to that part of our relationship.
Most girls dreamed of their fairytale wedding, making vision boards on Pinterest with a set theme of how they expect their special day to go, but I never had a desire for it. One day, I knew I would possibly get married, but as I got older and my love lifekept getting shittier and shittier, that ship set sail. Then I met Blaize. I could see forever in her eyes, and it made my heart sing. We both deserved this, a love so passionate it could create galaxies.
I locked the car doors and started walking toward the cliffside. The salty ocean air whipped through my hair as I pulled the sweater closer to my body—a habit when I was anxious or needed a distraction. I looked around to see if Blaize was hiding in the tree line, but she was nowhere to be seen. A chill danced up my spine as fear crept in. I wasn’t a fan of cat and mouse, and she knew it, but why would she have me come out here and hide from me? Unless this was some sexual fantasy she had, but she’d talk to me about that first, instead of sneaking up on me.
The picnic was set up closer to the edge as it came into better view. As I got closer, she was still nowhere to be found, and I was tired of whatever game she was playing. I would leave and make her come to me. Spinning around to look in the tree line once more, I brought my phone to my ear. Blaize’s number was on speed dial, and I wasn’t in the mood for whatever kink she was trying to play. I frowned when the call went straight to voicemail.
“Uhm, Blaize, I’m at the cliffside, but I don’t know where you are—” A gasp fell from my lips as I got closer to a scarlet-stained white blanket scattered with pictures. “Oh my God.” My phone fell from my hand, crashing to the ground as I saw Olivia in the pictures.
Blaize never told me the details of what happened to her wife and daughter, but these pictures gave me enough. Various photos showed Olivia bound, naked and bleeding with fear in her eyes. The torture she endured because of a bitter man was heart-wrenching, and it made me understand now why Blaize reacted how she did when she thought I was working with Ethan West and Ava.
How could Everly do something like this? What was done to her to make her this cruel? She already tried to ruin the fragile bond Blaize and I had, but she failed, so she had to take the coward's way out and have Dominic try to kill me. If she was smart, she would have done something when we’d hung out outside of work, but I guess she had different plans.
