Page 27 of Her Avenging Angel

Chapter Nineteen

Raven stared down atthe top of Taylynn’s head, his arms spread wide as she wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him tight. He wasn’t sure but he thought he’d seen tears in her eyes as she’d hurried his way. He stood for a moment, not sure what to do before lowering his arms. He wrapped them around her and held her back. This was the first time she’d reached out and touched him, or as far as he knew, any of the men, on purpose.

This was a huge step and he couldn’t believe all it had taken was a pair of boots. Well, he’d gotten her more, but the boots, and the promise of a ride was all she knew about now. He’d thought he’d have to wait until he got her on the back of his bike to get her arms around him. And he’d held off on that until she’d gotten her cast off to make it easier and to have something for her to celebrate.

No, he hadn’t known it was happening today, but he’d known it would be soon, so he’d gotten the boots and the other surprise for her a few days before and had just been waiting for the right moment.

“Thank you,” her words were muffled as her face was still buried against his chest.

“You’re welcome, little one. I want to make sure you have what you need and that you have fun today. I know you’ve been going a little stir crazy being stuck here for the last couple of months. You ready to go?”

“Not yet, but it will only take me a minute to get these on.” She released him, retrieved the boots from the bar and took them to a chair where she sat down and put them on standing and looking down at them for several seconds without moving.

“How do they feel?”

She looked up at him, then back down at her feet again. She stepped back and forth from one foot to the other then looked back up at him again.

“They feel good. I can’t believe you got me a pair of boots.”

“You needed them, little one, and it was a simple thing to do.” He lifted one shoulder and let it fall, knowing that there was more but she wouldn’t get it until they got outside. “Do you have a jacket? It will get chilly on the road.”

“This is the warmest thing I have.” She plucked one hand at the sweatshirt she wore.

“Let me grab you something.” Raven went to his room and pulled out a black leather jacket. “Here, put this on.” He watched as she donned the coat, and waited until she turned back to him. “Ready?”

Taylynn nodded, excitement obvious on her face.

“Come on then,” he held out one hand, hoping she’d take it, since she’d just hugged him. She stared at it a moment then stuck her hands in her pockets and stepped closer. He didn’t make a big deal about it but turned and went to the door. When he stopped to open the door, he noted she was right behind him. So were several other brothers, mostly because they wouldn’t be going riding with them.

While they often went from one place to another alone, they rarely went for a ride, just going out for the pleasure of the ride, alone. There was safety in numbers, not just from cages on the road but from other clubs as well. Taking Taylynn out for the first time, even though Raven was confident she wouldn’t be recognized, was a great time to have back up, just in case.

Outside he went to his bike and waited while everyone made it out and went to their own bikes. Taylynn came up and stood beside him, shuffling her feet and looking uncertain.

Freud approached, stopping in front of Taylynn and giving her a big grin. “Before we hit the road, we’ve got something else for you.”

Taylynn frowned. “You’ve already given me too much. I can’t accept anything else.”

“You can and you will. We care about you and we’re just taking care of you.” Freud held out one hand and was handed a helmet. Raven was too focused on Taylynn and her reactions to pay attention to who gave it to him. “We want you to be safe while you’re with us,” Freud said. “Because of that, we got you this. It’s kind of plain now, but if you’ll tell Banshee what you like, he’ll give it a custom paint job for you.” He tilted his head toward the man, but never took his gaze from Taylynn.

Taylynn blinked, tears pooling in her eyes for a moment, then falling in silent streaks down her face. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

“This is a good one. It’s got Bluetooth and it’s charged and already set up to be tied to Raven’s helmet or the rest of the group, he’ll show you how to do that.” He took the hands she’d extended toward him but hadn’t used to take the helmet and wrapped them around the helmet before stepping back.

“Thank you, but I...” she trailed off.

“But nothing. The helmet is from all of us. It will keep you safe and that’s all we’re after,” Raven said.

“Thank you,” she said loud enough for them all to hear. She didn’t bother to wipe away the tears that streamed unchecked down her face but looked down at the helmet. “What do I want it to look like? I don’t know. Can I think about it?” She looked at Banshee.

“Take your time, babe. Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll take care of it.”

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