Page 79 of Love is Blind

He lowers his mouth to mine, giving me another quick kiss.

“I’ll wait here for you,” he says huskily. “Don’t be long.”

I finally untangle myself from his arms and slide out of the booth, making my way toward the bathroom. When I get back to him, he tags my hand and we say our goodbyes to everyone before hopping on his bike and tearing out of Sally’s parking lot. He doesn’t take me back to the clubhouse, though, and an hour later I find myself trekking through muddy land and overgrown grasses. He finally stops walking and I go still beside him. Lifting my boot from the wet dirt, I squeeze his hand.

“What is this place?”

Releasing my hand, he turns to me, gently laying both hands on my shoulders.

“I did something really stupid today, something that goes against everything I am,” he reveals as he slides his hands down my arms. “But after I realized my mistake, something else hit me.”

“Okay,” I caution. “That doesn’t explain the mud, though.”

“The land you’re standing on is the keeper of a bloody and broken past.”

Holly must’ve missed a lesson because I have no idea what he’s talking about. But before I can ask him to elaborate, he continues. “I want you, Birdie, not just in my bed every night, but on the back of my bike and at my side.”

“Are you asking me to be your old lady, because I know what that is, Holly told me.”

He drags out a breath.

“Babe, you’ve been my old lady since I took you home with me from Sally’s, seems you and I are just the last ones to figure that out.” He pauses, taking my hands in his. “But you need to know what that entails. You need to know who it is you’re giving your life to, because that’s what this. You give me your past, present, and future, and I live every day making sure I take good care of it. That I take good care of you.”

There’s that word again…future.

“Ghost…” He silences me with a finger to my lips.

“You asked me what kind of name that was, remember?” I nod. “Well, it’s time for you to find out.”

I narrow my eyes and brace myself for whatever it is he’s about to tell me but at the first sentence it becomes clear that nothing could prepare me for all that he’s about to share. You see, Ghost got his name from the Satan’s Knights after his first kill. He wiped the man who wronged his club from the grid and left without a trace.

He was a phantom, someone that could never be caught.

That was the first on a very long list of crimes. By the time he was done, I understood what the patch on his back meant and why he held it so sacred. The Satan’s Knights weren’t just a group of misfits who liked to ride bikes and drink beer. They had enemies near and far and a lot of blood on their hands. They were outlaws serving up vigilante justice to Knightdale, North Carolina and it wasn’t always money that drove their cause— not all the time—some matters were personal.

“Every sin committed by the Satan’s Knights is buried in this earth and ninety percent of the holes here are mine and mine alone. Ten feet behind you is a fresh hole just waiting to be filled. Now, who goes inside is up to you, baby.”

I pull in a deep breath, not sure where he’s going with this. If he’s trying to scare me, he’s doing a good job.

“What are you talking about?” I croak.

“The business I had in Charlotte—it was all about you.”

Processing his words, I tug my hands free and take a step back.

“I paid a visit to your ex in county.”

I raise a hand to my mouth, muffling the sound of my gasp. This isn’t how I wanted him to find out. I drop my hand from my mouth, curling my fists against my sides. I guess the Satan’s Knights are also very resourceful, something he left off that list.

Swallowing down my shock, I blow out a breath.

“You went to see Angel?”

As soon as the question makes it way past my lips, I shake my head. I can’t comprehend how that’s even possible. His boots crunch across the grass as he steps closer to me. He doesn’t reach for me though and I lift my chin.

“Yeah, I did, and I know you got arrested with him.”

I close my eyes, shame washing over me. I’m not embarrassed I got arrested, that was no fault of my own. I’m ashamed I didn’t tell him myself.

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