Page 29 of Awry
I let her drift.But I hold on.
Just for a bit longer.
I keep my gaze on the door, and I try to hold myself awake and aware and pinned in the moment.I can’t fall asleep until I know Presh is safe.As safe as she can be.Though the quiet, unsettled ache in my chest still hasn’t really faded.And that, along with what little info I’ve pieced together about her family, tells me that Presh’s safety might not be as simple a thing as getting her to her brothers.
“Thank you, Zaya.”
“Anytime, Precious,” I say.And I mean it.
I’m not certain, despite the countless knowings I’ve experienced, that I’ve ever loved anyone as quickly as I’ve fallen for Presh.It’s as if …
Maybe we’re essence bound?Maybe she somehow belongs to me, with me?
But that’s an utterly idiotic thought.
Because no individual belongs to me.
Just as I belong to no one, yet belong to everyone at the same time.
I’m not really a person, not with hopes and dreams, stumbling on and off a destined path.I’m Everlasting, yet I don’t actually exist.Not solely for myself, at least.My mark on this universe is fundamental, yet not in any way individual.At least not since three weeks ago, when my inheritance abruptly and suddenly transferred to me without warning.Stopping not only my heart but ending my life — and my immediate future — as I’d known it.
Four
RATH
The interior lightfiltering through the thin curtains of unit five of the Crescent Moon Inn is muted, dim.I’m an hour and a half later than I want to be, but I managed to get enforcers on site from about ten minutes after Presh arrived.
And the woman claiming to be Zaya Gage.
We got jumped by some unaffiliated bikers on the way to the motel, and I’m nursing a fucking silver bullet wound that I could heal just by transforming.But I don’t have the time — or the space — to let my beast out right now.My uncle is already going to have questions when he notices how many Outcast I’ve pulled in for protection duty.He adores Presh.All of us do.But along with the ongoing surveillance and cleanup, the bribes and favors that I’ve called in and promised in the last three hours mean he’s going to have questions.Pointed questions.
And I don’t yet have answers.
Thankfully, he’s currently distracted.And has been for just over three weeks.The circumstances of that distraction aren’t something I’d normally be thankful for, but even I know I’ve invested too much in this operation, financially and resource-wise.Presh would have been okay meeting up with any club member, rather than having me racing across the fucking country to collect her.And Reck, because there was no way to keep him out of it.
But I also know that Zaya Gage is dead.
She died right in front of me.Thirteen years ago.
And the repercussions of that … that utter … soul-deep loss have been … life changing.And not just for Reck, Rought, and me.
So whatever the fuck is going on, from the moment I heard that name, that stranger’s voice over the phone, I knew I wasn’t going to leave Presh to be escorted home with a minimal guard.With just whoever was nearest.
Likewise, I know I’m not going into that motel room less than fully armed, fully armored.For any and all essence-wielding.And with a shit-ton of backup.
I won’t, however, be waiting for Reck.
Reck, I know already, is going to be an explosive fucking problem.
My phone buzzes before I get all the way off my bike.I’ve parked on the far side of the lot.On either side of me, Grinder and Doc Z remove their helmets but stay perched on their bikes, waiting on my next orders.All three of us are wearing our Outcast leathers, patches clearly on display.As are the half-dozen enforcers arrayed around the property.
Doc is particularly pissed that I’ve been riding for the last hour with just a healing patch on the bullet wound, but it is what it is.Someone claiming the name of my long-dead first love has rescued my sister.I hadn’t even known Precious needed rescuing —
The phone buzzes again, reminding me not for the first time that I’m all up in my head, not thinking clearly.I haven’t been since that first phone call.And it isn’t just adrenaline …
It’s this sickening hope that I’m not going to be able to quash until I lay eyes on her.The fake Zaya.
I glance at my phone.Rought’s name flashes on the screen.I need to answer the call because I’ve sent him farther up the coast, farther away from the impostor.Because he can’t be here.Because he’s still all in.
