Page 9 of Wilder's Promise
"Sorry." I ease off the gas slightly. "Need to change our approach. They're watching the highways."
The forest closes around us, the road narrowing to little more than a dirt track winding between towering pines. Shadows dapple the path, making it hard to spot obstacles until we're nearly upon them. I drive slower, mindful of the sporty Charger's low clearance.
"How do you even know this road exists?" Emma asks, peering into the dense woods surrounding us.
"Grew up exploring these forests." I swerve to avoid a fallen branch. "Used to race dirt bikes through here as a kid."
"Let me guess… That's how you got your road name? Wilder?"
I smile slightly. "Something like that. I had a reputation for stunts most people wouldn't attempt. Death-defying, they called it."
"And here you are, still defying death." She gestures to my bandaged arm.
"So far, so good." I wince as we hit a particularly deep rut. The pain in my arm flares, but I keep it off my face. "Reaper recruited me after seeing me jump my bike over the quarry gap last year. Said anyone crazy enough to attempt that jump had the kind of courage the club needed. That, and seeing me fight two guys that were being too handsy with a woman."
"My father has a unique perspective on what constitutes courage," she says dryly.
"He's not wrong, though. The life requires a certain comfort with risk."
"Is that what today was? Just risk?"
Her question catches me off guard. "What do you mean?"
"You put yourself between me and an armed man." Her voice is quieter now. "You got stabbed protecting me. That's not just risk-taking. That's... something else."
I don't know how to respond to that. How to explain that the moment those Vultures MC appeared, nothing mattered except getting her out alive. Not because she's Reaper's daughter, but because something about her fierce independence and wounded eyes speaks to something in me.
"It's what anyone would do," I say finally.
"No, it's not." She shakes her head. "Most people would run. Save themselves."
"I'm not most people."
"Clearly." She stares at me with those penetrating amber eyes. "Thank you. For what you did back there."
"You're welcome."
The forest track widens slightly as we approach the outskirts of Pine Haven. Through the trees, I can make out the water tower that stands sentinel over the small town. Nearly home.
"We'll be at the clubhouse in ten," I tell her, checking the mirrors one last time. "Once we're inside, you'll be safe. The compound is fortified."
"Like a prison," she murmurs.
"Like a fortress," I correct her. "There's a difference."
"Not if you can't leave."
I consider her words. "Your father won't keep you there forever. Just until we handle the Vultures problem."
"And how exactly do you plan to 'handle' it?" She makes air quotes around the word. "More violence, more blood, escalating until one side is wiped out?"
"That's usually how it works," I admit. "But we didn't start this fight, Emma. We stepped in to stop something horrific. Women were being sold like cattle. Girls younger than you."
Her expression softens slightly. "I know. I just... wish there was another way."
"So do I." And I mean it. The constant state of war is exhausting, even for someone like me who's built for the fight. "But men like our enemies only understand one language."
She nods, a resigned acceptance in her eyes that makes her look older than her nineteen years. "Just promise me something?"
