Page 42 of Property of Raider
Tilting my head, I study him for long moments, taking him in.He’s tall and solid, with dark hair, darker eyes, and olive skin.You can see it in his eyes.Life hasn’t been kind to him.He carries a ghost that haunts him so deeply that peace stopped being an option a long time ago.I see a piece of myself in him, and that’s when I understand his role in the fucked-up mess we’re in.
“You don’t have a choice.”It’s more of a statement than a question.
“We always have a choice.What matters is what we do with the choices we make.”His eyes are hard now.“I’ve made my choices and live with them no matter how difficult.”
Chills race across my skin as understanding that just because he isn’t killing me here and now doesn’t mean he can’t and won’t if it means keeping himself alive.I just nod, looking away and scanning the slight rolling hills stretched out around us as the sun breaks the horizon, lighting the sky on fire.We fall into a comfortable silence for what seems like hours when the silence of the world is broken by what sounds like rolling thunder.I scan the sky looking for the impending storm that would follow the growing rumble when it finally dawns on me.
That’s not thunder, it can only be the sound of one thing—motorcycles, and a lot of them.Hope once again tries to take hold of me, but I fight it back.There is more than one group of people who ride motorcycles, and for all I know that could’ve been the plan the entire time—to hand me over to a motorcycle gang and let them have their way with me.This eases any mark from Shea’s soul, if she fucking has one, for being responsible for my death.
The man beside me tenses but tries to hide it.“I was starting to wonder if they didn’t understand.”
“If who didn’t understand what?”I ask him.
The bikes break the tree line two at a time, stopping in a straight line about twenty feet away from us.The world goes quiet once again when all the bikes die at the same time.I can’t breathe.My chest is too tight with fear and anticipation.The man first in line stands from his bike, pulling his full-face helmet off, his eyes landing on me and, like a balloon being popped, I can breathe again.Without a second thought and ignoring the pain in my leg, I leap off the back of the SUV, making a beeline for Raider.
He meets me halfway, catching me as I throw myself into his arms.I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, burying my face in the hollow of his throat.Raider wraps his arms around me, squeezing me so tight I swear he'll crack a few ribs and buries his face in my hair.We don’t say a word, we just hold on to each other tightly.Too scared to let the other go in case it’s all a fucking dream.Far too soon for my liking, Raider pats my ass, signaling for me to unlock my legs.I allow them to fall and slowly slide down his body.Raider cups my cheeks, tilting my head up to look me in the face.
“Never again.You will not disappear on me ever again.Once was too many times, and now it’s happened twice.I’ll drag the world to hell myself before I let it happen ever again.”He whispers against my lips.
The conviction in his voice doesn’t completely erase all the hurt, but it smooths some of the jagged edges inside my soul.It’s not a complete fix; it’ll take more than that to heal what has been broken, but for the first time since Shea shattered my heart, I believe it can be healed.
I don’t have words, so I just shake my head.Raider’s right hand slides down my cheek into the hair at the base of my head, gripping it tight and tilting my head back so I have no choice but to look him in the eye.
“Words, Tasia.You know I always need your words,” he demands.
“I cannot promise you anything about what happens next,” I start.
“No,” he growls.
I rub my thumb back and forth along the back of his neck.
“I promise to stand by your side and fight.No more running, Tasia.”
I watch as some of the fear and anxiety slides out of his eyes, leaving him open and vulnerable.He blinks once before tilting my head and pressing a soft, lingering kiss to my forehead.When he pulls away, the hard man I met the first time I saw him again is firmly back in place.Raider lets me go, stepping back and turning to the man standing at the rear of the SUV.Looking around, I’m shocked to see a wall of leather surrounding us.
“Pope,” Raider calls, and the man I always knew as Clark comes to stand by us.“Take her back to my bike and stay with her.This shouldn’t take long.”
I look at the man I always knew to be my best friend—open and happy—and find it shocking to see him so closed off and hard.It seems there is a lot that’s happened in the last fifteen years that I’ve not got a damn clue about.Raider places another kiss on my forehead before stepping away from me.Pope wraps his arm around my shoulder, urging me in the direction of the motorcycles.I go to take a step, hissing when pain shoots up my leg.Nearly every man within earshot looks at me, their faces going impossibly more violent and angry before looking in the direction of my savior.
Pope looks down at my leg, up to my face, and then to Raider.“Prez, I need to carry her.I don’t think she’ll make it.”
Raider’s eyes go hard.“Do what you need to do, but I’m making it known now and forever she is mine and will be my Ol’ Lady.Treat her as such.”
Pope cracks the first smile I’ve seen tonight, and the boy I once knew shines through.“Fucking about time, brother.”
Raider just gives him a nod before turning and making his way across the lot to the SUV.Pope swings me up into his arms, carrying me bridal style to Raider’s motorcycle sits me on it before turning so he can see the showdown going on just twenty feet away but still able to keep an eye out for anyone that might come up the long driveway.
Chapter Fourteen
Raider
I fight the urge to scoop Anastasia up, put her on my bike, and leave—hiding her away from the world so she can never be taken from me again.
Instead, I square my shoulders, stepping up next to my VP and SAA to face the man I’m still unsure of being an ally or an enemy.As we make our way to him, I have to give the man credit for not shying away from the wall of pissed-off assholes coming at him.What I find instead is him, scanning each one of us, cataloging, and filing away what he sees.We get within about ten feet of him, and he stands from his leaning position.
“I was getting a little concerned you forgot where you were supposed to be, Fallon,” the stranger calls out as we get closer.
“My memory may be shit, but it ain’t that bad, asshole,” Anvil laughs, stepping away from me and pulling the man into a man hug.
