“We’ll have breakfast,” Jude says, nodding his head.
I give ‘em all the deuces. “Later.”
I lead Max out the door and back to my bike. She stops right before we reach my ride. “I like your family. Makes me miss mine.”
64
Maximus “Max”
Entering the clubhouse was really overwhelming and intimidating. A woman behind the bar tossed herself at Salvation when we came in the door, Andi, I think was her name. She was beautiful—everyone here at the DLMC is beautiful, men included. When I met Lux, introduced to me as the president, I got nervous and hid behind Salvation like a pussy. He was a little intimidating with the most intense eyes. It’s like he sees right through you.
Salvation has the best cushy bed and the warmest blankets. The one Salvation wrapped around me is soft and feels amazing against my skin. Salvation showed me the bathroom and left me to it. I think I stayed in that shower until my fingers pruned, and it was the best shower I’ve ever spent under hot water. I feel better, but still so out of my element.
“You okay? I know it’s a lot to take in,” Salvation says, standing in the doorway, filling up the frame with his body. He is exactly as I dreamed: six feet of solid muscle, his t-shirt stretching over biceps that could squish my head. His arms are covered in colorful tattoos, so masculine, but also very warm when they wrap around me. His eyes are a deep soul-penetrating sapphire blue, hidden behind his messy auburn hair that I can’t help but want to get my fingers tangled in.
“How did you get the name Salvation?” I blurt, after I’m done with my more than drool worthy assessment of the delicious man standing in front of me.
He moves away from the doorway, loosening his belt buckle as he moves in a cat like sleekness. “My momma, she named me Salvation because she said I saved her life.”
“Where is she now?”
“Gone. She passed away some years ago.”
I look down at my hands tangled in the blanket. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It’s been a long time. What about you?”
“Me?”
“Yes, why the name Max?”
I smile when I think of my grandpa. “My Papa said that I did everything to the max. Well, my actual name is Maximus, but I shortened it to Max because it’s what my grandfather called me all the time.” I avert my eyes for a second, staring at the light blue carpet on the floor. I dig my toes into the softness of it. “Will I ever feel safe again?”
Salvation sits down next to me on the bed, toeing off his motorcycle boots. He brushes the hair away from my face and slides a finger under my chin, turning my eyes to his. “You will. It’s just gonna take some time, that’s all, and I’ll be here, if you need me.”
“It seems like such a long time ago, but I know it wasn’t. I still don’t understand how he found me—how you found me.”
“What do you remember about that day, Max?”
I take a deep breath to compose myself and my emotions. It feels like I’m always crying. “We just got some fresh snowfall and I wanted to go for a ride through it. I took my four-wheeler out that day and stopped way up in the mountains to just sit. I enjoy the view and being surrounded by nature. I remember seeing a lynx, it wandered up really close to me.”
“Anything else?”
I swallow the lump in my throat, trying to keep the tears from slipping free. “I went home, took a shower, and tried to read. That whole day I felt like I was being watched, and the feeling only intensified when I went home. I was restless that night, anxious. I stepped out onto the front porch and then I went down. I felt like I’d been stung in the neck by a bee. When I woke up again, I was in this room. It was small. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all concrete. No light except a tiny lamp next to a cot I got to sleep on. At first, he put a shackle around my ankle, but after a few days, he put me in metal cuffs, held together by heavy chains. The chains were bolted to the floor and my mobility was limited.”
“He’s dead now and so is his little fucker of a friend.”
“There were three of them at first. There was a shorter man, never got his name. He was kind of round and dumpy. Bald on top of his head, but gray hair covered his ears. He was quiet, never said too much. When Jim and Genocide came back the second time to try to force an animal out of me, he wasn’t with them and I never saw him again.” My heartbeat echoes in my ears and I feel panic creep into me. “Oh, god, Salvation, what if he’s not dead? What if he finds me?”
I smile when he puts his bear claw of a hand on my knee for reassurance. “He’s not gonna find you; but even if he did, he’d be ripped apart. Max, I know you’re gonna miss the life you had in Montana, but if you’ll let me, I’ll try my best to make your new normal as smooth as possible.”
I place my hand on his. “It may take me a while.”
“That’s okay. We’re all here to help you and we have nothin’ but time.”
“How did you know how to find me?
He taps his temple with a finger. “I could hear you, feel you. And when I got closer to you, it only got stronger. Plus, I sniffed out Genocide. That dude seriously needed a fucking shower.”
My stomach churns and vomit creeps up the back of my throat. “He was fucking gross.”
“I know, but it’s over. I won’t let anyone else hurt you, neither will
