“I need to go away for a while. I have some things to do.”
Her eyes grew wide.
“Go away? What do you mean?”
“Out of town. I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but I’m working on finding Eagle. Trying to make him pay for what he’s done.”
Mercy’s nostrils flared and she looked away. I was tempted to ask her about what Spike said. Had he ever forced her into anything? But I didn’t want to insult her. If she had something to say to me, maybe she would tell me of her own accord.
“What am I going to do? Where am I going to stay? What about my grandmother?”
“I’ll get one of the guys to escort you. Take you back to my place. Bring you here. Take you to your grandma’s. Whatever you need.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have said that last part, because now she stared at me with her brows crossed in suspicion. I knew what she was thinking—why was I being nice to her? Why did I care? I didn’t know the answer to those questions either.
Why did I give a shit about her or her grandmother?
Mercy breathed in slowly but deeply, and before I could think about what I was doing, I pushed into her, pushing her into the darkness of the corridor.
Her back thudded against the wall and I leaned in, molding into her and she parted her mouth for a kiss. My tongue swept in, tasting her swiftly, possessing her. She moved against me, her hands on my chest. Mine were on her breasts, then her stomach and hips, down to that hot sweltering spot between her legs. I wanted to know what she smelled of there. How sweet her cunt tasted.
But I thought I heard footsteps behind me so I pulled away.
We were standing in shadows, so I couldn’t see Mercy’s eyes. I knew she was looking away from me, trying to hide her face.
“I have to go,” I said quickly and she nodded.
10
Mercy
Ghost left without another word.
He informed me he had to go, deal with work, then he kissed me roughly in the dark corridor of the basement and turned around and left me standing there.
I was still reeling from that kiss, and didn’t know what I was supposed to do next. Wait there? Go look for someone who could help me? Go back in the cellar?
Feeling a bit dizzy from the kiss and the tumultuous emotions, I staggered back into the cellar. Mary-Beth was sitting by her brother’s bed.
There were two guys standing back, talking to each other. They had been there pretty much the whole time. Crash appeared to be asleep.
I walked over to Mary-Beth’s side and she looked up at me with bleary eyes.
“He’s been lying still for the past fifteen minutes since you left the room. I think he’s asleep now, and he’s breathing evenly too.”
“His mind and body are both exhausted. He’s going to be alright. He might have a few more waves of panic and desperation, but if we can get through that, he’ll make it.”
Mary-Beth nodded, then she threw a look over her shoulders at the guys standing there.
“I think I’ll be fine now. You should go rest. You need to sleep.”
“You need to sleep too,” I said.
“I’ll sleep here; don’t worry about me. These guys are going to be around.”
The thing which I couldn’t admit to her was that I didn’t know where I was supposed to go. Where I was supposed to sleep.
“What’s wrong, Mercy? You look worried,” Mary-Beth urged.
Before I could reply, the cellar door opened again and a young guy walked in. I guessed he was one of the Iron Thunder prospects.
“You’re Mercy?” he asked me directly.
“Yes.”
“I’ve got orders from Ghost. He wants me to escort you back to the cabin tonight.”
I was relieved to hear it. Ghost had kept his promise; even though I felt like he’d abandoned me, he hadn’t.
When I looked at Mary-Beth now, she had a faint smile dancing on her lips.
“Back to his cabin?” she asked.
I was glad for the dimness of the cellar so she couldn’t see me blush.
“I think I’ll go now. You can call the cabin if you need anything,” I said, ignoring her question.
“Yes, go, get some sleep.”
I followed the prospect out of the cellar, beginning to feel my limbs ache. I just wanted a bed…Ghost’s bed…so I could feel like I was sleeping in his arms.
* * *
The prospect’s name was Roddick and thankfully, he didn’t ride a bike. We drove in his muscle truck, back to Ghost’s cabin in the woods. I was sure I wouldn’t be able to handle another bike ride for as long as I lived. Not that it mattered; I’d barely even looked at this guy’s face. Ghost was the only man on my mind and I had no idea what the future had in store for us.
Fortunately, Roddick wasn’t a particularly chatty guy, or maybe he was just keeping his distance because he knew I had a personal connection with Ghost. Either way, I could be in silence, lost in my thoughts.
It was late now, past midnight, and I could feel exhaustion taking over. It wasn’t just my limbs aching anymore. It felt like my whole body was turning to mulch. I could feel a dull ache at the back of my head too. I hadn’t slept in nearly twenty-four hours, and being around Ghost and Crash had clearly sucked all my energy out.
Roddick parked up near the cabin and we got out.
“Ghost has given me strict instructions to stay here all night and then escort you to wherever you want to go in the morning. He mentioned something about your grandmother.” He was polite and keeping his distance, another trait I hadn’t seen in any of the Silver Knights members.
Slowly, as more time went by, I was beginning to see the Iron Thunder MC as completely different from
