I hate to say that, after being held captive for a few months, I have learned to live with pain. A day hasn’t gone by that I wasn’t hurting.
I shake the thoughts from my head as I get ready.
~
I end up having a great time with the women. We have drinks and I even got a chance to talk to my brother, Xavier. I miss him so fucking much. Finding out from Xavier that Brent was still going around acting like a broken boyfriend pisses me off. I have no doubt that he wants to find me and bring me back to the hell I just lived through.
When all the ladies start singing “Baby Shark” and passing around a bottle of tequila, I laugh and smile for the first time in months, I felt the stress of everything go away. We even made it to the main room and got the men to join us. I didn’t freak out or anything, I just had fun.
The care that the men showed their women was amazing. You could tell that the bikers that had Old Ladies loved them and would never hurt them. They all had a protectiveness in their eyes that I had never seen before.
I notice Torch in the background sipping on whisky. His eyes have never looked more troubled. It’s like he was looking at all of us have fun, but not really seeing. He was so detached that it scared me, and I wondered if that’s how I looked when Krista and all of them first had seen me back in that room. I was there but not really there mentally. I was only physically existing.
I tried not to concentrate on him, but the worried looks from his club towards him had me getting worried about him too.
I try not to think about it for the rest of the night.
The next day, I’m slightly hung over. I didn’t drink as much as the rest of the women. I still had more than I was ever used to though.
I keep the memory of last night tucked away for when I leave. I know that I’ll have to go home once Brent is caught. After what he put me through, I don’t really care what happens to him.
It’s only days later when I get the news that they caught Brent. I was able to go home and I was finally safe.
After hearing that Brent was caught, I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
I call my brother as soon as I hear the news.
“Hello,” he says in a bored tone.
“Xavier, it’s Cami,” I say and hear him suck in a breath.
“Damn Cami, it’s good to hear from you. When do you get to come home? Everyone misses you and Brent has been gone for days.”
“Actually, he won’t be a problem anymore. That’s all I can tell you about him, but I’m leaving tomorrow. Someone’s going to drop me off at your place. Can you be home around two?” I ask.
“Of course I can. I miss you so fucking much. I thought…” his voice cracks.
I know what he thought and he won’t feel settled until he sees that I’m safe.
“I know. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” I say softly.
“Yeah, yeah I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says. I can tell that he is crying and not even bothering to hide it from me. My brother never cries, so I know how devastated he would have been when he couldn’t find me.
“Okay, I love you brother.”
“I love you too, sister.”
I hang up and wipe the tears from my eyes.
I look up at Derek when I hand him his phone. He gives me a soft smile.
“I got this phone for you with everyone’s number in it. If you need anything, and I mean anything, you call. You hear?” he says, pulling out a brand new smart phone.
I nod my head and take it out of his hand. When I turn on the screen, there’s a picture of me and the women laughing as we drunkenly sang “Baby Shark.”
I smile at him gratefully. “Thank you. For everything. If you hadn’t of come…” I say with my voice cracking while thinking of still being in that nightmare.
He shakes his head. “No, thank you. You got shot to save my life. I’m in your debt for that. I wouldn’t have had another day with my wife, kids, or grandchildren if it weren’t for you. If you ever need protection again, or if you feel like you’re in danger, just hit “one” on your phone. It will connect you to the club. Tech made it so that it would signal that you’re in trouble, okay?”
I nod my head. It feels nice that I have people willing to protect me. I didn’t think that protecting him from getting shot would give me his and the club’s loyalty, but it did. I honestly hadn’t even thought I would have made it.
I just wanted to save these men who came for their own.
He nods with a smile before he leaves.
I blow out a breath with the sudden emotion flowing through me.
I didn’t know that just the thought of being protected by this club would make me feel safe and have a sense of security that I have never known before.
Having their protection right now means everything to me because I haven’t felt safe in a long time. I’m not sure that I will feel safe when I do go home tomorrow, but I need to try.
I already feel as if everything is tainted with Brent’s touch and that I might spiral backward, which is something that I absolutely don’t want.
Chapter Three
Tyson “Torch”
One week later…
