Ties That Bind (Ruthless Sinners MC 1)

“Um-hmm.” I would’ve given anything to read his mind as he stood there silently studying me with narrowed eyes. His back was stiff, his jaw was locked, and he looked like there was a storm raging inside of him. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to make an even bigger mess of this whole thing. After several long, agonizing minutes, he finally ran his hand over his face and sighed. “You know, I’m not the bad guy here.”

“Are you sure about that?” I asked as I turned and went over to sit on the edge of the bed. “You are the one in charge of keeping me here. I also recall hearing that you should put a bullet in my head if I cause any trouble.”

“Maybe, but you gotta remember, I wouldn’t have been told to keep an eye on you if your brother hadn’t—”

“Hadn’t what?” I pushed. “What did he do?”

“It’s not important.”

“We both know that’s not true; otherwise, you wouldn’t be keeping me here.” I looked over to him and softened my tone as I said, “I just don’t get why you won’t tell me what’s going on. I deserve to know why I’m being forced to stay. I deserve to know what my brother has done.”

“I don’t disagree.” He ran his hand through his tousled hair and sighed. “But the decision isn’t up to me. If Viper wanted you to know, he’d tell you.”

“Okay ... so, who is this Viper guy anyway?”

“He’s the president.”

“President? President of what … the Ruthless Sinners?”

“That’s right,” he admitted. “He’s the one in charge, so do us both a favor and don’t get on his bad side.”

I thought back to our earlier conversation—the tone in his voice, the tone in mine—and groaned. “I’m afraid it’s a little late for that.”

“It’s never too late, Delilah. Just do what you can to keep it together until we figure this thing out with your brother.”

“Okay.”

I had no idea how I was supposed to keep it together when there were so many things I simply didn’t understand—why I was even there, what Danny had done, or why I continued to feel such a pull towards Hawk when I should’ve wanted to run as far away from him as possible. I suddenly felt like the walls were closing in on me, and even though I’d tried to fight it, I felt tears begin to sting my eyes. A strange look crossed Hawk’s face as he took a step towards me. I stood frozen as he lifted his hand to my face, gently brushing the pad of his thumb across my cheek as he whispered, “It’s going to be okay, Delilah.”

“You don’t know that for certain.”

“No, but I’ll do whatever I can to help ... to get you back home where you belong.”

“Why do you care what happens to me anyway?”

He took a step back as he removed his hand from my face. “Because I believe you when you say you weren’t involved in this.”

“Oh, well ... um ... if that’s the case, can I ask you something?”

“You can ask. Doesn’t mean I’ll answer.”

“Is Danny okay? Have you hurt him?” His face twisted into a grimace, and I knew I had my answer. Danny might be alive, but he definitely wasn’t okay. I dropped my head into the palms of my hands as I cried, “Oh, god. This is bad. Really bad. I should’ve done something.”

“What could you have done?”

“I don’t know ... something.” I lowered my hands and started pacing back and forth. “He’s my brother. I should’ve at least known he was in trouble. Maybe then I could’ve helped him in some way.”

“If everything you’ve said is true and you had no part in it, then none of this is your fault. Your brother is a big boy. He can take responsibility for his own shit. He doesn’t need you to do it for him.”

“It’s not that simple. He’s my family, Hawk. It doesn’t matter what he did or didn’t do. I’m supposed to be there for him, have his back, and stand by him when things are tough, and I failed him.” I had to bite back my tears. “I want him to be okay ... I need him to be okay.”

“I can’t make any promises about Danny, Delilah. I wish I could, but it’s out of my hands.”

“What about me?” I knew I couldn’t do anything to help my brother while I was locked up in this room. I needed to get out, find some answers to what was going on, and then, maybe—just maybe, I might be able to help him get out of this mess. “Do you think there’s any way I’ll be able to get out of here?”

“I can’t say for sure.” He shrugged. “That depends on your brother.”

“If I could talk to him, then maybe—”