We were both silent during the ride home.
Noah, because he was angry at me and my overreaction.
And me, because try as I might, I couldn’t get the biker out of my head.
I was irritated with myself for giving him a moment’s thought. The man was too self-assured for his own good.
Not to mention, confident and charming.
A dangerous combination.
I gripped the steering wheel. I had been ambushed by his charisma. I hadn’t expected him to radiate so much… maleness. Or for my body to react so voraciously to being so close to his.
He was the kind of guy who made all the panties drop with one flash of that perfectly wicked smile. But I didn’t plan on dropping mine. I didn’t care how delicious he looked.
My life was complicated enough without fantasizing about those big hands and how they could make me… nope, nope, nope. I wasn’t going there.
I didn’t care how long it’d been since I’d felt a man’s touch.
If he thought he could just flash that amazing smile at me and think I was going to turn to putty, then he had another thing coming.
Christ. There goes my body again, pulsing in all the right places because of that stupid smile.
But he was the president of the Kings of Mayhem motorcycle club.
And I had no business thinking about him that way.
Besides, I had more concerning matters to think about. Like the assholes who thought it was okay to bully my kid brother because he was hard of hearing, and the ignorant fools who thought they were better than him.
I pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. When Noah went to climb out, I stopped him.
“I know you’re angry at me. But why don’t you let me teach you some more moves? It might be fun. Like old times.”
Growing up, I did martial arts for eight years, and when Noah was a lot smaller, I had taught him the basics. Because even before the bullying, I wanted him to know how to protect himself.
Because of my past.
Because of who I was.
Because someday, he might need to know how to fight.
To survive.
“How about I take you through some Krav Maga like I used to when we were living in Charleston?”
“Because I liked him and I wanted him to show me,” he said angrily.
“But we don’t know him.”
“I do. I know him! And he was nice to me.”
When he looked away, I gently turned his chin to face me and was gutted to see the disappointment in his big blue eyes. “You know better than to talk to strangers.”
“He stopped Tommy Albright from kicking my ass.”
“Hey…!” I reprimanded him. But my face softened. “We don’t talk to strangers because not everyone is a good guy.”
“He was!”
“He was a biker, Noah.”
“So?” My brother’s face was tight with anger. “If he was so bad, why did he help me? You weren’t there. He was!”
Again, I felt guilty for not being there when he needed me.
“We don’t know him.”
“I don’t care.” He frowned at me. “You want me to make friends, but then stop me from being friends with who I want to be friends with.”
“You need friends your own age.” I knew it was hard on him. He was a shy kid. He was also self-conscious because he wore hearing aids. I sighed. “Will you let me walk you through Krav Maga again?”
Anger was bright in his eyes at the suggestion.
“Why is it always just you and me? Why can’t we be like the rest of the kids in school who have a mom and a dad?” Noah climbed out of the car and slammed the door behind him, then yelled at me through the open window. “Why can’t we have a normal family?”
He threw his bag over his shoulder and stormed away, while his words rippled over me like a violent gust of wind.
Wow! Okay.
That was a new argument.
He’d never said anything like that to me before, and I wasn’t going to lie, it stung like a slap to the face.
I knew our situation wasn’t ideal, but it was better than the alternative.
To keep the sudden surge of emotion at bay, I sucked in a deep breath and slowly exhaled, remembering the things from my past that kept us running. That kept us living in our own little bubble. That kept us from making any real attachments to people. Hoping that someday, we would be free from living life on the run, and that Noah would be safe and happy.
Fighting the guilt, I turned back to the window and watched him stalk across the driveway to the front door and disappear inside the house. He deserved better than this. But unfortunately, this was how it had to be for now.
I’m sorry, bud. But one day it’ll all be over. I promise.
BULL
It was early morning dark when I met Cade and Ruger at the clubhouse. Sitting in my office, we went over the plan. This morning’s business was going to be gruesome. But it was necessary and unavoidable, and it would send another clear message to Gimmel Martel.