Precarious(65)
“I’m so sorry,” I breathe.
He shakes his head. “He’s dead now. He’s paid for what he done.”
“Doesn’t make it easier.”
“No,” he says, staring at me. “But at least he can’t hurt anyone else.”
Poor Krypt. I can’t imagine how it would have felt for him to watch his sister’s life slip away from him.
“Your mom?” I ask.
“She died when she had Lacey.”
God, could it get any worse? Krypt doesn’t let me say anything, because he gets to his feet. “I’m fuckin’ restless. I can’t sit here when shit could be goin’ bad for Santana.”
“Hey,” I say, reaching out for him. “You’re doing all you can.”
“Fuckin’ hate it, Ash.”
“I know, honey,” I murmur.
He turns, dropping to his knees in front of me. “We gotta stop this bullshit. I don’t play games, Ash, and I don’t have time for them. You know all of me, so now you decide if I’m good enough to hang onto.”
My eyes scan his face. “Of course you’re good enough to hang onto, Krypt.”
“Then why the fuck are you holdin’ back?”
I stare down at my hands. “I don’t know how I would go being someone’s property. How am I supposed to just sit around and do as I’m told?”
He snorts. “God, you’ve got it all fuckin’ wrong. I’m not your goddamned owner. Yeah, when it comes to club shit, you do as you’re told, but if you wanna work, and make a life, you fuckin’ do it.”
“My job?” I whisper.
He cups my cheek. “I’ll make sure that job is there for you, if it’s what you want.”
“And my house . . .”
“If there is no danger, you can live there as long as you want.”
“And Penny?”
His body flinches. “I don’t love Penny, but she’s goin’ to be a part of my life, always. In saying that, if you’re my old lady, then you’re always goin’ to come first.”
“Even if it hurts her?”
He strokes his thumb over my bottom lip, staring at it. “Even if it hurts.”
“And if I’m not your old lady?”
His eyes scan my face. “Then I gotta stop fuckin’ you, ‘cause baby, you’re consuming me.”
“I care about you, Krypt. I promise you. But...can we just . . . can we wait until Claire is safe before we do anything?”
He nods, leaning forward and brushing his lips across mine. “Yeah.”
“Do you think she’s going to be okay?”
He stares out the window. “I fuckin’ hope so.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SANTANA
Their clubhouse is very different to ours. Gone are the friendly smiles I received back home. Instead, I’m looked at as if I’m no more than a toy they can fuck and dispose without even knowing my name. There are women everywhere, more than I’ve seen in one place before. They’re openly giving sexual favors, not caring whose eyes are on them.
I swallow down the lump in my throat and follow the biker down the hall. He leads me to a room. It’s an old, shitty room with a bed that looks as though it hasn’t been cleaned for months. My skin prickles, and it takes everything inside me not to coil back and run. I think of Ash’s friend, and how scared she must be. This thought alone pushes me forward.
The biker, who introduced himself as Jayger—not Jagger, but Jayger—shuts the door. I consider his name, and then him. It really is a strange, somewhat hipster nickname for a biker. I wonder if he knows how pathetic it makes him look? I force a smile on my face, batting my eyelashes as I take the room in.
Window to the left, not barred.
I’ve been taking in details of the clubhouse the entire time I’ve been here. I made sure to note where the front and back doors were, as well as where the clubhouse was located, and how easy it would be to get away. Turns out, it is in a good position. The front of the house faces the road, where the guys can come in. The back faces thick forest, where I can escape with Claire.
If Claire is here.
“So,” Jayger purrs, coming up to me and placing his hands on my hips. “You ridin’ me, or am I ridin’ you?”
Seriously? Ugh.
“I need to pee.” I smile, biting my lip in an attempt to look sexy. “Then I’m riding you.”
His eyes flash and he grins. He nods to the hall. “Three doors down, to your left.”
I lick my lips, before turning and rushing out. I find the bathroom easy enough—it’s finding Claire that will be hard. I wash my hands, twice, and then lean my hip against the sink. How am I going to find her? The door swings open and two whores enter. They smile at me, as if I’m not new around here, which makes me wonder if they too haven’t been here long.