"Yeah that's...exactly how it is. It feels like being happy is a betrayal to her memory," he growled.
"She'd want you to be happy," I promised, his pain feeling as heavy as mine. "But it's okay not to be too."
"I suppose," he muttered. "Mostly I just like to take my mind off of it." He reached into his coat pocket, producing two miniature bottles of rum and holding one out to me. "Want one?" He cracked the lid off of one, downing it in two sips.
I laughed. "Where the hell did you get those?"
"The janitor's closet. Little bastard had a stash. He doesn't anymore though." He smirked, shaking his pocket to show me had more hidden in there. “He’ll be on the prowl for the culprit though, that asshole is like an angry Pitbull when he’s riled.”
I twisted the cap off of the rum with a laugh, figuring what the hell as I tossed the contents down my throat. It burned all the way to my stomach, but the heat swept keenly through my veins too and it felt good.
"Let's head up Tahoma Mountain, I know what we can do." Blake started jogging along and I ran with him, laughing more as he led me all the way down the path to the very edge of Sycamore Beach.
Then he veered off onto the track that curled up the mountain and we started climbing steadily. The view down to the lake was incredible and I couldn't believe I'd never been up here before as we climbed higher and higher. Everlake campus really was something special and I knew when I left here, it would always hold a piece of my soul. Too much had happened in this place. So much bad and yet so much good too. It wasn't what I would have wanted when I came here, but now I had my Night Keepers, it was hard to picture life without them. And I wouldn't have given them up for anything. Even with all the shit they'd done to me and I'd done to them in return. It was messy, imperfect and twisted. But it was also my story. Our story. And I loved it in its own fucked up way.
We made it up to a cabin set near a steep cliff which was surrounded by a group of trees. Blake headed around to the back of it, pushing a window open and climbing in. He offered me a hand as I walked up to it and frowned curiously.
"What is this place?" I asked.
"In the summer, Mr Colby holds paragliding classes up here," he explained. "I bribed him to leave the window open for me so I can get in here any time I like. It's a cool place to come. And today seems like the perfect weather for paragliding." He grinned.
"Are you serious?" I gasped as I climbed inside, the space filled with paragliding equipment and a bunch of chairs stacked in one corner beside a whiteboard.
"Yep. If you want to?" he asked excitedly and I nodded keenly. "Have you ever done it before?"
"Yeah, my dad used to love it. We'd rent paragliders and climb to the top of Horse Canyon in San Diego then sail down it at sunset. I always did it tandem with him though, I haven’t done it alone before."
"No worries, sweetheart, you can ride with me. I wouldn't have it any other way anyway."
He caught my hand again, tugging me over to all the gear and started pulling a dark green jumpsuit on me which had the Everlake crest on the back of it. He admired me in the fitted suit before pulling on his own and my heart raced at the paragliders folded up in colourful bags hanging from hooks on the wall. He took one down, carrying it outside and setting it up while readying the harnesses, the paraglider matching the colour of our suits. I followed him outside, my excitement turning to a knot of anxiety too as he beckoned me over.
"Ready, Cinders?" he asked and I nodded, biting my lip as I approached him and he got into the harness before securing me against him in my own. The cliff stood before us, ready for us to run and jump off of it and my heart hammered as I waited for his signal.
"You really trust me, huh?" he murmured in my ear before nibbling on it. I shivered against him, nodding and reaching back to clutch his hair and draw him closer for a second.
"It's not the worst way to die if I have to go out today," I breathed and he growled in my ear, offering me another little bottle of rum. I let him tip it down my throat and the scent of it washed over me as he drank his own and turned my head to kiss me. His tongue stroked mine and I could almost taste his adrenaline meeting my own. I was laughing by the time we broke apart, excited butterflies sweeping through my belly.
"Let’s go!" he cried then we started running for the cliff.
My heart beat wildly out of rhythm and fear and excitement tangled inside me like a living creature as we reached the edge and the air pushed against our paraglider. A scream escaped me as we stepped off of the cliff and the glider lifted us higher as we sailed over the lake far, far below. I laughed and cried out as the wind took us and Blake used the lines on the glider to steer us on the drafts, circling us around the whole of campus. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The water gleamed like it was made of pure crystal, so blindingly blue that it rivalled the sky.
The endless rain recently had made the forest lush and so green. I could make out the students walking around the paths far below, the whole thing looking like some sort of painting. I reached into my jumpsuit and took my phone from my blazer pocket, knowing I was risking dropping it, but I just had to capture this moment. Once I'd taken a bunch of pictures of the incredible view, I flipped the camera and took some selfies of us. Blake kissed my cheek and poked out his tongue and we pulled stupid faces as we snapped a few more until we were both laughing.
It was even more exhilarating as we soared towards the earth and the wind whipped past me fiercely. We tore over the water, getting frighteningly close to it until I thought we were going to splash right into it.
"Blake!" I cried and he answered with a laugh as we sailed lower and lower and made it to Sycamore Beach just in time. We hit the sand and ran several steps as we slowed to a halt. Blake pulled our harnesses off, grabbing my waist and throwing me down beneath him in the sand, making my stomach whoosh.
He dropped down over me and his mouth landed on mine, our hearts pounding furiously against one another’s as he kissed me. His tongue moved against mine in passionate strokes and I moaned against his lips as I bathed in the happy glow of this moment, adrenaline still pouring through my veins like a dam had broken inside me and all that was held behind it had been purest sunlight. This was one helluva way to forget the darkness living in us and I found myself giddy as I stared up at my beautiful golden boy.
"I love you," he said gruffly, his mouth moving to my jaw, my throat. "And I won’t let you feel that way about me in return. I don't deserve your love, Tatum Rivers, but I'm going to try and deserve it. Until I do, I won't ever let you fall for me."
Our mouths clashed again before I could say anything in answer to that, but my heart was swelling and those words weren't just on my tongue, they lived in me. Deeply. I knew I had fallen for Blake already and I wanted to convince him that he was deserving of that, but I was terrified to say it for more reasons than he could ever understand. Because he wasn't the only one I harboured those feelings for. I’d told Kyan the truth because I’d feared losing him, but telling Blake too meant owning the rest of the feelings living in me for the other Night Keepers and I just wasn’t ready to do that. Not when I knew a day was coming when this would all fall apart. That this little bubble we’d contained ourselves within would pop and reality would come pouring in on us like a wave.
He ground me into the sand and our bodies collided, my hips bucking as I groaned in encouragement. I was half aware a bunch of students would be heading here to hang out and watch the sunset. It was a miracle no one was here already.
Blake started panting, his hard on grinding between my thighs. I moaned in encouragement and he dragged his teeth along my lower lip, his hands roaming to the zipper holding my jumpsuit in place.
"Blake," I laughed throatily. "We can't. Not here. Let's head back to The Temple."
"Fuck that." He pulled me to my feet. "I'm keeping you as mine tonight." He tugged me along, leaving the paraglider there on the beach as he pulled me into the trees and threw me back against a solid pine trunk. I gaspe
d as his mouth landed on mine and he pawed at my breasts through my clothes with needy squeezes, making my pulse skip and dance.
“We should head back up the mountain,” he growled against my lips. “Do it again.”
The wind was whipping around us and I knew from the times I’d spent paragliding with my dad that the weather was turning and it wasn’t safe to do it now. "The sun’s setting and the wind is picking up. Let's just hang out down here if you don't want to go back to The Temple."
"Come on, Cinders. I wanna do it again." He pulled back a little, the fire in his eyes making me worry suddenly. Was he seriously going to march up that mountain again? It would be dark by the time he made it to the cliff.
"It's not safe," I said firmly.
"Even better," he said fiercely, his eyes flashing and making my heart jolt. "I want to feel like the wind is going to dash me into the rocks this time when I land."
He stepped away from me, his jaw set and I caught his arm. "Blake, don't be stupid, you’ll get yourself killed."
"Stay here until I get back," he demanded, looking to the sky as if he realised taking me wasn’t a good idea anyway. Which meant it definitely wasn’t a good idea for him either. There were students arriving on the beach now, their chatter calling to us so he knew I wouldn’t be in danger of any Justice Ninja attacks if he left me here. But I didn’t want him to leave.
"Don’t put yourself at risk," I snarled, clinging onto him, but he shook me off.
"I'll be fine. Probably." He laughed hollowly, unzipping his jumpsuit and taking out another one of the rum bottles from his blazer pocket. I snatched it from his hand before he could drink it and he scowled darkly.
"Are you crazy?” I snapped, my heart thrashing against my ribcage with worry. He’d already had a couple of shots, and who knew how many more he planned on having walking up there this time?
"Does it matter?" he snapped. "I'll see you when I come down." He turned his back on me, striding onto the beach to fetch the paraglider and I jogged after him in a fury. A few of the football crowd spotted us, but none approached when they realised we were mid-argument.
"Blake!" I snapped. "You can't do this." I caught his arm, but he shrugged me off, turning to me with his jaw gritted.
"I didn't ask for permission, Cinders." He strode away and I took out my phone, calling Saint as my heart beat out a panicked tune.
"Yes?" he answered curtly, but there was an edge to his tone that almost could have been misconstrued as concern.
"Blake's being an idiot. He's going paragliding while the wind is picking up and it’s almost dark. He's headed to the mountain trail."
"Fucking moron," he drawled. "I'll send Kyan to get him."
I sighed, relaxing a little at his words. "Just tell him to hurry."
"He will," Saint said firmly. "Where are you? I’ll come and meet you."
"I don't need-"
"I'm coming and I will track your phone if you don't simply tell me."
I sighed. "I'm at Sycamore Beach, I'll start taking the west path back." I knew I couldn't take any risks since the Justice Ninja had attacked me with a freaking bow and arrow. It still gave me nightmares, especially since the cut on my arm was definitely going to scar.
Students arrived on the beach as I headed to the path and they shot me curious glances at the sight of me in my jumpsuit. As I walked in the direction of The Temple, leaving the sound of chatter behind, a cold wind sent a chill through me and I upped my pace.
I stopped myself from breaking out into a run as the wind blew through the trees and I felt all too alone on this track. Shadows were flitting through the woodland as dusk fell, but I was sure it was just animals and swaying trees. If I let myself think it was anything else, I'd freak out and I was not gonna do that.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and the noise made my heart jolt before I took it out and found a message from an anonymous number, the words in it making fear slide deep into my bones. Oh my god.
Pretty little blondie, all alone in the dark.
How easy it would be for a wolf to snap her up…
I looked around in fear, hunting every space between the trees, searching ahead of me and behind. But I couldn't see anyone. Did they actually know I was here, or were they just messing with me?
A crack of a twig up in the woods made my heart stall and I froze on the path, my hand clenching around my phone.
"Who's there?!" I demanded, ready to run for my life if I had to.
There was no sign of a flaming arrow or a white mask, but I could feel eyes on me. I was sure of it.
When no answer came, I started walking again, forcing myself not to run and give them the fear that they wanted from me.
I soon spotted Saint along the path and relief washed through me as I made it to him.
"What's wrong?" he demanded as he took in my expression and I showed him the message on my phone.
His eyes narrowed and he slid his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to him protectively. It was something only Blake or Kyan usually did, but it felt good being held against him like that, his fresh apple scent drawing me in.
"Between the two of us they would be bleeding out in a puddle of their own blood and piss within moments if they dared attack you now,” he murmured.
I released a laugh, but it was only half hearted as I glanced over my shoulder, unsettled by their watchful eyes somewhere close by. Creep.
"Maybe we should go after them," I whispered, hating this shit. I wanted to drag this bastard out into the light and beat the living hell out of them.
"No," he said simply. "They will slip up soon enough."
"Do you have a plan?" I asked him and he chuckled low in his throat.
"Oh Tatum, I would’ve thought you’d have learned by now. I’m Saint Memphis, I always have a plan."
I t might have been suggested once or twice in my life that I was prone to taking on too much. But I always felt that that was a matter of perspective. How much was too much? If I was able to complete the tasks I set myself then was it even valid to say that there was too much work to be completed? It wasn't as though I slept much anyway, and I was always willing to push my mind and body to their limits in the quest for perfection.
So, despite my considerable workload, I had no complaints to make. Aside from the fact that entertaining so many projects at once meant that my progress was somewhat slowed on some of them. But I had finally come across something in my hunt for the names of the organisers of Royaume D’élite that I was sure would help point us in the right direction to track them down. The surprising part about it was what else I had discovered.
Kyan:
If any of you see my wife can you let her know I have a package for her...
I gritted my teeth as I read the message in the group chat and drummed my fingers against the table. It was Saturday afternoon and I was working while the others had all gone down to the lake to frolic. They hadn't specifically called it frolicking when they'd headed down there, but I knew the drill well enough by now. Kyan and Blake would swim, Monroe and Tatum would watch for a while until Monroe was goaded into joining the others in the water and then they'd get out and Tatum would run screaming from them while they chased her, threatening to dunk her in the icy water too.
Right on cue, the front door banged open and Tatum raced inside with a shriek of laughter, darting past me and tossing a wide grin my way as she charged up the stairs to my room.
A smile touched the edges of my lips before I could stop it and I didn’t even chastise her for using my private space as her safety zone.
Blake:
If the package is your dick again then we don't need constant messages about it.
Kyan:
It is, and I need her to unwrap it with her teeth
I knew these messages were for my benefit and that they would currently be hastily drying off down at the lake beyond The Temple doors. None of them would have let our girl out of their sight now that we had this Justice N
inja bullshit to deal with which meant the messages were entirely intended to get under my skin. The most infuriating thing about that was the fact that I was unable to stop it from working.
Saint:
I am not surprised your wife went running from your dick and your questionable skills with it.
Kyan:
There’s nothing questionable about my dick skills, is there wifey?
Tatum:
*Squid emoji*
I released a long breath and the inevitable followed that.
Kyan:
Fuck yes. With a side of *onion emoji* *octopus emoji* *otter emoji* please.
Tatum:
Only if you let me tie you up this time, baby ;)
The door banged open again and the three assholes entered all shirtless, all dripping moisture with their hair wet. It looked like a set up for a fucking porn shoot and as they tossed their shoes by the door and dumped their shirts in a heap, I had to fight the urge to physically attack them.
Monroe seemed amused as he pushed his dripping hair out of his eyes and came to sit across from me at the dining table.
Kyan and Blake were clearly on the hunt though.
"First one to find her gets a kiss," Blake suggested as he looked around with narrowed eyes as he tried to figure out where she would have hidden.
"You can't just go around kissing my wife without my permission," Kyan grunted.
"You gave me permission the other day, asshole," Blake replied. "Not that I need it."
"Fine. I extend permission to today. If you find her first that is. Otherwise, I'll grant permission for you to watch me with her."
Tatum:
Kings of Anarchy Page 44