by Malcom, Anne
I was alone since then, on a road that promised solitude. And there was no changing that. Not with a kind, crazy and well-meaning former club girl turned old lady.
And definitely not with a hot, muscled, sexy and soulful biker who saw in me what I didn’t even see in myself.
I glanced up to see two men wearing Sons of Templar cuts walking toward us, each of them focused on two women who used to be club whores. Two women with blood in their past, on their souls, and most likely staining their future.
“They’re not our handsome princes coming to save us and give us a fairy tale,” Macy said, watching them approach.
“No,” I agreed. “But who says we need to be saved?”
She grinned at me.
Cain made it to me, not hesitating to sit beside me and yank me onto his lap. I relaxed into his smell, his embrace.
“You good, angel?” he murmured against my lips.
I regarded him, deciding instantly that I was wrong about being alone. For better or for worse—and likely there was a lot worse down the road for us—I had Cain. I had what remained of the Sons of Templar MC.
“No,” I whispered.
He tensed.
“But being bad is so much better,” I continued, my voice a rasp.
His concern turned to dark desire as he claimed my mouth. “Fuck yes it is.”
The rest of the Amber chapter had stayed another few days after news of what happened.
To celebrate.
Though it wasn’t the patched members that organized the celebration. It was Amy, Bex, Mia, and Gwen. Lily and Lauren quietly attended but the first four were the main organizers.
“Seriously, that is one of the most badass things I’ve ever fucking heard,” Gwen said sipping at a cocktail. “You were in a prison riot, with murderers, and the serial killer who...” She trailed off.
I sipped my own cocktail. Macy squeezed my hand for a moment. “The man who murdered my family and raped me, you can say it,” I said.
She blinked at me. “Well, I don’t have to now that you did.” She squeezed my hand too. “But you killed him in the middle of a prison riot. I think that you’re my new hero.”
“Don’t let Cade hear that,” Amy put in. “He might challenge Scarlett to arm wrestle.”
“I’d pay to see that,” Bex said. “And I’d put my money on Scarlett.”
And it was then that I realized I was having cocktails with the girls, women who I felt comfortable with. Women who felt like family.
Granted I was talking about how I murdered someone in cold blood, but still.
The night went on like that. Easy. Right.
Like what had happened today had jolted something important into place. I should’ve felt bad. Shaken. But I had been feeling bad for years. Every step jostled my broken pieces.
So that night, and the ones after—always ending with Cain inside me—I was broken in a different way. Not fixed. People like me could never be fixed. But broken in a way I could live with. Make a life around.
Hence the rucksack.
And me deciding to make the move to Amber, despite Macy’s tears.
It was harder than I thought it would be saying goodbye to Macy.
Though we were planning on splitting our time between the two clubs since Hansen would need the numbers. We were not staying in my shitty apartment.
We, Cain and I, after two weeks, were looking for another.
I had plenty of money to do it with since I lived cheap and was good with numbers. I’d never gotten myself in a better place because I hadn’t wanted better. I’d wanted to live in a crappy place because I felt like a crappy person.
Cain jerked me into the presence. “Your emotional baggage doesn’t weigh shit. And you know what? It fills up all those fuckin’ places I thought it’d be empty forever.”
I blinked at him. “Stop saying stuff like that,” I demanded.
He smirked. “What stuff?”
“You know what stuff. You’re a biker. And remember your promise, you are to fuck me hard and make a home in hell with me.”
Cain kissed me. “Oh, I’ll do all that. And I’ll love you ‘til the day I die.”
I jerked. We hadn’t said that out loud yet. A part of me still wanted to run. A part of me that was still ice, and that always would be. But it was smaller now. No longer in control. “I’ll love you even after I die,” I whispered.
And then he kissed me again. For much longer this time.
And we rode into the sunset.
But not into peace.
The club was about to ride into chaos.
About the Author
Anne Malcom has been an avid reader since before she can remember, her mother responsible for her book addiction. It started with magical journeys into the world of Hogwarts and Middle Earth, then as she grew up her reading tastes grew with her. Her obsession with books and romance novels in particular gave Anne the opportunity to find another passion, writing. Finding writing about alpha males and happily ever afters more fun than reading about them, Anne is not about to stop any time soon.
Raised in small town New Zealand, Anne had a truly special childhood, growing up in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. She has backpacked across Europe, ridden camels in the Sahara, eaten her way through Italy, and had all sorts of crazy adventures. She’s currently living in London, planning her next adventure.
Want to get in touch with Anne? She loves to hear from her readers.
You can email her: [email protected]
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Also by Anne Malcom
The Sons of Templar Series
Making the Cut
Firestorm
Outside the Lines
Out of the Ashes
Beyond the Horizon
Dauntless
The Unquiet Mind Series
Echoes of Silence
Skeletons of Us
Broken Shelves
Greenstone Security
Still Waters
Shield
The Vein Chronicles
Fatal Harmony
Deathless
Faults in Fate
Eternity’s Awakening
A Dark Standalone
Birds of Paradise