Blade (RBMC: Dallas, TX #4)

Chapter Three

“BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor”—WrittenByWolves

Present…

I’d tossed and turned the night before, so I was dragging ass, and my eyes were on fire. I looked like I’d either been smoking weed for two hours straight or was coming off a three-day bender. My dreams had been plagued by her and that hadn’t happened in months.

With a yawn, I rolled over and sat up, dropping my feet to the floor. I scratched my chest, then briskly rubbed my hands through my hair, trying to wake myself up.

I left my small bedroom and shuffled to the kitchen in my underwear. Another yawn hit me as I started a pot of coffee. While it did its thing, I went into the bathroom and turned on the water to shower.

By the time I got out, I went back to the kitchen with my towel around my waist, poured myself a mug, and drank it hot and black. Between the shower and the shot of caffeine, I started to wake up.

I had about thirty minutes before I needed to be heading out for my first job.

After Raptor established the chapter down here in the Dallas area, he also opened a branch of the biological cleaning company like we had in Ankeny. Since Phoenix and I had experience, initially we ran the show, but it was exhausting.

Now that we had Torque, Tigger, and Ares trained, the workload was easier. Today it was me and Ares. We had a murder-suicide in a rich neighborhood in Fort Worth that was the first stop. Evidently, he caught his wife cheating and lost it. Just went to show that money can’t always buy happiness.

About twenty minutes later, I was walking over to the clubhouse. I’d nearly made it to the door when Raptor, Gator, Phoenix, and Tigger came out. They all had weapons on them, though they weren’t drawn.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“We just buzzed in a car with the delivery,” Gator spoke up.

“What delivery?” I was a little confused. Maybe I should’ve had more coffee.

“From Venom,” Raptor stated.

The car pulled up to the clubhouse and we waited for the dust to settle for a moment. It was hard to see in the vehicle with the sun in my eyes. The driver climbed out and I grinned.

“Good God, it’s like a damn sauna here. How do you guys voluntarily live in this shit?” Squirrel asked as he rested an arm on the top of the car.

We all chuckled at him.

“I ask myself that damn near every day up until winter,” I replied.

“You get used to it,” Phoenix chimed in.

“Well, I brought you something for safe-keeping, then I’m heading back to livable temperatures. You couldn’t pay me to live here. Never, ever, ever.” He walked around the car and opened the passenger door.

“Never say never,” Raptor added with a laugh.

Squirrel reached a hand into the car. He helped a woman to her feet. Her blonde hair glowed in the early morning sun.

I squinted and tried to shade my eyes. She stepped around the door and faced us with a nervous smile.

My knees almost gave out.

Eliska .

It was as if she’d been conjured out of my dreams. Her pretty cornflower blue eyes locked on mine as Squirrel got her suitcase out of the trunk. My heart stuttered.

No, no, no, no, no .

She couldn’t be there. Even years later, I wasn’t strong enough to stay away from her. But after everything she’d been through, she needed someone who would be soft and kind with her. She deserved that.

And that wasn’t me. I wasn’t kind. I wasn’t soft. I was full of hate and sickness. I’d been conditioned not to feel. I’d been manipulated and groomed to inflict pain and I enjoyed it.

The only person I truly had love or a soft spot for was Sage. She was like the little sister I’d never had. Because of what I’d allowed to happen to her, I promised myself I would always be there for her. Always protect her.

Eliska wasn’t like a sister.

At all.

Eliska would get hurt by me and that would destroy me in ways that Luis never could.

It was why I’d truly left Iowa for good. Because three years ago, when she’d shown up on our doorstep there, I was mesmerized. For once in my life, I had a soft spot for a woman other than Sage. For once in my life, I wanted to be a good man who knew how to be gentle and sweet with a woman. Yet that was impossible. It was too late for that, and I wouldn’t even know where to begin.

Masking my dismay with anger, I practically snarled. “Why is she here?”

Squirrel snapped his gaze to mine as did the rest of my brothers. Their expressions told me I was acting out of character—but I knew that. I simply couldn’t help myself.

Eliska initially looked frightened, but I watched as she noticeably straightened her spine and lifted her chin. Her eyes narrowed on me. The little dove had acquired some backbone.

Good. She’d need it.

“You need to calm down,” Raptor quietly demanded as he looked up from his phone. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I was normally a jokester and in a good mood.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that I’d recently dispersed the man responsible for what had happened to her and then there she was. Maybe it was the fact that I found myself torn because if I could’ve ended that piece of shit, Zeke, before he fucked up her life and mind, I would’ve. Yet, if that had happened, I would never have known she existed.

There was an uneasy silence for a moment before I heard the crunching of gravel as someone joined us.

“Eliska!” I immediately recognized Sage’s voice, but she quickly brushed past me and swept Eliska up in a big hug. The two laughed and held each other before Sage pushed back to look Eliska in the eyes as she gently held her arms. “It’s been ages!”

“Three years,” Eliska confirmed with the corners of her lush lips tipping up.

Three years, two months, and seventeen days… but who was counting?

“We have a lot to catch up on. How long are you here?” Sage asked.

Eliska’s easy smile fell as she nervously glanced at Raptor, then me. Our gazes locked before she tore hers free and focused on Sage. “Um, I’m not sure yet.”

Sage nodded and I loved that she didn’t pressure Eliska. Then again, she’d been around the club long enough that she knew you didn’t ask too many questions if people weren’t immediately forthcoming.

Instead, Sage looped her arm through Eliska’s and led her away. “The cabin closest to us is available. I’m going to put you there. You’ll love it. I actually decorated that one myself. Raptor, baby, will you be so kind as to bring her suitcase when you head back to the house?”

“I’ll have someone bring it over,” he assured her back.

The women’s quiet chatter faded as they walked off. I belatedly realized Raptor had likely messaged Sage to take care of Eliska so we could all discuss why she was here.

“Let’s go inside where it’s cooler,” he announced, and Squirrel breathed a sigh of relief. I almost laughed as we all filed into the clubhouse.

We immediately entered the conference room where we held church. Everyone took a seat, and Squirrel dropped into the vacant one by Gator.

“What’s going on?” Raptor wasted no time cutting right to the chase.

Squirrel ran a hand through his dark hair as he sat back in the seat. “Shit’s getting bad.”

“What do you mean?” Raptor asked with a frown. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the edge of the table.

“Lots of crazy shit. But most recently, two of our prospects were out on a mission with Kicker that only we knew about. They were jumped. Kicker was stabbed—he didn’t make it.” He swallowed hard before he continued. “The prospects were both beat up pretty bad, one was killed and the other was left for dead. The shipment we were responsible for is now missing.” He appeared troubled, and with good reason.

“Fuck,” Phoenix muttered. There was a solemn silence. Kicker had been one helluva brother. It didn’t seem possible that he was gone.

“That’s not all, though.” Defeat seemed to crush Squirrel for a moment as his shoulders drooped.

Raptor’s brown eyes flickered golden as he narrowed them.

Squirrel squeezed his eyes shut before finally opening them, blinking rapidly. “We also lost Dojo.”

My chest immediately ached like I’d been stabbed. “What?”

“I’m sorry, brother,” Squirrel said as he shot me an apologetic glance.

Dojo had been a prospect that I sponsored. He’d gotten patched in right before I left.

“How?” I asked through clenched teeth. My nostrils flared as I fought losing my ever-loving mind.

Squirrel explained what had happened with Dojo getting hit on his bike on a back road.

“Venom said he thought you had a rat. Who do you suspect? And why?” Raptor’s jaw was ticking hard by the time Squirrel finished.

“Because someone hacked into our camera feeds. Facet has been going apeshit trying to plug holes that he didn’t see. He’s madder than I’ve ever seen him.” Squirrel ran a hand down his face.

Jesus .

Facet was a genius when it came to computers. His security and firewalls were impenetrable—or so I thought. I bet he did too. Then again, I remembered how freaky he was about printing info out on paper so we could destroy it and it wouldn’t leave a digital trail. We always joked and said he was good enough that he could prevent anyone from getting access. He’d always said that no matter how smart someone was, there was always someone smarter.

Turns out he was right.

“What does Eliska have to do with any of this?” Raptor finally asked.

“Maybe nothing?” Squirrel pinched the bridge of his nose. “But everything started going wrong with us the same time she started getting threats and having weird shit happen.”

“What kind of stuff?” Gator asked.

“Someone broke into her apartment and trashed it. We got it cleaned up and got the door fixed, but she keeps finding things moved in her apartment when she gets home. She’s been getting odd phone calls and text messages. She wouldn’t say what they said to her, but they obviously rattled her. We had Good sitting outside her apartment one night. Someone came up behind him and slit his throat. Hawk wanted her out of the area until we can figure out what’s going on with us. It was too much trying to focus on both,” Squirrel replied.

“Jesus,” Phoenix muttered. Along with Raptor, he and I had come from the Ankeny chapter. We knew Good well. He was one of the originals of the chapter and he was a great brother.

“Do you believe these events are all connected?” I asked.

“We’re not positive, but it sure feels like we have giant targets on our backs.”

The fact that someone was causing her unrest set a fire in my chest that made me want to burn the world down to find out who was behind it. The fact that she was still connected to the club set my teeth on edge—because what did that mean?

Trying to seem nonchalant, I rested back and hooked one arm over the back of the chair. “Why is she still hanging out around you guys? Did she start seeing one of the brothers?”

I couldn’t get myself to say her name. I think if I did, my obsession with her would be too noticeable.

Squirrel’s attention shot up and locked with mine. His neck went red, and I clenched the fist in my lap.

No fucking way .

Squirrel looked away, but I knew he had heard me when he muttered, “It wasn’t like that.”

Gator, Torque, Ares, and Tigger gave him confused looks. Phoenix raised a brow and stared pointedly at me. The Ankeny boys were the only ones who knew what I could do. I’d kept my ability close to my chest. My new chapter was cool, but I didn’t know that I completely trusted them. Trust was hard for me.

Damn hard.

“I really don’t care why she’s still around. I’m willing to watch over Eliska because the poor girl has been put through hell. What I want to know is if you guys need us to go up there to help you out. I can probably spare a couple of guys,” Raptor offered.

“That would be great. Venom didn’t want to ask, but I was going to do it on my own anyway. I have a bad feeling that this is only the beginning.” Squirrel looked uneasy and that was never good. Dude was usually unflappable.

“I’ll go,” Tigger said, and everyone glanced his way. “I don’t have anyone here like a lot of you. It was part of the reason I was a nomad for so long—I like to travel, and roots are kinda non-existent for me.”

“Well, hell, if that’s the case, I might as well go too,” Rhino chimed in with a grin. “Ain’t nothin’ or no one to miss me either.”

“I’ll make a call to Declan. Maybe he can send someone too. They could meet up with you in Oklahoma City,” Raptor added. Squirrel looked relieved.

“Why didn’t Venom ask for help before this?” Gator rubbed his jaw as he studied Squirrel with a narrowed-eyed gaze.

“Not really sure. Other than I guess we thought we could handle it. But we’re now down three members and a prospect with no clue as to who is behind all of this.” Squirrel buried his face in his hands momentarily, then dropped them to rest on the table. “I don’t want to lose anymore brothers, and if that makes me a pussy, then so be it.”

Sometimes, Venom was too stubborn for his own damn good.

“As soon as I hear back from Declan, I’ll let you know if they can help. Tigger and Rhino will follow you back,” Raptor concluded before he ended the impromptu church.

Everyone dispersed.

As I packed the van with the supplies I would need for the job today, I couldn’t help but chastise myself. I should’ve volunteered to go. It would get me out of her orbit.

Yet I couldn’t make myself do it.