Blood of Cupids (16 page)

I was running faster than I had in my entire life. I needed
to stop Aunt Kathryn before she took off to tell my father what she had
witnessed. The ground shook, causing me to trip to my hands. I wiped the small
stones from my palms, questioning what could have caused an earthquake in the
middle of Philadelphia.

I turned around, my sight stung by the colors of the flames.
Ryan. My car. Another explosion.

Aunt Kathryn would have to wait. I took off again, this time
in the opposite direction.

“Ryan!” I screamed. There was no use being discreet. I
needed to know he was alive as soon as possible.

Through the smoke, I saw his large figure running toward me.
My heart lifted, and my pace picked up, causing me to slam into his chest.

“I am so sorry. Are you okay?”

“This wasn’t you, Grace. My uncle must have rigged your
car.”

“How did he know which was mine?”

“I don’t know. But I have to get back and take care of
this.”

“Ryan,” I stopped him, “I need to catch my aunt.”

What was more important: me stopping my family from killing
him or him stopping his family from killing me? In my mind, I needed to protect
him, but I knew he wouldn’t see it that way.

“Let your father find out about us.”

“Ryan…”

“No. I’m tired of hiding in the club. We’re running away
from all of this.”

“We will.”

“Now. Grace, we have to leave
now
.”

“But,” it wasn’t the plan. I had things to do. I needed
these three weeks. “I need to finish my semester.”

The red in his face deepened as he took my shoulders in his
hands. “Grace, your life is on the line. You’re not going to finish your
semester. Do you understand that?”

“I’m not a child, Ryan. You don’t have to speak to me that
way.”

The fact was if I left school now, the entire semester
wouldn’t count, and I wouldn’t be able to transfer the credits. Yes, with my
life at stake, it may have been a silly worry, but I had worked hard. I didn’t
want to see it all go to waste.

And I hated when people talked down to me.

“God, Grace, maybe if you’d just think about your well-being
once in a while I wouldn’t have to treat you like a child.”

“I’m not your property, Ryan, I can do whatever the hell I
like, and you can’t tell me otherwise.”

“Is that what this is about?” He wrapped his arm around my
waist and brought me up to his chest. His voice lowered with his intention. “I
don’t know what you think I’m capable of or planning to do to you, but you have
to stop treating me as though I’m going to punch you in the face if you step
out of line. You’re refusing to have a conversation with me because you’re so
set on the fact that if you let me win, I’ll think I have control over you. I’m
just trying to keep you alive. Let me do that.”

He was right. I was so set on not being the “property of”
Ryan that I wasn’t listening to anything he had to say when it came to the
club. I was so used to knowing what was best for me that I was completely
unwilling to be in a relationship.

“Ryan, you’re right. But please, I do need to stop my aunt.
Then we can leave.”

He resigned, accepting that he had at least won half of the
battle. “Okay, we’ll take my bike.”

“I’ll take your bike. I need to do this alone.”

The mood lightened, and he laughed. “Oh babe, you’re not
taking my bike.”

“Ryan, I need to go.”

“Do you even know how to ride?”

It was my turn to laugh. I may not like motorcycles, but I
was damn good at operating one. “Give me your keys.”

He fished them out of his pockets and dangled them in my
face.

“Do you know how many rules you’re breaking right now?”

I winked at him and turned away, satisfied with my victory.

“It’s the maroon Harley, just around the corner.”

It was a good thing that he had called after me, for I had
never seen his bike before. I was so full of pride at my win that I had
completely forgotten to ask. I chuckled to myself and blew him a kiss. I knew
we were both scared, but this little bit of flirting was making me feel more
confident in our decided plan.

“Oh, and…” he turned me around, bringing my face to his.
“Grace, I will never hurt you, I will never make you wear a patch, but know
this: you are mine. You, Grace Brennan,
are my property
.”

His tongue found mine, and my body collapsed in his arms.
Why the hell was he so sexy? After all that fuss, how had he turned me on by
calling me
his property
?

We separated, and I caught my breath.

“Grace…”

“Yes?”

“Crash my bike, and we’ll be having some words.”

I smiled, jingled his keys, and ran, turning the corner. The
bike in front of me stopped my feet from moving. It was beautiful. Could this
bike be Ryan’s? I hopped on, found the ignition, and brought her to life. It
had been some time since I’d been on a bike, but the vibration woke me up
inside. Between the rush of the motorcycle and the exhilaration of being called
Ryan’s property, I finally began to understand how women get trapped in this
life.

It wasn’t going to happen to me though. I had one more thing
to do, and then I was out—for good.

My heart was racing. I had just lent my bike to a woman.
Who, in their right mind, would ever do that? But I didn’t have time to freak
out about it. I needed to get back to the club and confront my uncle and my
Pops. My uncle had just tried to kill my girl, and my Pops hadn’t stopped him.
They would not walk away from this untouched.

I hopped the stairs up to my apartment and grabbed my cut
off the bed. I would don my colors one more day, and then I’d be gone. I knew
that if we were to escape our families, Grace and I would be running for the
rest of our lives. There was no other way. For me to leave on good terms was
highly unlikely. The option was always available, but it normally ended with a
game of Russian roulette. I was certain, under these circumstances, they would
not let me go that easy. If I survived whatever torture my family had in store
for me, I would still have to fear the retaliation from Grace’s father. No. It
would be much safer if we left with no word, no contact, and fled a thousand
miles away.

I walked the three blocks to the clubhouse and heard the
pounding of tools. The guys were working away, fixing what I had broken. I
still felt the pangs of regret when I looked at the new building. All those
memories were burnt up with the flames. At least the memories from this new
clubhouse would start without me in them.

I walked around the new construction and saw Sean, huddled
alone over a set of architecture plans and a shotgun. My instincts got the best
of me, and I ran directly at him, tackling him to the ground. The folding table
came with us, cascading to the muddy grass. I’d positioned myself above him,
and took one fast swing at his head. He was agile, especially for a man in his
early fifties, and swung his leg around and in front of me, pushing me off of
him with his calf. I rolled back and rocked right up to my feet, in full ready
stance for a fight. His follow was quick and he jabbed twice, missing my chin
by only an inch. Then his knee met my groin and I cried out in pain, throwing a
right hook directly into his cheek. The hook brought him to the ground, but
within arm’s reach of the shotgun. He reached out, took his prize and flipped
around, aiming the barrel at my chest.

“Go ahead.” I tempted him. It was all I could do; I would
never show Sean weakness.

He cocked the gun with a smile.

I put my arms out to the side, giving him a full target. I
didn’t expect him to shoot, but I wanted to show him I wasn’t scared.

Then his face changed, and everything went out the window.
There was a darkness that I hadn’t witnessed before. I was wrong. Sean was
about to kill me.

“Ryan! Sean!” Pops kicked the wall, separating our stare.
“You can’t go around killing each other!” Pops had a temper, but it wasn’t
often I saw him so angry. He pulled Sean to his feet and took the shotgun from
his hands. “What the fuck is going on here?”

“He just came over here and tackled me.”

I was losing it. How dare he blame this on me when he knew
full well why I was here? “He blew up Grace’s car.”

The air changed, and Sean snickered. “She finally took that
baby out for a spin? How many pieces did you find her in?”

Had Pops not caught me with his arm, I could’ve killed him
right there. He had intentionally tried to kill Grace. My adrenaline had kicked
in, and I was losing my sanity.

With Pops holding me back, a silver lining came to light. I
now had an advantage: they both believed Grace to have been killed in the
blast. I chose not to tell them otherwise.  

I had never been on a bike so fast. It had a custom hot-rod
engine that could easily challenge the fastest bike in my father’s club. The
compression ratio must have also been well above a stock Harley’s, because, oh
my God, the thing was loud. Had this bike blown by me on the street, I would’ve
given a dirty look and made some snide comment regarding the rider’s dick size,
but actually being the rider in question, made me feel powerful. I wanted
people to look at me; I wanted to be judged, but most of all, I wanted to catch
my aunt before she did anything stupid.

I was speeding down the highway at 120 mph, feeling
invincible toward any authority figure. I hadn’t often seen patrol officers on
this road, but right then, the possibility didn’t even matter. I was racing to
save Ryan’s life.

A trip that normally took me just about four hours was over
in fewer than two. I hadn’t seen Aunt Kathryn on my route, but I was sure I had
beaten her. Now the only question was as to where I would confront her. She’d
most likely run straight to the club, asking to see my father, but I couldn’t
show up myself riding a motorcycle. There would be too many unanswered
questions. I decided instead to pull off into a cornfield about a quarter mile
down the road, and hide his bike among the stalks. I killed the engine and
swung my leg around, throwing my feet to the ground.

I sucked up the bitter cold that was—surprisingly—only now
hitting me and ran to the club. Broken beer bottles were strewn across the
floor and remnants of meth littered the bar top. Thongs were hung from the
ceiling fan and dollar bills were lying on the tables and chairs, unclaimed. It
must have been one hell of a party, but the party was over. The place was
empty.

Dad always closed the club on holidays, but with everything
that had happened, I’d forgotten that today was meant to be a day of
celebration. He was probably at home, giving the turkey one final basting, and
I’m sure Aunt Kathryn knew that. So home was where I needed to be too. But I
was in
Shadow
territory now. I couldn’t just hop back on Ryan’s bike and
race the four miles to our farmhouse. A quick decision landed me running down
the street, the freezing wind chapping my cheeks.

Thirty-six minutes later I pushed through the door. I knew I
still had a good hour before my aunt caught up to me, but I was determined to
have all that time to ease my father into the facts he was about to be told.

“Gracie, you’re here! Help me give this guy a final
basting.” I knew my father all too well.

“S-s-sure, Da-a-ad.” My teeth wouldn’t stop chattering. I
tried to pin my jaw shut, but the opposing forces were too strong.

My father walked over to me, covering me with his giant
arms. “You’re freezing, kid.”

“Uh, yah, I ran from the club.”

“Well why the hell would you do that?”

It was time to start being an amazing liar. “My car broke
down.” Simple lies would be best.

“Where’s your aunt?”

“She actually drove separately. I begged her for some alone
time.” It was plausible, and he didn’t seem suspicious.

“But she’s on her way?”

“Yeah, she was a little behind me. Maybe another hour?”

“Okay,” he squeezed me into his chest, “why don’t you take a
nice shower to warm you up?”

“That would be nice.”

“Wow, and no more running on that road. You smell like
exhaust fumes.”

I chuckled, trying my hardest not to give my lies away.
After an obligatory exchanged smile, I flipped around and ran upstairs,
slamming the bathroom door behind me. I turned on the water and allowed the
steam to fill up the room. I could feel my muscles find life yet again. I
stripped off my clothes, becoming too aware of the touch of my fingers on my
skin. My life was falling apart around me, but my body was still begging to be
touched. What had Ryan done to me?

I fantasized about Ryan sneaking into the bathroom window
and warming me up, inside and out. His earnest fingers would melt my iced skin
as he drew me into his naked body…

The fantasy doubled my shower time, and I was thrown from my
daydream from a knock on the door.

“Gracie, you okay in there?”

“Umm, yeah, Dad. I’ll be out in a second.”

I was so embarrassed. I had never before been so enchanted
by a fantasy. It was as if I truly needed an escape from my life. I couldn’t
handle the pressure of what was about to come, and my little made-up make-out
session with Ryan allowed me to find a few minutes of solace before it all
started. Aunt Kathryn would be here shortly, and my new fate would be forced
upon me. After her confession, my fantasies may be all that’s left.

I found some clothes in my old room and tossed them onto my
dripping body. I wrapped my hair in my towel and made my way downstairs. As I
rounded the corner of the staircase, I heard the stones of the driveway crunch
under the weight of a car. I peeled back the curtain to see Aunt Kathryn slink
out of her seat. She looked up and took a deep breath. It was obvious she had
been crying during her four-hour journey, but she brushed the dried black
mascara from her cheeks and took her determined steps toward the door. I would
need to stop her on the porch.

I ran out, the screen door slamming behind me.

“Please stop.” My prayer brought her face to mine. I watched
as her entire demeanor changed, and she charged in my direction.

“Gracie!” She screamed through her sobs. “You’re alive!”

She clung to my still soaked body. “What?”

Her hands moved to my face. She was grabbing at my cheeks,
my chin, my hair. She pulled me close, squeezing the breath from my lungs.

“I thought he killed you.” Shit. She must have seen what
happened to my car. How was I going to explain that? “I went back to get you,
to apologize for running out, but the garage was on fire, and I saw that
Cupid
boy running away. I thought… oh Gracie. I thought he had taken you away
from us.”

I had to hug her back. She had spent the last few hours
thinking I was dead. That had to have been so difficult for her, especially
considering she had been sent to protect me. I felt so guilty for the worry I
had caused her.

“I’m fine. Aunt Kathryn, I’m fine.”

I turned her around, wanting to sit her down on the porch
swing. As I twisted, I saw my father’s figure taking up the entire doorframe.
He looked down at me from behind the screen, his face reddening with every
breath.

“What
Cupid
boy?”