“I’ll be back soon,” he tells me, and kisses my forehead.

He pulls back, giving me a lingering look that makes my mouth dry to Sahara levels and then strides off up the corridor.

I peer down at my bag and grab the straps, hoisting it up. Everything I need to disappear is in this bag. No way in hell am I leaving it in the hallway.

I heave it up to my room, my shoulder burning like fire by the time I get it up there. I should have waited with it until the prospect came to help, but impatience made me twitchy.

I dump it at the foot of the bed and rush to the door to lock it behind me. Now that I have my documentation, money, ID, I can start making plans to leave. My car is still in the garage, but now I have money, it doesn’t matter. I can pay for a taxi to the airport. Cash.

I don’t know if Isaac has access to my accounts yet, but my cards are useless. They are a way to track me, so they’ll be staying here, along with my car and my phone. The club can sell it if they want to—compensation for the crap I’ve put them through.

I scrub a hand over my face, trying to calm my wildly fluttering heart. Getting out of here isn’t going to be easy, but I need to make plans over the next few days. I need to be gone before Isaac discovers where I am and comes looking. I need to be gone before Nox falls any further for me.

Leaving Nox behind is going to destroy me, shred what little hope I have left. I don’t know if I can survive it. For the first time in my life, I feel like I found home, a family, and now I’m going to lose it all.

The thought makes a lump stick in my throat, stopping me from swallowing.

On autopilot, I unpack my things and repack the shit I absolutely can’t live without, lightening my bag. The rest of my clothes I hide in the empty drawers.

I flop back onto the bed and I let my tears flow as I stare up at the ceiling tiles. My heart is breaking, my soul is dying. I hate Isaac for making this my life, for taking everything good I’ve ever had and ruining it. I hate him for ruling my life even when he’s not here.

But my husband is nothing if not persistent. He won’t stop until I’m back with him. He’s not a man who lets things go, and that’s all I am to him—a thing.

The thought of being back in his clutches makes my stomach swirl and my hands shake. I’ll die before I let him take me again.

I push up off the bed and stumble into the bathroom to check there’s nothing in there I need to take. I catch sight of myself in the mirror. My bruised face looks terrible and it’s not going to be easy to hide it while I’m on the road. It’s going to draw attention, but I can’t wait for the skin to heal.

I sink onto the edge of the mattress, chewing on my thumb as I do, my mind scattered, my heart heavy.

Whatever happens, I need to say goodbye to Sash. I won’t leave without doing it, but calling her is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. She’s the sister I never had, but always wanted growing up. Maybe if I’d had a sister or a brother, better parents, I wouldn’t have found myself in Isaac’s arms. Maybe, just maybe, I might have found real love, not obsession. I have no doubt Isaac doesn’t love me, especially now I’ve tasted real passion with Nox. He just wanted a trophy to keep, someone he could control. How wrong he was about that last thing. I often wonder how he felt when he discovered I couldn’t be tamed, that all the pain he inflicted on me, all the control he tried to push on me wasn’t worth a damn. He hadn’t broken me, although I sure as fuck felt destroyed by the time I found my freedom. Working in that bar was the only thing that kept me sane, reminded me I had options, that I wasn’t completely useless on my own, and of course, I met Sasha, and that told me I wasn’t alone, as Isaac led me to believe. I could find people outside of him and that made his hold on me weaken further.

I’ve tasted freedom. Now, I’ll do whatever it takes to stay free. I won’t go back to him without the fight of my life. Nothing will make me go back there. Nothing. I won’t be used and abused any more. That’s not who I am. I’m not this weak little girl any longer, and Isaac will have realised that the moment his men tried to take me from my office.

I’m a survivor, and I’m going to survive this, even though it might shred the last of my sanity.

16

Nox

The last thing I wanted to do was leave Lucy, but a message from my president meant I had to go. Club first. Always. Although that loyalty lately is being tested more and more. If it came down to a fight between the club and her, I’m not sure I would choose the club anymore, and that honestly freaks the fuck out of me.

My life has always been so rigid, so straightforward. I was born to be a member, I was raised in the life. The Sons are everything to me and my loyalty has always been certain.

Until now.

Lucy has embedded herself into my life in a way I can’t get her out. I don’t want to get her out. She’s mine and I want the world to know that.

I stride towards the chapel, the room we use for church, and empty my pockets into the box outside the door before stepping inside. Rav is already seated at the head of the table. Fury is sitting straight backed to his left-hand side, his eyes distant, as usual.

I move to my chair, pulling it out and taking a seat.

The others arrive almost at the same time, Day, Whizz and Levi all taking their seats after Titch locks the doors behind him and claims his own chair.

Rav gets straight into business. “Any luck finding Blackwood’s men?”

“Nope,” Levi mutters. “They’re slippery motherfuckers. They ain’t been seen since the last report of them being in town.”

Fire licks through my gut. The longer they’re out there unchecked the more fear I feel. I need my girl safe.

Rav leans forwards, gripping the table edge until his knuckles whiten. I can see the frustration rolling through him. I recognise it because it’s the same frustration that is steaming through me. I hate not knowing what those cunts are doing in town. It’s a prelude to fucking war them being on our patch without permission.

“I wonder if it’s time to reach out to Blackwood and tell him we know his guys are here,” Whizz says.

“It’s way past time to send a fucking message,” Levi jumps in, his eyes sliding around the table. “We let this stand and soon we’ll have every fucker thinking they can just ride on through our territory unchecked.”

Rav considers this, his knuckles scraping over the table as his eyes go distant.

“You’re right. It’s time. I can’t figure out what those fuckers are doing here, so let’s just fucking ask Blackwood, see what that fancy fucker has to say.”

“What about this shit with Lucy?” Day interjects, tapping his fingers on the table before pulling his pack of cigarettes out. He puts one between his lips and lights it before asking, “We found the men who tried to kill her yet?”

My jaw clenches, my teeth hurting under the pressure. Even the thought of what they tried to do to her makes homicidal rage pump through my veins.

Titch leans forwards on the table and clasps his hands together. “Still can’t turn up shit on the boss. I’m telling you, this bastard doesn’t have any dirt on him. He’s a fucking saint. Lived a good life, donates to charity. Him and his wife take in foster kids.”