Page 27 of In Death, Love Survives

FIFTEEN

Wolfe

I officially have someone to lose, and damn, these fucking emotions are just causing knots in my stomach. I’ve never had someone who was mine before, someone I cared more about than money and the club.

But now I do.

My Nova girl is mine to protect in every sense of the word.

“We’re almost there,” I shout.

Nova squeezes around my waist, indicating she heard me. She knows I’m worried about her after everything happening on day fucking one of her being out here.

I just hope this doesn’t prove to be too much for her so soon. I don’t want us to be just a moment on Nova’s timeline because I know she’ll always be my whole fucking world.

The smoke starts to fill the air, and I know where we need to park. I need to see if there are any clues or signs of who is responsible for this ahead of the firefighters arriving.

They know this is one of mine, so the only reason they’ll rush to get here is so it doesn’t spread into town nearby.

I’ll take the extra minutes that seem to be creeping by.

“Stay by the bike. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“What about you?”

“Caleb will be here any minute.”

“If that’s what you want.”

I hop off and look her in the eyes.

“That’s what I need. I’ll be right through there. I know we haven’t had time to talk about this, but if anyone comes, use this.”

I pull out the small gun from my waistband. Her eyes bug out in shock.

“I don’t know how to use this,” she admits.

“Look here.”

I flash her the side of it.

“This gun doesn’t have a safety. Just point and squeeze.”

“Point and squeeze,” she answers, stunned.

“Look at me.”

Her eyes flash up to mine with her mouth parted.

“Only if someone bad comes.”

“How will I know who is bad and who is part of the club?”

“Point and squeeze,” I repeat.

It’s a fair question, one that I simply don’t have time to answer. I take off into the small building that’s lit up like it’s about to go up in flames.

I jog around the perimeter, trying to see if anyone is still around. As paranoid as I might be, this feels personal.

It suddenly happens while I’m in jail and unable to actually do anything about it. This was tactical, and I need to get to the bottom of it.

On the back side of the building, I see a door opened wide, clearly where the person went in and out of.

Thank fucking God, this building is empty.

The flames are rising all around me, and I only have a few minutes left. I go in through the door and scan the first floor.

No one’s here.

Fuck.

I don’t have time to go upstairs. It’s worse than where I am. I don’t want to lose an exit either. It’s all too fucking dangerous, and I’m so pissed off about this mess.

As I jog back out the same door, I spot it—a wet paint symbol.

It’s a circle with a V in the middle of it.

The paint looks wet, like it was just done not long ago.

Who the fuck is this? I have to see if anyone knows which club uses this symbol around these parts. We need to find these fuckers once and for all.

Stepping out the door, a loud bang rings.

It happens so quickly that I’m not sure what the fuck it was until I see someone in the distance near a tree line with a gun pointed in my direction.

It’s hard to make the person out, given the late hour, but I’m so used to this that my eyes have locked in on him.

Looking over my shoulder, I see a gunshot hole right through the wall. It’s inches away from my head.

Fuck me.

Instantly, I fall to the ground to try and take cover. Another shot goes off in my direction, and I cover my head with my hands.

I need to get to Nova to make sure she’s okay.

Where the fuck is Caleb? I told him to get here. Of all the times for him to let me down, this should not be the day.

What was I thinking, asking Nova to come?

Fuck. I’m in way over my head.

A loud bang rings, followed by another.

Both of these are closer to me, which is fucking worrisome. Is the shooter alone, or is this his company?

Needing to get to Nova, I stand upright with the plan to fucking go get my girl. As I glance over the field, I don’t see anyone. But when I look around toward where the gun went off, I’m stunned.

Looking like every bit the fighter, outlaw, and badass is my Nova girl. Gun pointed out in that direction, blonde hair flowing in the wind, and the moonlight shining down on her like the goddess she is.

She won’t look in my direction, not with her eye on the prize.

“I’m here. You can put down the gun.”

She still doesn’t look at me.

Slowly, I take a few easy steps to get to her without startling her. She could be dazed or in a trance from having to take a shot.

“Nova. Angel. Baby. It’s me. Wolfe.”

I cover her hand with mine and use the other to slowly move the gun from her hold. She finally looks at me, and her whole body softens.

“Wolfe. You’re okay,” she breathes out.

“I am, baby.”

I scoop her into a hug, and she holds onto me like she never thought she was going to again.

“Thank God you’re okay.”

“I am,” I murmur into her hair.

“What happened?” she asks as she pulls back but doesn’t let go.

“I found a symbol. It’ll help us figure this out.”

“Good. Good. Good,” she chants.

“Baby. Thank you for trying to save me.”

“What’s going on?” Caleb shouts.

“Where the fuck were you?” I ask, pulling away from Nova.

“I had to let everyone know church was happening tomorrow, even with this burning and all the other shit.”

“Well, get your ass out into that field. Nova may have just shot the fucker.”

Caleb looks surprised but not stunned that Nova is capable of that. He darts off without another word to check it out. I doubt he’s there still, but a murder is the last thing we need the police to find.

“I took an oath,” she whispers.

“Baby, you shot at that person who burned down my building. Who shot at me. You did nothing wrong here, okay?”

She nods yes repeatedly as she bites down on her lower lip and sticks her hands in her jeans pockets.

“Come here.”

I wrap her in another hug to help her steady her breathing.

“I wouldn’t have cared if I did because he was trying to kill you.”

I shouldn’t like that as much as I do, but I can’t help but smile at that confession. Nova isn’t a killer, but she would kill for me.

“Let’s get you home and cleaned up a bit, yeah?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“I have some clothes you can wear for tonight.”

She burrows into my side as I lead us back to the front of the burning building and away from the scene of the crime.

On autopilot, I get us together and take off back home. Caleb knows where to find me. He will as soon as he’s done.

Nova’s grip on my waist is the tightest it’s been, and I know today has been a long one for my girl.

I take it easy on the drive back, and soon enough, I’m pulling into the driveway. The midnight blue skies are showing off as Nova and I walk back inside.

“Is there a patio here?”

“Yeah, I can show it to you later.”

“That’d be nice.”

I keep her close to me, realizing she likes to be buried into my side. It keeps her calm through it all.

In the bedroom, I pull out one of my T-shirts and a pair of pajama pants.

“Will these be okay?” I ask, holding them both up.

“They look like they’ll be perfect for tonight.”

She looks around the room and spots the shower.

“I’m going to clean off, then maybe we can eat something?”

“You read my mind.”

Nova takes the clothes from my hold, and I kiss the top of her head.

“Want to join me?” she asks with a shy smile.

“You know I do, but why don’t you take time to decompress. It’s probably been the longest day of your life.”

“I’m not fragile. I promise.”

She kisses me and pulls away.

“But I won’t argue. Maybe a relaxing shower is the right move over a sexy one,” she says with a laugh.

“I’ll take one after you.”

“Okay, will you be in here?”

“I’m sure Caleb is arriving any second. I’m going to go talk to him, and I’ll be back.”

She places another kiss on my lips and heads into my bathroom. With the door shut, I run a hand through my hair as I take my own moment.

What a fucking goddamn day.

I hang my head back and hear the shower turning on.

Give her some space.

I hear my front door opening and shutting, a sign Caleb is fucking finally following some directions.

I leave Nova to it and head out to the family room. Caleb is pacing around in a circle with a distressed expression.

“What is it?” I shout.

His head jerks up.

“Nova. She…”

“She what?”

I cross my arms over my chest as I wait in front of him.

“She got him. From all the way across the fucking field. She got him.”

I’ve never seen my friend look more alarmed than in this moment.

“Is he dead?”

“No, he got away. Blood trail for a mile.”

“Must have gotten picked up.”

“That’s what I’m thinking too. But fuck. What a shot, right?”

“That’s my girl. Let’s take a seat,” I say, and we settle onto opposite sofas.

Caleb looks exhausted as he leans forward with his chin in his hands, resting on his knees.

“I found a symbol.”

“What is it?” he asks.

“A circle with a V in the center.”

“Bizarre.”

“I haven’t fucking seen it before.”

“Me either.”

Caleb looks distracted as I hum in agreement.

“You okay, man?”

With his attention fully on me, one of his knees bounces up and down.

“It’s just a lot. Fuck. We’ve never had it this bad.”

“Makes me wonder if we need to…” I start.

“Need to what?”

“Go legit only.”

Caleb scoffs.

“No one in the club would ever go for that. We make too much money the way it is.”

“Maybe it’s the end of the club as we know it.”

A pained feeling shoots through me.

“What? You’re in prison for a couple of months, and suddenly, you want to give all this up? For a woman?”

“Fuck you. Shut that mouth, and don’t you dare talk about Nova like that.”

He hangs his head and then scrubs a hand down it before regrouping.

“Where is this coming from?”

“Aren’t you just tired of it all?”

“I think I don’t have time to be tired with what I’ve been dealing with while you’ve been gone.”

I lean back and try to see where he’s coming from. He’s right. Caleb has never wanted to lead, but he’s like the brother I never had. He stepped up when I needed him to; he always has.

“You’re right. Let’s deal with this situation and then take a look at the books on everything.”

“Thank you for that.”

“It’s the truth. I get it.”

Caleb mimics my pose and tilts his head to the side.

“Maybe going legit would stop some of this stress,” he says with a chuckle.

“Maybe.”

Caleb gets serious as he nods his head.

“The brothers will know the symbol. Someone fucking will.”

“That’s all we can hope for.”

“Some of them were asking why we weren’t meeting at the clubhouse.”

“What’d you tell them?”

“You wanted to do it here.”

“They pry?”

“Naw. You’ve done it before.”

“Have they heard about Nova yet?”

Caleb finally smiles like I’ve told a joke.

“Yeah, some of them have. You know Diedra can’t keep her mouth shut. It’s probably all around fucking town.”

I scratch the back of my neck.

“Well, better Diedra telling everyone than me needing to. A bunch of gossips.”

Caleb chuckles as he stands and runs his hands down his jeans.

“I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Where you going now?”

“Back to The Lodge. Get a beer.”

“You can get one here,” I say, confused.

“Go be with your woman. I’ll see your ass tomorrow.”

“Right.”

I get up, and we walk to the door.

“She’ll be fine. Life isn’t always like this.”

“She doesn’t know that.”

“Nova left her life behind for you. She met you in prison. That woman knows what she’s getting into. I wouldn’t be worried about it. Go check on her.”