Page 114 of Renascence

“They wantme, Gage. What happened to her is because they were trying to get tome. Well, they did. I’m doing what’s best for her. I won’t make the mistake of waiting until something worse happens.”

“Like I did?”

Shit. My words struck a chord with him. I wasn’t even thinking about Raven, but now I’ve pissed off my president.

“Prez, I didn’t mean—”

“We need to get to the warehouse,” he cuts me off. “Apparently Crow and Motor are coming back with a package.”

He leaves me with my foot in my mouth, rounding up the other men.

“Rico!” he shouts. “Find out where the prospect is and give him a hand.” He turns back to me, pointer finger aimed in my direction. “Get your head out of your ass. You either pull it out yourself, or I’ll do it for you.”

Sighing, I walk back to the courtyard to wait, closing my eyes against the memory of Emily sobbing behind me as I rode her home. Every tear she shed was like a nail to my palm, but a few tears now is better than her getting caught in the crossfire again. The next time might be worse.

After my promise to Jeff, I’m relieved he wasn’t home when I dropped her off. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to look either of them in the eyes again.

As Rico rides away, he gives me a look. Whether it’s disappointment or disgust, I can’t really tell. I want to kick his ass for it, but I know I deserve it.

We pile into one of the vans, needing to keep a low profile whenever we go to the warehouse. The men are quiet, but I don’t mind. I welcome the silence; it gives me the opportunity to brood without interruption. I should have ended things with Emily a long time ago. Better yet, I shouldn’t have started anything in the first place. I knew where it would lead.

I fucking knew.

But I let my dick do the thinking. I wanted her too much to pass up the chance to get inside her, and now she’s paying the consequences. Hopefully they’ll leave her alone now that I have.

Or have I made it easier for them to get to her?

Fuck my life.

No matter what I do, it seems to be the wrong thing. Not to mention I’ve pissed off Gage, which by extension means Einstein, too. I know it’s just a matter of time before he hears what I said, and he’ll also take it personally because of what happened with Ellen. Losing Emily, and both my prez and VP mad at me. How did I fuck things up so royally?

Is it even really my fault? I can’t help the family I was born into. This isn’t about the club; it’s simply a case of who I’m related to.

This time.

That’s what I need to keep reminding myself. Eventually something club-related will come up and she’ll be in danger again. And again and again. I need to be strong. This is the best thing for Emily. She’s better off without me.

Even if it kills me to let her go.

The van door opens, sunlight bursting into the dark cab. I hop out, heading inside when Gage unlocks the warehouse. We bypass all the cars and bikes he has parked inside, going through the hidden door and making our way downstairs to where we know Crow and Motor will be. Sure enough, they’re in one of the rooms, eyes glued to a woman sitting in the center. She almost jumps out of her skin when we enter.

“What’s this?” Gage asks.

“Vitalli made us,” Motor answers. “We lost him but grabbed her. She’s the one from the video, right?”

“Yeah, that’s her,” Tek confirms, slowly circling the woman.

“She said anything?” I ask.

“Oh, she’s been extremely cooperative,” Crow replies, handing a phone to Tek. “This is hers. She said the picture’s on there and she only emailed it to Vitalli.”

“Please,” she begs. “I’ll tell you everything I know. Just please let me go.”

“Why should I?” Gage steps forward.

“Look, you already know I took the picture, so I won’t try to deny it. That’s all I did, I swear. Luigi said he’d pay me five grand, so I did it. You know how long it would take me to make that kind of money on my waitress salary?”

“Don’t care.” I move to Gage’s side. He may be the president, but this is my fight.