“You can’t stop me. I’m not your wife, or your girlfriend, or your old lady. Not that it would make any difference.” She snapped her purse closed and he had to admit she appeared calm and rational despite the crazy words coming out of her mouth.
“I won’t let you go,” Zane said. “I won’t let you do this. You’re mine, Evie.”
“Yes. I am yours,” she whispered. “No matter what happens, in my heart I will always be yours. But this isn’t about you and me. It’s about Ty. And I will do anything to get him back.”
“Then wait. Trust me. The Sinners will handle this.”
“Trust me, Zane. Believe in me this time and how I feel about you. I love you. Nothing will ever change that. Even if I don’t see you again, I will never stop loving you.”
Even if I don’t see you again. Did she really think it would go that far?
He had no hesitation about what he had to do. Evie was his to love, his to protect, and he would keep her and Ty safe until he drew his last breath. “If that’s what you want.”
“That’s what I want.” Her eyes glistened, her emotions belying her words, and it was that, more than anything, that gave him the strength to act.
“Gimme one minute before you leave.” He didn’t wait for an answer, but jogged down the street until he found Benson coming up the sidewalk toward him.
“Need your cuffs.”
Benson handed them over without question. “I probably won’t need them again. This is my last week on the job. I gave in my notice after escaping the fire.”
“You did a good job with that truck.”
“Yeah about that,” Benson said. “Maybe next time you want to blow up a building with a truck you should drive.”
Zane made his way back to the house where Evie was waiting and shrugged at her questioning glance. “Had to talk to Benson before he started his search.” He stepped to the side, giving her a clear path to the door, but as she reached for the handle, he yanked the cuffs from his pocket and snapped one around her wrist.
“What the…?” She stared at him aghast. Before she could react, he dragged her over to the radiator and snapped the second cuff to the metal frame. Thank fuck for old houses and old-fashioned heating systems.
“No!” She yanked against the radiator and her face contorted in fury. “You can’t do this. Let me go.”
Nausea roiled in his belly and he took a step back. “I can’t let you sacrifice yourself for Ty. I can’t let you give yourself to Viper. He will never let you go, Evie. You must know that.”
“It’s my choice,” she shouted. “You can’t take that from me.”
“I can. And I will.” He reached for the door. “I made a mistake, Evie. We don’t choose the biker life. It chooses us. I thought I could give it up, but it won’t let me go. This is my world, and I need to deal with it my way. It’s the only way to keep you and Ty safe. I’ll bring him back to you. I swear.”
“You bastard.” She yanked on the cuffs so hard blood welled up on her skin. “Take these off.”
Zane pulled open the door and looked back over his shoulder. “I lost you once. It won’t happen again. I love you, Evie, and I will never let you go.”
TWENTY-FIVE
Repair and repair again. That’s the nature of the beast. So learn your skills well.
—SINNER’S TRIBE MOTORCYCLE REPAIR MANUAL
She was going to kill him. No doubt about it. The second she got these damn cuffs off she would hunt him down and then …
No. Death would be too good for him. She would make him suffer instead. Then she would kill him. Metaphorically speaking, of course.
But first, she needed to get to Ty.
A wave of nausea crashed over Evie at the thought of Ty running down the street, so distressed he’d left in his pajamas, only to be grabbed by strangers. He would have been so frightened and he didn’t even have his bear. Despair gripped her throat and she forced herself to take a breath. And then another. She couldn’t help Ty if she broke down now.
The handcuffs rattled as she pulled against the chain. Damn radiator refused to move and her wrist was raw and bleeding from trying to work her hand free; it looked so easy in the movies.
“Help!” She kneeled beside the window and shouted through the glass. But, of course, so early on a Saturday morning, no one was around.
She slumped against the wall and cursed Zane under her breath using every single bad word she’d ever learned. Damn him. Damn him for being protective and loving, and then railroading over her wishes when it mattered the most.