The middle of the week at Andromeda had been slow. During the day, Cain surprised me by insisting on doing the mundane day-to-day things with me as I prepared for the weekend, and for the club’s family barbeque on Sunday.
The first night, Indy and the staff shooed me out early, which I resisted at first, but after gearing up for an argument on why I should stay, Cain came up from behind me and tossed me over his shoulder. He seemed to do that a lot.
I had to admit, though, being able to leave and have the confidence to know that everything was under control was a godsend. Since then, I’d let Indy handle evenings at the bar.
Two days full of multiple stops at grocery stores, countless hours on the phone with my liquor distributors to reorder for the next few weeks, and even lunch with Elle, and Cain never complained once. Not when she spent the majority of the time grilling him with every question she could think of. Nor when he’d endured enough of his awkward interview, I asked him to go to the store across the street and buy me tampons because I felt like I was getting my period.
Elle had laughed as he obliged and I revealed I wasn’t actually getting my period and just wanted to see how he’d react. He hadn’t asked what brand I needed, or what size, so I wasn’t holding much hope, but when he returned with theexacttampons I used, I shut up real quick.
So did Elle.
It seemed no detail was too small for Cain to pick up on, and I couldn’t say I hated that about him. I spent many years on and off with his brother, and the man didn’t even know my favorite color by the time we broke up.
Blue, by the way.
Cain not only knew my favorite color, but had even sought out blue dahlias for me. I wasn’t normally a ‘buy me flowers’ kind of woman, but something about him showing up yesterday with them hidden behind his back as he leaned against the doorframe of my office had me dropping to my knees instantly.
“Let’s go grab some dinner,” Cain said from where he laid on my couch. “Maybe take a ride after?”
Standing from my chair, I walked over to where he was, and he shifted his body so he was sitting. His hands found my hips, and he pulled me down to straddle him. I lowered myself until I was sitting on his lap, and he buried his hand in my hair.
I smiled, then closed the distance to kiss him softly.
His lips were tender against mine, and when our tongues met, a heavy sigh exhaled through him as he relaxed under my touch. The moment the air left his body, my heart broke because I could feel it… The turmoil. The stress and the anxiety. The guilt, and even the fear.
Breaking the kiss, I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him to me tightly. He buried his head into my chest, needing this as much as I did.
We’d been through so much in a short time.
After a moment, my stomach rumbled again, ruining the surprisingly gentle moment between us.
“C’mon, let’s go get you something to eat,” he said, letting me slide off his lap as he stood up. He walked over to my desk chair and pulled my denim jacket off the back of it, holding it open so I could slide my arms inside. “What are you in the mood for?”
“Pizza,” I blurted, because honestly, I’d been craving it since yesterday.
Cain laughed and said, “You’ve got it, baby.”
Grabbing my hand, he led me through the back entrance and out toward the staff parking lot where his motorcycle was.
Moments later, we were on the road. The air was chilly—the fog began to roll in and added a saturation to the hues of bright oranges and reds from the sun setting over the horizon. Traffic was light, allowing Cain to weave past cars expertly until we were on the open highway.
For some reason I couldn’t explain, being on the back of Cain’s bike had me feeling giddy. Maybe this was my version of a heavy sigh, but if just for the moment, I felt light and carefree.
Tightening my thighs against him, I outstretched my arms and tipped my helmet-clad head backward. The tint on the helmet's visor made the sky appear dimmer, but still, I could see the stars beginning to come out against the darkening sky.
As I brought my head back up, I saw Cain steal a glance over his shoulder. His left hand immediately flew to my leg as he pressed it against his body more, likely wanting me to hold on tighter. I hugged myself to his body as much as possible, and when I did, Cain accelerated.
The motorcycle flew forward and on instinct, my arms tightened around him, holding on as he raced down the highway. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, spiking when another motorcycle whizzed by us at an even higher speed and swerved directly in front of us.
Cain leaned on the bike and maneuvered us out of the way, just barely. He shook his head and glanced behind us, his shoulders tense. The other motorcycle strayed behind.
Seconds later, another motorcycle, or maybe it was the same one, caught up with us, hugging our right side. They were so close if I reached out I’d be able to touch the driver’s shoulder. It was then that I realized on the back of his leather vest was a large emblem of a scythe with angel wings.
The Reaper’s Wings.
A second bike pulled to our left, and Cain cranked the gas, jolting his motorcycle forward to get us away from them.
As we raced down the highway, they followed, boxing us in on each side. If we slowed, they slowed. If we raced ahead, they caught up. I tried to get a good look at them, but like us, they wore full face helmets and masked their identities. I had a sickening gut feeling, though, that these two were the men who walked into Andromeda earlier in the week.
