“Doubt”—ThroughFire
“This is bad,” I muttered to myself as I raced out of the room and down the hall, ignoring the soreness between my legs.
Holy shit. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What did I do?
How was I supposed to know that the man I’d dreamed about was going to be at my brother’s clubhouse? Not that I cared that he was part of my brother’s club. Jude, now known as Angel, was okay with me hanging around his club, but he didn’t want me hooking up with the guys in his club. He’d made thatveryclear, but I figured if he was a member, then the rest of the guys couldn’t bethatbad.
The problem was, I didn’t know he’d have a gift. Jude did, but shit, I didn’t think things like that were overly common. Our family had a long line of healers, a gift that was passed down to the men of each generation. What my family didn’t know was that I had a bit of a gift too. Mine was more subtle than my brother’s gift of healing, but it was there.
Me? I dreamed things that came true.
No, I hadn’t known I’d run into the guy I dreamed of when MacKenna begged me to get her into the club party. In my dream he didn’t have a cut, but then again, in my dream he wasn’t wearing anything but a shit-ton of tattoos. The second he’d spoken and I saw the ink on his arms, I knew. Looking into his eyes confirmed it. Those same rich brown eyes had been staring into my soul as he slid into my body in my dream.
Damn, it didn’t compare to the reality, though. Too bad I could never be with him again. He may have been meant to be my first, but there was no way it could go any further. He’dseen.
Dear God, he’d seen Angel’s secrets. What if he said something? Angel would be mortified. I wasn’t supposed to know. He’d hidden me in the closet to protect me, but like the foolish child I was, I’d peeked.
“Jasmine!” was barked at me as a hand gripped my elbow, spinning me around. I cringed as I slowly raised my gaze to my brother. It was like I’d fucking manifested his overprotective ass.
“Um, hi?” I said with a weak smile. Though I’d only been there a few times, I knew I wasn’t supposed to be in the back hallway where several of the guys had rooms.
“What the actual fuck are you doing back here?” His eyes widened as he took in what I was wearing. “And why the hell are you dressed like that here, of all places? Please tell me I’m imagining this.”
“Jude. I just needed to go to the bathroom, and I decided to sit inside for a bit. I figured this door would take me out closer to where everyone was. It’s not like I’ve never been to one of your parties before. I’m a grown-ass woman. I’m not a kid that needs protecting.” A wince marred his handsome face briefly, making me feel like absolute shit. Especially after Nico had seen a little of what my brother had endured.
Truthfully, I’d only ever been to one party, and it had been pretty tame. Family days didn’t count. Before I blurted out any more stupid things, I inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled. “If I want to go to a party dressed up, then I’ll go to a party dressed up.”
“Not at my club, you won’t. The guys that are in my chapter would likely respect that you’re my sister, but this one isn’t just our chapter. We have members from all over, and I don’t know them all. They don’t need to see that much of you.” He waved his hands wildly at my short skirt and sliced-up T-shirt, then frowned before scrubbing a hand over his mouth. He’d only been a patched member for a short time, so I supposed he didn’t know them all. Then again, I had no clue how many members there were total.
“If the club is so bad, why are you a part of it?” I asked him with a raised brow and plenty of attitude. It had floored me when he told me he was joining a club called the Royal Bastards. We had been raised very upper-middle class. It had been a surprise to me when he joined the army with Ogun. But it was mind-blowing when they joined the same motorcycle club as Ogun’s dad. Well, stepdad, but he never saw his biological father, and though I didn’t know the story there, I knew there was one.
“I trust my chapter, sis. The rest of the chapters may be fine, but I don’t know them. That’s all. I’d also rather not have to beat the fuck out of one of my own brothers if they got handsy with you—or worse, hurt you. That’s why I would just rather you not be around when other chapters are here,” he said with a heavy-hearted sigh. I guessed that was why he hadn’t extended the invite to me for the party that night. When MacKenna begged for us to go, I hoped we could avoid my brother and the guys I knew he was close to, but I was very wrong.
“I get it, Jude. But if you don’t trust the guys in this world 100 percent, then you’re an idiot to be around them.” My comment was more to convince myself I needed to stay far, far away. Though I knew it had to be done, the thought of never seeing Nico again made my soul cry out at the loss. I told myself it was for the best.
“It’s Angel—I’d rather not even think of myself as Jude.” His jaw clenched, and a hardness hit his eyes. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride home. Things are about to get pretty wild. Not so sure you wanna be around for all that. I have an extra helmet for you,” my brother said, and I bit my lip as I shot him an apologetic wince.
“What?” he asked in resignation.
“MacKenna is with me. She was dancing with that guy named Ghost,” I said with a toothy smile and a shrug.
“Jesus H. Christ. I’ll get my truck.”
As he made a path through the crowd, several guys I’d never seen before gave me a once-over, and he glared. “Don’t even think about it. This is my baby sister,” he told several of them. By the time we reached MacKenna, the info must’ve spread, because there were few glances in my direction.
“You’re done. Say goodnight, MacKenna,” my bossy brother told her as she peeled herself off Ghost, who frowned, then glanced at me. His gaze was calculating briefly before recognition dawned, and he cussed.
“Shit. You were the brunette with her?” I could see the wheels turning, and I didn’t want him to piece together who he’d left me with and how long ago that had been. Granted, we’d only met a few times, but he knew me. That was why I’d hidden from him when he found us talking to Nico.
“Yeah, but I got tired of waiting and went inside. I was surfing social media, but my brother decided to be a party-pooper when I was heading back outside.” I gave my brother a scowl, and Ghost laughed.
MacKenna pouted, and I could see she wanted to argue, but Ghost kissed her and whispered something in her ear. Whatever it was, it had her grinning with a deep blush. Then again, that was one helluva kiss.
We followed my brother to his truck. The entire time, I expected Nico to come after me. Despite how I’d lost my shit and walked out on him, I kind of hoped he’d experienced the same connection. Surely it couldn’t have only been me. No matter how much I knew it was a really bad idea, something that powerful couldn’t be one-sided.
A desperate longing whispered maybe he had a secret fix for his gift. Like some kind of way to prevent him from seeing everything in my dang head.
Yet, with each step, I knew he wouldn’t be coming after me. By the time Angel helped me climb into the cab of his truck, my heart was heavy. It would seem that he was meant to be the one who took my virginity, but that was it.