Page 19 of Oz (Marked Skulls MC 4)
“This…what happened tonight between us. That was the last time. It can’t happen again,” I said and turned my face away from him.
Oz was quiet for a few minutes, but I couldn’t face him. I knew if he looked into my eyes he would see the truth. That nothing had hurt so much as pushing him away. But how was I supposed to live like this?
In constant fear of my life. In constant fear for the safety of my family. If my decisions started affecting them, I would never be able to forgive myself.
“Kaya…” he finally began to say, and I shook my head.
“Please, Oz. I had fun. I don’t regret being with you, but…”
“You want it to stop now,” he finished the sentence for me and I remained silent.
“I understand, and you don’t have to worry. I will not push you to do something you don’t want to do.”
I should have been relieved, glad that he wasn’t making this difficult for me. But all I felt right now was an emptiness. Finally, I was going to have to admit to myself that I’d made the wrong decision. I should have listened to Melody and stayed away from Oz. I was foolish. I thought I could just let my desire for Oz take control of my life. I thought he could keep me safe.
Oz was watching me, searching my eyes.
“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m going to leave you alone, Kaya,” he said again. I had to force myself to hold back the tears. They were stinging my eyes and I tried to blink them away.
“Okay.”
“I’m still going to do everything I can to keep you safe. So, just till we deal with the Dark Legion; you might see me around a little,” he continued and I nodded.
“I’ll try and get some of the other guys from my club to watch you most of the times. You can trust them,” he added and I continued to nod. “But if I have no other choice but to protect you myself, that is what I’ll do.”
I was staring down at my feet, doing anything possible to keep my eyes turned away from him.
“But, after this is all over, we don’t have to see each other again. I don’t want to get you involved in anything,” he said.
“Goodnight, Oz,” I blurted. I knew I would break down in tears if I spent even another second here with him. Before Oz could reply, I was running away to my bedroom.
I shut the door behind me and collapsed to the floor in tears. I couldn’t stop them now. The floodgates had opened and I felt sick. What was I doing? Why was I this sad?
I barely knew Oz. We’d only spent a little time together, and already this felt like the hardest thing I had to do. Even when I left my family—I hadn’t felt this miserable.
For some reason, breaking off whatever I had with Oz, felt like a big decision. We weren’t even dating, not really. And already I felt like I couldn’t imagine a life without him.
No other man made me feel the way he did. Despite everything happening, I hadn’t felt safe in anyone’s arms the way I did with him. But I knew I couldn’t do this. I would never be able to adjust myself to this feeling of fright. If this was Oz’ life, I couldn’t be in it.
I crawled into bed some time later and wrapped myself up in the covers. I could still feel him around me. His strength and his warmth. I remembered every move he made, how glorious he made me feel when he was inside me.
Was I going to regret this decision?
Was I going to miss him when I found another man…someone like Gus who made me feel nothing?
How would I ever replace Oz?
Nobody else could even come close.
Chapter 25
Oz
Of course, I couldn’t sleep the rest of the night, even trying to was pointless. Kaya was all I could think about, and how losing her felt miserable. Being with her had made me believe I could actually do this—have a meaningful and committed relationship with a woman. She made me happy. Now I knew what Abe and my sister felt for each other, and it was addictive.
But that was over. It was time to move on.
In the morning, just when day broke, I called Dash and told him what happened at the diner with Kaya. Since he knew what was happening between her and me, I sensed he would understand. I told him I needed him to watch her, while I sorted out the Dark Legion, and let the rest of the club know what was going on. Immediately, he said he was on his way over.
Kaya emerged from her bedroom soon after. She looked like she hadn’t slept much either. Her eyes were puffy and red. She was wearing a thick pink puffy robe over that sexy slip now and I tried not to stare.
“Would you like some coffee?” she offered in a groggy voice and I said no.
“I’ll get something to eat on my way to meet the others,” I told her. Kaya gulped, staring at me.
“You’re leaving?” she asked in a weak voice. I could sense that she didn’t want to admit it, but she was afraid of being alone.
“I have to go and figure this shit out, but one of my friends is going to be with you. His name is Dash, I trust him, and so should you.”
Kaya nodded, just as the bell rang.
It was Dash at the door and he strode in.
“Kaya, this is Dash,” I said, introducing them. She smiled weakly at him and he waved.
Things were awkward between us. All of us. I tried not to allow my gaze to wander to those shapely legs under the robe, or the delicate length of her neck—but she was just so goddamn sexy.
“I should go,” I said, in a desperate attempt to stop wanting her. Kaya licked her lips nervously; she looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t.
“I’ll watch her till I get further orders from you,” Dash told me and we quickly shook hands.
Kaya remained standing at the kitchen door, and she looked like she was at a loss for what to do. I walked to the front door and turned to glance at her.
“I hope you have a nice day, Kaya,” I said. For a moment she said and did nothing, but then she nodded quickly.
“You too, Oz,” she said and then I stepped out.
It needed to be ripped off like a band aid. I had to keep myself busy and keep my mind off her. This was never going to work. She was right. She didn’t deserve the shitstorm that was my life.
She was in safe hands with Dash now.
***
On my way to T-Bone, I spoke to Lewis on the phone and asked him to call Church. By the time I got there, the others had assembled and were waiting for me to give them the lowdown.
Lewis, Girth and Rodeo were there, and Abe was the only one away. He was at a meeting with our Cuban contacts, trying to get them to continue wi
th their shipments so we could keep our business going. After one of their guys got badly injured, it wasn’t a surprise that they now had cold feet in doing business with us.
“What have you got for us, Oz?” Lewis asked when I walked in.
“It was the Dark Legions I saw that night. They were the ones who pulled the shootout at the docks,” I told them. A buzz rang out in the bar. They were all expecting it to be a false alarm.
“Like I said, fucking cockroaches!” Girth growled.
“And is this the intel the prospects gathered?” Rodeo asked and I nodded.
“They’ve been picking up buzzes, but that isn’t the biggest proof we have. Someone got threatened and a message was delivered directly to me,” I said. A silence fell like a shroud on the bar now. All eyes were on me again.
“A message? Who was threatened?” Lewis asked, banging his fist on the bar counter with rage.
“A girl I know. She works at the diner across the street,” I said.
“Those fuckers were here? Like right here?”
“Yesterday,” I said and Lewis was cursing.
“What did they tell her?” Rodeo asked.
“That we need to forfeit the territory we took from them.”
“Or else?” Lewis hissed.
“They’re going to hurt the girl,” I said. I could predict what the next question was going to be.
“Hurt the girl? Who is she?” Lewis growled.
“She’s…I’ve been…”
“Banging her?” Rodeo asked with a smirk. I clenched my jaw but said nothing.
“More than that? Something going on between you two?” he continued and I just glared at him. There was silence in the bar until Lewis spoke up again.
“It doesn’t matter. We’re not going to take a threat to us like this lying down. They’re affecting our business, but we’re not giving the territory back to them It’s fucking ours!”
I felt relieved they were not tossing more questions at me.
“We need to protect her. Kaya. That’s her name,” I spoke up. I needed to make my priorities clear to the club before this meeting came to a close.
