Page 80 of Nyx

No one questioned him. No one offered an alternative suggestion for what he should do.

They have full trust that he's making the right decisions right now, and that builds my confidence in him as well.

I don't know what his position is with Cerberus, but he was in my interview, and I think that says a lot about where he stands with the club.

I have felt a lot of fear in my life, but as the tires roll on the pavement, my worries seem to fade away. I can no longer hear the song playing over in my head with the way the wind swirls around the helmet.

I feel free for the first time in a long time, but I know that freedom will end the second he powers down the motorcycle and expects me to get off.

Chapter 21

Nyx

I can still hear her whisper of thanks echoing in my head. She looked embarrassed about what happened, and although I wanted to grill her about it, I didn't ask questions.

I didn't want to re-trigger her or cause her any more fear.

I convinced myself that the pink in her cheeks was from the bike ride, but I knew better. She dipped her eyes to avoid looking at me, and I know she has to have done the same thing a million times when avoiding being hurt by her ex-husband.

I bet that motherfucker loved a submissive woman and saw direct eye contact as disrespect. She probably wasn't high enough on his list of importance to have the right.

It wasn't my place to curl a finger under her chin and ask her to look directly at me, and I'd never cross a boundary like that. Mostly because it feels gross to control someone like that, but also because I would never know if she looked up because she wanted to or if she was only doing it to avoid some sort of reaction from me.

I called to report the situation back to Kincaid, using the opportunity to ask if I could stay on duty. He said he can't control what I do, but I can't be there under official command. He also said that if I didn't come back for a minimum of six hours of respite, he wouldn't put me back on duty until I did.

I waited outside Juniper House for over an hour, making sure she wasn't going to leave and go home, before I cranked my bike and headed back to the clubhouse.

I slide my helmet off, wondering if I'm imagining it or if I can actually smell the sweet scent of her hair still trapped inside of it. I don't go so far as to lift the thing to my nose, but the urge doesn't leave as quickly as it should.

I head inside and walk directly to the conference room.

Max is the only one inside.

"Any updates?" I ask, wanting someone to see me so my six-hour clock starts.

"Whitmore is still being monitored. Nothing of note has happened. The man has to have a frequent flier punch card for how many escorts show up at his condo, though."

I scrunch my nose.

"I know," Max says. "Pretty gross."

"Any of them leave with signs of injuries?"

Max shakes his head. "No. I accessed their scheduling app. Crazy that they're operating illegally yet still using an app that can be hacked. Case notes say he's a lazy lover, has a little dick, and is bossier than some of the girls would like, but no reports of physical or sexual abuse toward any of them."

"Thanks," I say. "Gonna start my downtime."

I leave the conference room, heading toward my room, with every intention of getting some sleep.

My brain has other ideas, keeping me awake even though I haven't been to sleep in over twenty-four hours.

It's been a very long time since something really got my blood pumping.

It didn't happen when Travis Shaw showed up at Juniper House.

Hell, I bet my pulse was steady on that last raid I did in Tennessee.

Doing my job doesn't get the adrenaline running.