Page 43 of Vapor's Blaze
Clearly, this man is not aware that I’ve been hooking up with this brother all along. And since I’m not sure Vapor wants him to know that, I stick to the story I told their club president. “I came for the old man and nothing more.”
Haze curses under his breath, does an about face and storms out the door, slamming it behind him so hard it makes the whole wall shake. I don’t know anything about Vapor’s twin brother, but I feel like I’ve just dug myself in a big hole with him.
Chapter 15
Trix
Eventually I get tired of pacing and curl up on the sofa with a cozy throw. I try to calm down by scrolling on my cell phone. I wish I knew how my brothers were doing. I could text Tracker and Hark, but I’m worried that my grandfather has bugged their phones. At the moment it’s best I stay incommunicado. I do know from what Vapor told me, that my grandfather never suspected my younger brother had anything to do with my escape. Mal, the guy who kept an eye on the cells had a tendency to be sloppy with the key, on one previous occasion he’d left it in the lock. That time he’d gotten a bullwhipping—this time he’d died in the raid at the Savage Legion clubhouse, so that was that.
The hours track by, and I just can’t seem to pay attention to anything I read. I keep thinking Vapor will call or text, but he never does.
Regardless of what I told Vapor’s brother, I am worried about him being angry with me. Even though I know we can’t possibly have a future together, that doesn’t mean I want to give up one single minute with him in the meanwhile. I keep hoping that he will come back, forgive me for coming here and hold me in his arms.
As the evening wears on, I pick at some of the food his brother brought for me. I eat more out of boredom and anxiety than hunger. There are several bottles of iced coffee in the minibar, and they really hit the spot.
As it nears midnight, I’m rewarded for my waiting. Vapor comes through the door carrying a bottle of wine in one hand and two wine glasses in the other. I jump to my feet so quickly that I almost trip and fall. I steady myself by placing one hand on the arm of the sofa, embarrassed but unhurt.
This man that I’m growing so fond of, no longer seems annoyed with me. “You want to talk this out or do you want me to leave?”
I flash him a nervous smile. “Since you brought wine, you can stay.”
“Which would be exactly why I arrived bearing gifts.” The teasing quality of his voice tells me that he’s just joking around.
I sit back down on the sofa, and he sits beside me. He uses the coffee table for a staging area, opens the wine and fills our glasses.
“So, why don’t I start,” I offer as he hands me a glass.
“Whatever you want. I’ll be happy to go first if you want.”
I smile at him over my glass. “I messed up first it’s only fair that I apologize first. I should have trusted you.”
He sets the bottle of wine on the coffee table and picks up his glass. “I thought everything was going well. I’m shocked that it fell apart so quickly for us.”
“I don’t think it did fall apart. My anxiety just got the better of me. If the Hellfire Hounds had someone in lock up for days, they would be giving them a good beat down on the regular. Thoughts of Jamus suffering a beating is more than I can handle.”
“You really like that old dude, don’t you?”
I nod, “Yeah I didn’t realize how much until now.”
“Siege was able to work out a deal, but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
“Tell me. I’d love to be able to put this whole situation behind me,” I say.
“Our club offered to release the Hounds we have in lock up, formally forfeit all the territory outside of Salinas County, and pay fifty grand to your grandfather in exchange for allowing you to become my old lady—”
“Wait, what?” I say, my brain frantically trying to sort through the words he just said. Maybe I’m asleep and just had the most bizarre dream ever. Because I could swear that Vapor just asked me to marry him. Well, not exactly asked, he said I would be his old lady.
I remember on the night I escaped saying I wished I could have married him, but they were just idle words. This was crazy!
“Of course, the marriage wouldn’t have to be real, or maybe we don’t have to get married and can just say we did. It’s the only way we could come up with that would ensure that you stayed safe and out of the Hounds and the Diggers grasp.”
I swallow down the last mouthful from my glass, then top it up again, my heart was still hammering as I considered his words. On the one hand, being married to a man as wonderful and caring as Vapor, sounded like an answer to my prayers. On the other… well, I couldn’t see any drawbacks, other than the fact that I doubted my grandfather would honor those terms. “I don’t want you getting yourself involved in my dysfunctional family affairs.”
When Vapor speaks, his voice is earnest. “I think I’m already involved. But you know I wouldn’t ever do anything that you didn’t want. I’ve proven that to you over and over again, so if you don’t wanna do this, we can try and find another way.”
I move closer to him, taking his glass from his hand and setting it aside. “I know. You’ve always been good to me. It’s part of your charm.”
“I didn’t know I had any charm,” he says with a lopsided smile.