Page 59 of Brutal Sinner
“Usual story. They beat the shit out of each other and ended the fight as the best friends they always were.”
“Ryder’s a bad ass. I couldn’t watch a guy beating the shit out of Hope. If I notice a guy even look her way, he won’t look again.”
Lou catches Faith’s eye and grins. “Good luck with that, soldier.”
She grins. “Now off you go. I’m at a very important chapter in my book and I’m impatient to get into it.”
As we leaveher to it, I lace my fingers with Faith’s and love how we walk like any normal couple out for an evening stroll. The crickets are singing loudly in the bushes and the moon is beating down on us, surrounded by the brightest stars.
Faith looks up at them and sighs. “Do you remember that night I snuck out to meet you?”
“I will never forget it.”
She references the night she gave her virginity to me, and I willneverforget that.
“It was so special lying on that blanket under the stars. I really believed nothing could ever tear us apart.”
“It didn’t.” I remind her and she stops suddenly and says earnestly, “I’m sorry I ran, Jonny. I was scared for you—for us. If they discovered it was you, they would shoot you dead, and I had to protect you both.”
I remember the pain that I carried with me for close on two years and it’s as if I let her down when she needed me most.
Tipping her face to mine, I whisper huskily, “I let you down, baby. You should have known I would never allow anything to happen to either of us.”
“How? We may have been close, Jonny, but we had so few moments together we were virtually strangers. Most of our time was spent doing other things rather than talking—remember?”
She smiles shyly, and it’s as if a star has fallen from the sky and I am holding the brightest one in my arms. I kiss her deeply under the same stars we found one another and then, pulling back, I say huskily, “My biggest regret is that I stopped searching. I believed Purity when she told me you didn’t want me. That you had run away to escape me.”
“Don’t blame Purity, Jonny. She tried so hard to change my mind. She called me stupid and cruel and didn’t want any part of it because you were the best thing that had ever happened to me, and I was a fool to turn my back on that.”
This is news to me, and I say incredulously, “Then why didn’t you listen?”
“Because I let my fear control me. I had lived with it so long it was all I knew. But not now. Not now my eyes have opened, and I’ve seen the whole picture. I feel like a fool, and she was right to call me out on it.”
“She was a good friend.” I say, remembering her loyalty to Faith by keeping it all to her herself, even as it turns out, against her own better judgment.
“Do you think she’ll be ok, Jonny? I’m worried about her.”
I nod, because the same thought has crossed my mind already because a woman like Purity isn’t equipped to deal with the real world and I say with determination. “I’ll see what I can find out.”
Her soft smile has me reaching for those tempting lips all over again and as we kiss like the lovers were are, I wish we could recreate the most special night of my life, right now instead of heading to a place that may change her mind entirely.
CHAPTER35
FAITH
I’m not sure why I’m so anxious, but as we reach the steel compound that I have avoided up until now, the nerves are almost consuming me. Ashton and Bonnie offered to show me the bar area when it was quiet, but even then, I didn’t want to go there. I suppose it’s because everything is going so well with Jonny. I didn’t want anything to mess with that and yet as we near the huge structure I have a hard word with myself, because whatever Jonny did before I came here is his business and definitely not any of mine.
He seems nervous too and I feel bad about that. It’s my job to reassure him, so I say softly, “It will be fine. I’m a big girl now. I can cope with what’s inside.”
“I know.”
He grins. “You are the strongest woman I have ever met because you survived Heaven.”
We share a smile, both of us the only people here who can ever really understand what we went through, and as I take his hand, I squeeze it with a reassurance I really want him to believe. With a deep breath, he pushes open the door and the noise alone confuses me because it’s so incredibly loud. Heavy Rock makes the floor thump, above which are loud voices and a lot of laughter. I want to hide behind Jonny so badly but stand my ground and stare in surprise at a place that makes me smile. It appears that everyone is having a really good time as I stare at men and women who obviously don’t give a shit about anything other than having the most fun they can.
A huge bar runs the length of the room in front of which are couches set around tables. There are bar stools holding large, tattooed bikers and many women laughing with them as they chat among themselves. At one end are a couple of pool tables and I notice one woman bend over it as she tries to sink her shot, a biker helping her as he rests his large hand on her ass.
Many of the guys look our way and call out to Jonny who returns their greetings with an easy acceptance of the situation, and I don’t miss the curious glances of both bikers and whores as I stand beside him, feeling as if I shouldn’t be here.