nice
man.”
Flame allowed
him to hold her as she wept and her body trembled. Her thoughts
flashed back to another night long ago, a sudden déjà vu ensued.
Von had been there for her then, before she knew anything about the
Satellite. And on that dark night of pain, he’d held her and
comforted her as she cried bitter tears. Later he’d taken her away
until Hatch and Coop’s biker gang found them on the highway. Back
then, she considered it a rescue when Von seemed like the bad guy
as Aiden’s accomplice.
But now—now the
picture was changing.
“You told me
that my ex-husband and his family were involved with Hatch somehow.
I didn’t believe you. Yet here you are, helping me again. Why?”
“Aiden told me
that you were in danger so I helped him. When I saw what they did
to you, I changed my mind. Believe it or not, I do have a mind of
my own.”
She wiped her
eyes with the hem of her shirt and sniffed back tears. “What common
bond do we have?”
“We both want
Coop dead.”
“Oh yeah, I do
recall hearing about the power struggle between the two of you and
that is why you started your own biker group.”
He settled on
the floor and pulled her onto his lap. She didn’t resist. The
gentleness in his touch right now was soothing.
“What I’m about
to tell you must never leave this house. We are in a protected
domain, so-to-speak. The Twilight Master cannot invade my thoughts
where innocent blood has been spilled.”
Flame wrinkled
puzzled brows but nodded in agreement just the same. “I know how to
keep a secret.”
He half smiled.
“I know, which is why there are some things I need to tell
you.”
She took a deep
calming breath and gave him her undivided attention. “Go on.”
“You asked me
what I did to end up in the evil realm.”
“Yes. You said
you trusted a friend.”
His expression
deepened and his eyes stared straight into her, making her
shiver.
“About fifty
years ago, give or take a few decades, I’ve lost count, I started a
biker group with someone I considered a friend. Didn’t take him
long to rise within the ranks and win the respect of the entire
pack. He was a strong leader, fearless without a shred of mercy.
Everyone felt safe riding behind him.”
“Cooper
O’Toole.”
Von nodded.
“You put that together rather quickly.”
“Just a hunch.
I figure a man capable of cold-blooded murder is probably
intimidating enough to draw a following.”
“I didn’t know
that Coop was part of the Twilight Realm until he killed me.”
“He killed you,
too?” Flame gasped. “Coop is immortal?”
“Yeah, but that
was only the beginning. Coop is a recruiter of sorts. He chooses
his targets carefully then hands them over to the ruler of that
realm as future Satellites. I was preselected. If I refused the
position then my ass would’ve been thrown into a fiery sulfur pit
for eternity.”
Immediately she
thought back to the nightmare that plagued her only days ago, but
she didn’t speak on it. Those details had been revealed to the
Supreme Lioness during a sacred visitation.
“So you
accepted the mission to come after me. You did know who I
was.”
He gave a
reluctant nod. “When Aiden told me what he’d heard about you, I had
no choice. I was trying to save my own ass and hoping to save yours
in the process. My only hope of redemption was fulfilling
Twilight’s plan. But when Aiden’s family lost control I took
matters into my own hands.”
“Redemption?”
She couldn’t believe he uttered the word.
“The only way
to break this hellish curse is by joining with a Sai warrior from
the sisterhood, as you already know. Once you came into the open,
once I met you…I devised a plan of my own. I was going to take you
into hiding and gain your trust somehow. Then Twilight unleashed
the hounds so I let you go without a fight to spare you more
suffering. You were in pretty bad shape that day. Later, when you
came after me, I tried again but you killed me before I got
man.”
Flame allowed
him to hold her as she wept and her body trembled. Her thoughts
flashed back to another night long ago, a sudden déjà vu ensued.
Von had been there for her then, before she knew anything about the
Satellite. And on that dark night of pain, he’d held her and
comforted her as she cried bitter tears. Later he’d taken her away
until Hatch and Coop’s biker gang found them on the highway. Back
then, she considered it a rescue when Von seemed like the bad guy
as Aiden’s accomplice.
But now—now the
picture was changing.
“You told me
that my ex-husband and his family were involved with Hatch somehow.
I didn’t believe you. Yet here you are, helping me again. Why?”
“Aiden told me
that you were in danger so I helped him. When I saw what they did
to you, I changed my mind. Believe it or not, I do have a mind of
my own.”
She wiped her
eyes with the hem of her shirt and sniffed back tears. “What common
bond do we have?”
“We both want
Coop dead.”
“Oh yeah, I do
recall hearing about the power struggle between the two of you and
that is why you started your own biker group.”
He settled on
the floor and pulled her onto his lap. She didn’t resist. The
gentleness in his touch right now was soothing.
“What I’m about
to tell you must never leave this house. We are in a protected
domain, so-to-speak. The Twilight Master cannot invade my thoughts
where innocent blood has been spilled.”
Flame wrinkled
puzzled brows but nodded in agreement just the same. “I know how to
keep a secret.”
He half smiled.
“I know, which is why there are some things I need to tell
you.”
She took a deep
calming breath and gave him her undivided attention. “Go on.”
“You asked me
what I did to end up in the evil realm.”
“Yes. You said
you trusted a friend.”
His expression
deepened and his eyes stared straight into her, making her
shiver.
“About fifty
years ago, give or take a few decades, I’ve lost count, I started a
biker group with someone I considered a friend. Didn’t take him
long to rise within the ranks and win the respect of the entire
pack. He was a strong leader, fearless without a shred of mercy.
Everyone felt safe riding behind him.”
“Cooper
O’Toole.”
Von nodded.
“You put that together rather quickly.”
“Just a hunch.
I figure a man capable of cold-blooded murder is probably
intimidating enough to draw a following.”
“I didn’t know
that Coop was part of the Twilight Realm until he killed me.”
“He killed you,
too?” Flame gasped. “Coop is immortal?”
“Yeah, but that
was only the beginning. Coop is a recruiter of sorts. He chooses
his targets carefully then hands them over to the ruler of that
realm as future Satellites. I was preselected. If I refused the
position then my ass would’ve been thrown into a fiery sulfur pit
for eternity.”
Immediately she
thought back to the nightmare that plagued her only days ago, but
she didn’t speak on it. Those details had been revealed to the
Supreme Lioness during a sacred visitation.
“So you
accepted the mission to come after me. You did know who I
was.”
He gave a
reluctant nod. “When Aiden told me what he’d heard about you, I had
no choice. I was trying to save my own ass and hoping to save yours
in the process. My only hope of redemption was fulfilling
Twilight’s plan. But when Aiden’s family lost control I took
matters into my own hands.”
“Redemption?”
She couldn’t believe he uttered the word.
“The only way
to break this hellish curse is by joining with a Sai warrior from
the sisterhood, as you already know. Once you came into the open,
once I met you…I devised a plan of my own. I was going to take you
into hiding and gain your trust somehow. Then Twilight unleashed
the hounds so I let you go without a fight to spare you more
suffering. You were in pretty bad shape that day. Later, when you
came after me, I tried again but you killed me before I got
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