Someone is watching me, I'm sure of it. Every day I hear the sound of motorcycles. I had to go to the Devil's Saints MC for help

"Please help me, someone is following me, you...how could it be you?"

The last person I wanted to see was him. He was my sister Jessica's boyfriend for several years, and I never told anyone that I fell in love with this man at first sight. He was everything I wanted in a man, and I was so jealous that he loved my sister so much.

I haven't seen him since Jessica's funeral.

"Reed? Is it really you?"

"Who are you? How come your eyes look so familiar?"

I cleared my throat and straightened my shoulders, as if I was ready to go to the battlefield.

"I'm Wrenley. I'm really happy to see you again"

————————

I follow closely behind my best friend and when I look up to take in the bar, my breath stalls in my lungs while everything goes silent around us.

"Oh," Sioux holds out the word under her breath, "biker bar."

It's clear with one sweeping glance that The Alloy Riot is, without a doubt, a biker bar. There are a few guys at the bar who are huge with muscles, wearing jeans, boots, and leather cuts.

Not everyone in the bar is a biker, but it doesn't matter. There's more than enough of them and it makes me wish even more that I had listened to my gut. Bikers aren't all bad, I know it better than a lot of people, but these guys give me the creeps.

She bumps my hip with hers and keeps her voice low, "What's gotten into you? You okay?"

I glance around when I feel eyes on me. They're boring into me and making me want to squirm, but not in a good way.

"I'm fine," I croak out. Sioux arches her eyebrow as if she doesn't believe me, which she shouldn't. "I just," I drop my voice even more, "don't really feel comfortable here. You remember how I knew a few guys associated with a club when I was younger." I watch as understanding dawns on my best friend's face.

What I never told Sioux, never told anyone, was how I always wondered if Jessica's association with the Devil's Saints Motorcycle Club was linked to her death. Sure, it was a home invasion gone wrong, but was that all it was? I never found out considering I was way too young to figure out anything on my own and no one ever brought up the possibility to me.

The only person I probably would have asked about it was Reid Whelan. He was Jessica's boyfriend of a few years, and his father was the President of the DSMC. I listened to Reid talk a lot about the MC—how it was a brotherhood, how they always had each other's back, and his plans to prospect for the club after graduating high school.

I also remember overhearing a conversation he had with Jessica once where he warned her to be extra careful. There was another club who was trying to gain some of the Devil Saint's territory, and it made everyone worried about retaliation and war. He didn't tell her she was in danger, not explicitly, but even I could hear the implications.

Reid was larger than life to me back then. Right or wrong, I had the biggest crush on the man. He was everything I wanted in a guy, and I was more than a little jealous that he loved my sister as much as he did. You could see it whenever he looked at her—she was his whole world.

I loved that for her because my sister was amazing, but I also hated it because I was sure no one would ever look at me the same way.

They haven't either, no matter how hard I try not to compare the men I've been around with the one who disappeared after Jessica died. I couldn't exactly blame him, but that doesn't mean I'm not pissed about it.

He was just...gone.

As far as I know, he's still gone. I haven't seen him since Jessica's funeral and I'm sure I'll go the rest of my life without seeing him.

I remember the insistence in his voice the day he told Jessica to be careful. There was a note of fear in his voice even I could hear, "Promise me that you'll be careful. Not every club operates under a code. Some don't care who they hurt as long as they get what they want. You need to be safe."

Jessica cajoled him and that was the last I heard about it. Then she was killed two months later.

I shake off the thoughts of Reid and Jessica because thinking about the past won't do a thing. It certainly won't change anything.

I force myself to take a drink of my whiskey and smile at my best friend. "I'm sure I'm just overthinking things."

Sioux nods slowly, but I can tell by the look in her eyes that she doesn't believe me. She shouldn't. I force myself to chat with my friend and not look around the bar, no matter how many eyes I feel on me.

We're both quiet as we walk away from the bar and Sioux calls for a ride. We make sure there are people around us, but it doesn't stop me from looking over my shoulder constantly. I could swear I see a man in a Riding Rebels cut a few times, but then they're gone when I blink.

"I'm so sorry," Sioux breathes when we're finally in the car she called.

"It's okay," I whisper the words, tasting fear on my tongue still. It's a little silly, but I can't shake it. "You didn't know."

She watches as I head inside my place before telling the car to pull away and I check the locks about a million times before I'm able to settle in for the night. I didn't notice anyone following us, but I swear I hear a motorcycle a few hours later just as I'm falling asleep.

Well. It's official.

And I have a stalker in the form of a biker named Anarchy.

Having a stalker is bad enough, but one named Anarchy? Who is the president of a motorcycle club? One I've come to find out are as far from good guys as you can get?

I know things are going to just keep getting worse and I have no idea what to do about it. I'm not equipped to deal with a problem of this magnitude. I'm not equipped to have a house plant or a cat. So having a dangerous stalker is, without a doubt, beyond my capabilities.

I knew I was screwed the day after going to The Alloy Riot with Sioux. After hearing a motorcycle drive by, I barely got any sleep. Every single noise was someone coming for me, and I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched even though I closed all the blinds in my place and holed up in the dark. No one could see me.

I knew it, rationally. Still, I could feel Anarchy's eyes drilling into me and I couldn't shake it.

All morning I've been biding my time until I thought it wasn't too early to go out to the DSMC clubhouse. I went out there with Jessica and Reid a few times for family days and always had a lot of fun. While I'd never heard of the RRMC, the DSMC has a pretty good reputation around town and most people would know where the clubhouse is whether they'd been behind the fence or not.

----

I've been lost in it before. For years.

I spent six years traveling, trying to outrun the memories, the ache, the pain of watching my future die right in front of me.

I knew I didn't deserve to find that kind of peace again. Not after losing my girl. It felt like a betrayal, and I had to swallow hard and often to keep the taste of acid from forcing me to pull over and hurl on the side of the road. I was on a mission, and I was going home. Even as my chest ached. Even as my soul writhed in agony.

I lost my entire future.

I regret that I wasn't there to protect her. Pain which has faded but is still so prevalent it's hard to breathe sometimes. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths, trying to right myself. Maybe I need a distraction. Then I remember the woman who was let through the gate. "I'm going to go and see about the woman Lucifer had Zach let in," my voice is hoarse as I struggle to put the past where it belongs in the hope the ghosts leave me the alone.

"Lucifer," I call out and he looks over at me quickly, worry filling his eyes.

I don't understand why he'd be worried. Not until the woman turns and looks over her shoulder at me. Her eyes are brown and when I look into them, it feels like I get hit with a semitruck.

I know those eyes. They remind me of...no!

I shake my head and the woman gets up slowly, those brown eyes wide, round, and full of surprise. She holds her hands up and I'm not sure if the action is meant to soothe me or if she wants to touch me. Everything in me rebels against the idea of either happening.

I don't know what will happen if she touches me. I don't want to find out.

She licks her lips and I hate myself when I follow the movement. "Reid?" Her voice is tentative and wary, "Is that really you? I didn't," she stops herself and closes her eyes, a pained look crossing her face. When she opens her eyes, she looks at Lucifer and mutters, "This wasn't a good idea. I shouldn't have come here."

I can't stop myself from snarling, "Who are you?"

Her eyes snap to mine, pain swimming in the depths of her brown eyes. They're so similar to eyes I used to look into years ago, but these have more gold flecks in them.

What is wrong with me?

The woman clears her throat and squares her shoulders as if she's getting ready to go into battle. "I'm Wrenley."

Two words.

Everything collides.

My past. My present. My future.

I stare at the woman in front of me and almost can't believe her words. Can this really be Wrenley? The girl who followed Jessica around with stars in her eyes? The one we brought to family days at the club?

Pain twists in my gut, but it feels different this time. Guilt mixes with it which has nothing to do with not being there for Jessica when she died. This is guilt because of what I forgot, what I never thought twice about—her.

I force myself to put on a neutral expression as I look over Wrenley. I might not be showing her my emotions, my surprise at seeing her all these years later, but I'm feeling it right down to my soul. She's grown into a beautiful woman.

She would have done anything for her sister, and I know she looked up to me too. I let her down and never thought twice about it.

Now she stands in front of me as a woman. A woman with curves. She's not very tall, maybe around 5'3", which has protective instincts I thought I lost a long time ago flaring to life inside ofme.

What is that about?