and it was only one of the reasons I’d started to fall a little in love with him. Except I’d recently turned seventeen and he was a grown man who could have any woman he wanted. Why would he want someone like me anyway? I knew he’d seen the videos of what happened at the hospital where they’d left me. Even if I ever felt I was ready to date, no one would ever want to touch me. Certainly no one who knew about my past, and I wasn’t comfortable leaving the compound to start a new life elsewhere. It wasn’t safe outside the gates.
He grunted and muttered something into the phone before disconnecting the call and handing the phone back to me. I took it and slipped it into my pocket, then shifted from foot to foot. He watched me, not moving or saying a word. Did he want me to leave? I backed up a step and he reached out, wrapping his fingers around my wrist only to release me just as quick.
“You have everything you need?” he asked.
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
“I’ll be done out here in about a half hour. I’ll need a shower, but when I’m done we can go grab a bite to eat. You feel up to going out somewhere?”
I hesitated. I loved spending time with him, but leaving the compound still frightened me a little. I knew they’d taken care of the rival club, and I’d heard the staff at the hospital were being picked off one by one. What I didn’t know was whether or not I’d run into anyone who’d purchased time with me during my captivity. I wasn’t sure I was brave enough to face any of those men.
Patriot moved a step closer and reached out, tugging a lock of my hair. “I’ll keep you safe, Little Bit. Promise. No one will so much as breathe wrong in your direction. If they do, I’ll gut them where they stand.”
My lips twitched with a smile. I knew he’d do it too. He’d slammed the doctor against a concrete wall when he’d come to pick me up at the hospital. Granted, the man was a rapist and murderer. He’d deserved what he got and so much more.
“All right. I’ll go.”
He eyed me a moment, smiling when he saw my socks. “Not Christmas yet, MaryAnne.”
“I like the bright colors. Makes me happy.”
His gaze grew somber and he reached out slowly. His fingers skated over a lock of my hair. Anyone else tried to get this close, I’d have bolted. But Patriot wasn’t just anyone. He’d saved me when no one else had bothered. I knew Titan, the President of the Hades Abyss Mississippi chapter, had sent him, but the way Patriot had knocked the doctor out and promised I’d be safe? It always made me swoon a little when I remembered how fierce he’d been. I’d been scared shitless at the time, but I knew now I could trust him with my life. Even then, I’d been drawn to him a little.
“I’ll be okay,” I said.
“I know you will.” His lips quirked in a half-smile. “Strongest woman I know, Little Bit. Don’t ever let anyone say different.”
I didn’t know how he could say such a thing. I wasn’t strong. The men who’d taken me had nearly broken me. I might still be standing, but I didn’t think I’d ever be close to the person I’d been before. That carefree girl was long gone. I’d seen the ugliness in the world, had it touch me, felt the darkness seeping into my soul. There were some things you didn’t bounce back from.
No, I’d never be that MaryAnne again. I’d be someone new.
Chapter One
MaryAnne -- Present Day
I shifted from foot to foot as I stared at the clubhouse. Even though I was eighteen now, I knew I wasn’t permitted inside. More for my safety than anything else. Well, that and I wasn’t sure I wanted to see the club whores hanging on Patriot. I’d come to think of him as mine, and I hated the thought of him being with those women. He’d never given me even a hint that he might think of me as something other than a kid sister or pesky houseguest, but in my dreams, he belonged to me and I belonged to him.
I exhaled, my breath fogging the air. December in the south wasn’t exactly freezing most of the time, but a cold snap had come through and it