Chapter Five - Eve
1138 Words
The letter hit the ground.
For one terrifying second, nobody moved.
Rain hammered against the gravel, soaking through my coat and stinging my face as
I stared at the envelope lying between me and the man called Grim. The seal had
split open when it fell, and a single folded sheet of paper had slipped halfway out.
My heart stopped.
Dad had made me promise.
Do not let anyone else read it.
I lunged for the envelope.
So did Grim.
Our hands collided.
His fingers closed around the paper at the exact moment mine did. Warm. Rough.
Strong enough to hold onto an engine block, yet somehow careful enough that he
didn't hurt me.
He looked up.
For the first time since I had arrived at Iron Crown, the suspicion in his gray eyes was
mixed with something else.
Uncertainty.
"Let go," I whispered.
He didn't.
"What is this?"
"My father's letter."
"Then why are you trying so hard to keep me from seeing it."
"Because it isn't for you."
He looked at the writing on the front.
To Silas Mercer. Alone.
The old man took an unsteady step towards us.
"Jaxon."
His voice was weak, but every person in the yard heard it.
"Give... it... to me."
Grim's jaw tightened.
"No."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"I said no."
The entire yard went silent.
Silas Mercer looked like he'd been slapped.
"Son—"
"I don't know who she is." Grim's voice was calm, but I could hear the tension
underneath it. "I don't know where she came from. She shows up out of nowhere
with a mysterious letter, and suddenly everyone starts acting like they've seen a
ghost."
He looked directly at me.
"You want me to hand this over without knowing what's inside?"
"It belongs to him."
"It belongs to this club now."
The words cut deeper than they should have.
I didn't belong to this club.
I wasn't one of them.
I was just the stupid girl who had driven four hours because she believed the last
thing her father ever told her.
Silas coughed again, harder this time.
Cal stepped forward. "Grim, just give the old man the damn letter."
Grim didn't move.
"No."
The older biker stared at him. "You don't understand."
"Then explain it."
Cal opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
I looked from one face to the next.
Nobody would meet my eyes.
"What is happening?" I asked quietly.
No one answered.
A cold knot formed in my stomach.
I looked at Silas Mercer. Tears stood in the old man's eyes as he stared at the
pendant around my neck.
He knew something.
He knew exactly why I was there.
And for some reason, everyone else seemed terrified of it.
I stepped forward and reached for the envelope again.
"My father trusted him."
Grim pulled it back.
"And I don't trust you."
The words hit harder than I expected.
Maybe because they sounded so final.
Maybe because somewhere deep down, after Dani had smiled at me and after Silas
had looked at me like he knew me, I had started to hope.
Hope was dangerous.
Dad used to say that too.
I wrapped my fingers around the silver pendant beneath my sweater.
"You don't have to trust me."
He folded his arms, the envelope still in one hand.
"Then give me one good reason why I should hand this over."
I looked him straight in the eye.
"Because my father died asking me to."
Something changed in his expression.
Just for a second.
The hard lines around his face softened.
He looked tired.
Younger than I had first thought.
Like someone carrying more weight than he could manage.
Then the moment disappeared.
He looked down at the paper peeking out from the envelope.
"If this is some kind of scam—"
"It isn't."
"How do I know that?"
"You don't."
The answer surprised both of us.
I took a shaky breath.
"You don't know me. I understand that. But I don't know any of you either. Three
days ago, I buried my father. Yesterday, I found out he wasn't even legally my father.
Today I drove halfway across the state because he told me one man could tell me
who I am."
My voice cracked.
"And all anyone has done since I got here is look at me like I'm the enemy."
Nobody said a word.
The rain was the only sound.
I looked at Silas.
"Did you know my father?"
The old man nodded once.
"Yes."
Tears burned the back of my eyes.
"Then please..." I whispered. "Just tell me the truth."
He took one step towards me.
Then another.
"I knew Thomas Cross."
His voice was rough with emotion.
"He was the bravest man I ever met."
A thousand questions crashed through my mind.
"Who was he?"
Silas looked at the envelope in Grim's hand.
"He was a man who kept a promise."
"What promise?"
Silas opened his mouth to answer.
A loud engine roared at the front gate.
Every biker in the yard turned at once.
The same black SUV from earlier had returned.
This time, it wasn't alone.
A second SUV rolled up behind it.
Then a third.
The gates of Iron Crown were still open.
The first vehicle stopped just outside them.
The driver's window rolled down.
A man in a dark suit leaned out.
He wasn't looking at Silas.
He wasn't looking at Grim.
His eyes locked directly on me.
A strange smile spread across his face.
"There she is."
The words were quiet.
But somehow they carried across the entire yard.
My skin went cold.
I had never seen that man before in my life.
Yet he looked at me like he'd been searching for me.
Grim stepped in front of me without thinking.
His body blocked me from view.
"Who the hell are you? he shouted.
The man ignored him.
His gaze stayed fixed on me.
Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
"We've been waiting a long time for you to come home, Evelyn."
Silas Mercer let out a broken sound somewhere between a gasp and a curse.
Cal reached for the gun hidden beneath his leather coat.
The bikers around the yard spread out instinctively, forming a wall between the SUVs
and the clubhouse.
I looked up at Grim.
The suspicion was gone from his face.
In its place was something far more dangerous.
He believed me.
He looked back at the strangers beyond the gate.
Then he shoved the envelope into my hands.
"Get inside," he ordered.
I stared at him.
"What?"
"Now!"
The first gunshot shattered the evening.
The clubhouse windows exploded.
Someone screamed.
And before I could react, Grim grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the
clubhouse as chaos erupted around us.
- Writer
