Wild Blaze (Back Down Devil MC 0.5)(25)

What the entire plan was she had no idea, but she was told to work her shift and wait for Lyle. He had sent a text a half an hour ago.

A second one came through.

“He’s here,” Heather whispered.

Brody gave her strict orders not to leave the hospital with him right away. Make him come inside so the guys in Back Down Devil could see Lyle and know the plan was going down.

Again, what’s the damn plan?

Heather walked around the entire floor of the hospital and waited at the elevators. They were the same elevators where Peter had come and gone. The spot on the floor had no stain from the coffee that was spilled. In Heather’s mind, she pictured Peter. Tied to chair. Beaten half to death. In the end of it all, Peter would be killed. Not that he didn’t deserve it. The way he talked to Heather, grabbed her, wanted to touch her.

The elevator doors opened and Lyle came flying from them. It was like he knew Heather would be there waiting. And as he came at her, Heather had nothing but flashbacks from all the years of being with Lyle.

As reality set in, she realized she had no air, no breath. Lyle had a hand around her throat and was squeezing damn tight. She reached up and grabbed his hand, pulling, wanting him away from her.

“You… f*ck… I’ll…”

“Stop,” Heather whispered. “I can help…”

“No,” Lyle said. “I’m going to kill you right here. Like I should have done…”

From the corner of Heather’s eye, she saw someone coming around the corner. She hoped it was help from the MC, but it wasn’t. Just some guy in a suit.

When Lyle saw the man, he took his hand off Heather’s throat and pulled her close to him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. As Heather gasped for air, Lyle rocked her.

“It’s okay, baby,” Lyle whispered. “He’s in a better place now.”

Heather wanted to scream but couldn’t. This was how Lyle moved. So smart. So cunning. And by the time Heather could push away from Lyle, they were alone again in the hallway.

“Are you going to kill me now?” Heather asked.

“Why? So you could have your new boyfriend punch me again?”

Heather looked left to right. “No…”

“Fuck, do you think I’m stupid? Do you think I’d trust you? They’re here, aren’t they?”

“Lyle, listen to me.”

“You listen to me,” Lyle growled. He grabbed Heather by the wrist. “You want out of this? It’s in a body bag. You f*ck…”

“They know,” Heather said. This is part of the plan. Lead him on. Scare him.

“They know what?”

“The truck,” Heather said. “They know there’s a truck coming through town. They have someone on the inside.”

“How the f*ck do you know about the truck? I never told you…”

“They told me,” Heather said.

She could see the worry in Lyle’s eyes. He backed up and started blinking fast. Really fast.

“It’s okay,” Heather said. “They don’t know I’m telling you this.”

“What?” Lyle asked.

Lead him on, sweetheart. Tell him what you know. He’ll storm away. Leave it to us from there…

“Lyle, I’m sorry.” Heather forced herself to step forward. “I was scared, okay? I didn't know what to do. They were there. They hit you. They hurt your guys. I didn’t want them to kill you.”

“So you went with them?”

“I used them, baby. Like you taught me. I flirted and found so much out. They’re afraid of you, Lyle. They’re afraid of your power. That’s why the truck is such a big deal.”

“It is a big deal,” Lyle said. “I have my life on it. This goes bad, I’m dead. Fucking dead.”

Heather reached out and touched Lyle’s face. She was cringing and feeling sick on the inside. On the outside, she was smiling. Holding it all together.

“Don’t let it go bad,” Heather whispered. “They’re here, watching me. They think they’re helping me. You can go stop the truck, right? Take a different route. There’s got…”

“I’m dead.”

“Not if you stop a threat, right? You can prevent something big from happening. You look - and are - smarter than everyone else around you, Lyle. You have the power. You have the ability to make everything right.”

“And you want that with me?” Lyle asked.

“Yes,” Heather said. “I want what’s right. That truck can’t come through Frelen. Right?”

Lyle nodded slowly. He stepped back and took Heather’s hand. “You’re right. If I can stop the truck, I can save the shipment. The bikers won’t realize it. They’ll know later I outsmarted them.”

“Yes. They’re so afraid of you already, Lyle.”

Lyle smiled. “They want to kill me. But I can’t die. I’m like a doctor. I get to be God in all this. I write the story.”

“Yes. Write it.”

Lyle reached back and hit the button for the elevator. It let out a ding and the doors opened.

This was the part of the plan when Lyle would let Heather’s hand go and be off to face his fate. He’d probably drive away fast and the MC would chase him. They’d get him. They’d get the shipment. They’d take care of it all.