He turned to the man behind him. “Yo, park the truck in the garage and lock shit down. Move her car around the block. I’ll meet you back here tonight. I’ma text the details. Be ready,” he said in a low tone. “Come on,” he said, focusing back on her.

He grabbed her hand as they rushed to his bike. He handed her his only helmet, and she strapped it on in haste before climbing on the back without hesitation. He kicked off the stand as Morgan wrapped her arms around his body. She leaned into him, and he took off.

He took her hand and laced his fingers through hers, then balled his fist. Morgan closed her eyes because he took her breath away, and she held him tightly as the thrill of the high speeds caused nervous jitters to fill her. An hour outside of the city, they retreated to a hotel, and Morgan climbed down, removing the helmet. She sniffed away her emotions, wiping her eyes, and then ran her hands through her hair as Messiah held her under his scrutiny. Morgan looked away, unable to withstand the eye contact. It was like she didn’t know him … like she was afraid to be alone with him. He reached for her hand, and her feet didn’t move.

“I need to keep your gun. In my bag,” she finished.

Her words were like a jab to Messiah’s chin. He recoiled, stunned. Morgan Atkins, the one person on earth that he would never lay a finger on, feared he would hurt her. She saw the flicker of emotion in his eyes. No one else would have, but she did.

“I’ve been around you since I’ve been back,” he said, looking for an explanation as to why she felt unsafe all of a sudden.

“Never alone,” she answered.

It was a blow to his soul … the fact that she thought he would hurt her, but he reached into his waistline and held it out for her. He wouldn’t protest. This was as calm as she had been around him in a long time. This was reminiscent of times past.

“It’s your world, shorty. You hold the power,” he said.

Morgan took it from his hand, clicked the safety on because Messiah never used his safety, and then put it in her purse. “The other one too.”