by Jade Kuzma
“I’m guessing your job didn’t end there, since you didn’t get what you wanted.”
“No, it didn’t. I had some people contact The Corps and tell them about some good money that could be made. It was the perfect opportunity to get a direct line in on the deal with the Triads.”
“The Corps destroyed a homeless shelter…”
“It was rebuilt. No harm done.”
“Ghost had to go and ruin your plans… I’m guessing you did the same with Cross?”
“Michelle Cunningham has a record. You say she’s an innocent woman but she’s complicit in all of this just by being married to your president. It was her fault for getting involved with a man like Cross.”
“But Cross was given some motivation to come to Ivory, wasn’t he?”
“I was only trying to get to the Chinese.”
“Yeah… Of course…”
I put my head down and thought about it. All of the gangs and thugs who’d come out of the woodwork were all a result of Lieberman. She was the one behind all of it.
“BRIC was just a stepping stone,” I said. “Just a way for you to get to the Triads.”
“I would’ve done the same to any club involved with the Chinese. Don’t take it personal.”
“Do you think Cook took it personal when you told him to shoot Nate?”
The smirk hadn’t left her face. She just kept staring down the road ahead, lost in whatever twisted thoughts she was having.
“Sacrifices had to be made,” she sighed.
Lieberman’s determination was clear. She would stop at nothing to take down the club and get to the Triads.
“Now stop asking questions, Sullivan. We’ve got a long ride ahead of us. I don’t need you babbling the entire time.”
“A long ride… It feels like we’ve been going for a good bit now. We’re pretty far from Ivory. How long have we been on the road?”
“About an hour or so.”
“An hour… It should be coming up soon…”
“What should be coming up soon?”
I didn’t answer her. She glared at me through her rearview mirror. The confident smirk had left her face.
“Sullivan?”
She turned around and stared at me with growing frustration.
“You might wanna keep your eyes on the road,” I said. “You might miss something.”
Lieberman turned back to the road. We kept moving upward, looking down on the canyon to the side. The road was dusty and empty. Just as she turned the corner, she was greeted by several unmarked SUVs. In front of them, there were some men on their choppers.
“Shit!”
She nearly ran into them before slamming her feet on the brakes. Before the blockade in front of her could do anything, she pulled in reverse and turned her car around.
But it was too late. Another swarm of choppers pulled up right behind her on the lonely road. With a mountain on one side and a canyon on the other, there was nowhere else for her to move.
“What the fuck is this?”
She pulled her piece out and pointed it at me. The anger in her eyes was frightening. It was strange that all I could do was smile.
“Tell me what the fuck is going on!”
She cocked back the hammer on her gun and shook it in my face.
“The last thing you wanna do is shoot me,” I said. “I’m your only chance of getting out of this alive.”
I put my hands up innocently. The grin on my face was growing wider as her face grew angrier.
The men on their bikes walked up and circled the car. All of them had their pistols pointed at Lieberman. She wasn’t paying any attention to them though, just staring at me the entire time.
“Get out!” the man outside shouted.
Lieberman just kept staring at me.
“I suggest you listen to him,” I said.
She gritted her teeth before finally putting her gun down. She got out of her seat and stepped out. I got out of the backseat and was greeted by the men I was waiting for.
“How are you?” Ghost asked me.
“Just fine,” I said. “I’m not sure I can say the same for her.”
The rest of the Black Reapers stepped forward and circled her.
“Cobras,” Garnet shouted to the men blocking the way back to Ivory. “We’ll take it from here.”
The Cobras revved their engines before heading back to town. With the other MC out of the way, Lieberman turned her attention to the men right in front of her.
Despite her situation, she still had a confidence about her.
“It’s too late,” she said. “I’ve already got you all right where I need you to be.”
She looked at the SUVs down the path. Lin and the rest of the Triads were standing there. They would have to be patient while we settled our business with her.
“I promised Sullivan that your punishment would be lenient. I’ll give you one last chance to step aside or I’ll make sure none of you see daylight.”
Garnet.
Ghost.
Petey.
Brawn.
Needle.
None of them were smiling. None of them were frightened by her threats. They were all just staring at her calmly.
“You stupid idiots,” she said, shaking her head. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. I have all the information I need to take down your pathetic little club.”
“Did you really think I would confess?” I said. “Did you really think I would turn my back on them?”
“It doesn’t matter. Do you think anything can happen to me? Do you think you’ll get away with it? No, you lay a finger on me and I promise you it’ll be the end of all of you.”
Garnet looked at me. I was the one with all of the information. After riding with Lieberman, I had more than I needed to.
“Don’t listen to her,” I said, my eyes locked on her. “She doesn’t have anything. Nobody knows we’re out here. She’s alone.”
Garnet smiled and chuckled to himself.
“That’s where you fucked up,” he said to her. “You wanted to take all of the credit. And now there’s nobody here to save you.”
Garnet took a step toward her. She raised her gun up but with the rest of the club pointing weapons at her, she didn’t move. Brawn walked up to her and wrestled her pistol away.
Lieberman refused to give up so easily. She held her hands out to her sides.
“All right,” she said with a laugh. “You’ve got me where you want me. An innocent, unarmed woman just trying to do her job. You’re just going to shoot me in cold blood?”
Everybody was looking at me.
“She admitted it,” I said. “The Spades hit and run on Michelle. The hit on Needle. Logan’s arson. The Corps trying to get in on our deal. Cross and the Vultures. Nate…”
Garnet sighed a deep breath. He put his hands on his hips and shook his head.
“Why?” he said.
“Why? Why? That’s why.”
She pointed at the Triads waiting at the side of the road.
“Do you know what those men are capable of? Do you know what kind of violence those men are responsible for?”
“From where I’m standing, the only one responsible for any violence is you.”
“It was all for a reason. I had a job to do. This doesn’t concern you.”
“That’s your problem, Lieberman. I wouldn’t have a problem if you didn’t get the club involved. I wouldn’t have a problem if you didn’t get my old lady involved. But you’ve been torturing us for more than a year now. Where’s the justice for my club? When does it end?”
“Now. It ends now. Let me go. I’m just an innocent woman. All you have to do is let me go.”
Garnet looked at me. Then he turned to the other club members. He looked at all of them one by one. Nobody said anything. The looks on their faces said more than words ever could.
We were all ready to finally put an end to all of this.
“Okay,�
� Garnet said. “It’s time to let you go.”
“Thank you,” Lieberman sighed.
Garnet raised his gun up and pointed it at her.
“Get in your car,” he said.
Lieberman slowly stepped back into the driver’s seat, her eyes locked on Garnet to make sure he didn’t do anything. She reached for her seatbelt but Garnet put his hand up.
“No seatbelt,” he said. “This is my game. I make the rules.”
Lieberman glared at him then started her engine. The path in front of her blocked, she maneuvered her car and tried to turn it around. But before she could do it, one of the SUVs raced up and slammed her on the side. The entire car nearly toppled over.
Lieberman frantically slammed on the gas. The tires squealed but she was still being pushed by the SUV toward the canyon off the side of the road.
“Wait! What are you doing?”
She screamed desperately as she fell out of her seat, unmistakable horror on her face. Her door was slammed shut by the SUV. The passenger door was grinding against the pavement, as her car was turned nearly on its side. There was no way out for her.
“Stop! Stop! Don’t do this!”
She looked through her windshield and pleaded with us. I just stared at her along with the rest of the club.
The SUV kept shoving her car before sending it tumbling down into the canyon. The crash of metal on dirt echoed through the air as her car rolled over and over. It hit the bottom of the canyon in a heap, flames and smoke billowing into the air. I’d never seen a wreck as violent.
I stared down at the crash and let out a deep sigh through my nose. A sudden hand on my shoulder almost startled me. It was Garnet standing next to me and looking me right in the eye.
“It was her,” he said. “She was the one responsible for everything that happened. It had to be done.”
“Yeah, it was her,” I said with a nod. “This was the only way to stop her.”
We all turned around and watched as the man in a suit approached us.
“Cunningham,” Lin said. “Justice for Wei’s killer.”
“Nothing personal,” Garnet said. “But this was club business. Lieberman crossed the line a long time ago. It was inevitable.”
We all peered down into the canyon.
“Don’t worry. I’ll have my men make sure that Lieberman has met her end.”
Lin was a reserved man but the smile on his face seemed a little more cheery than usual.
“Now we can proceed with business as usual.”
Garnet looked at all of us.
We had a long discussion about this back in the chapel. It was hard for me to believe we’d even gotten to this point. We were grateful for what we had. The club needed a break. After everything that happened, it was an easy decision for all of us to make.
“Business is settled,” Garnet said. “All of our business. You want someone to move your product, you find another MC. The Reapers are taking a break from the business.”
“…I understand,” Lin said. “I’ll admit, I’ve had my fill of Ivory. Perhaps it’s time for all of us to move on.”
Lin looked down his nose at Garnet before smiling and giving him a nod.
“It was a pleasure doing business with you… Reaper.”
Lin turned around and walked toward his SUV escort. The Triads all piled into their cars and drove off down the road. A few of their men stayed behind to make sure that Lieberman had met her maker.
Garnet looked at all of us. There was a bit of relief on everybody’s faces. After going through all of the shit we did, only now did it feel like it was all finally over.
“Ivory is waiting for us,” Garnet said. “Let’s go home.”
Endgame: Chapter 22
KATRINA
One week later…
“Oh, she’s such a cute little woman. Look at those beautiful eyes.”
“I think she gets it from her father.”
The cheerful smile on Jordan’s face disappeared. It always disappeared when I brought up Blake.
He sighed and went back to playing with Bella, who he had sitting on the bar.
The Bone Pit was nearly empty outside of the Cobras who were lounging around. The clubhouse got rowdy at night, so it was nice to be in here during the day when I didn’t have to worry about the noise.
Bella was accustomed to spending time with her uncle. My brother might have been a biker but there was a softer side inside of him. The sight of him playing with my daughter was picture perfect.
“Maybe you should get one of your own.”
Jordan burst into laughter.
“Me? A father? Can you imagine?”
“What’s so wrong with that?”
“Being the president of a club isn’t as simple as you might think it is.”
“Right. It’s a shame there’s always business to take care of. You’ll change your mind one day. You just have to meet her. The perfect woman is out there for you.”
“Right now, the perfect woman is right here in front of me. Isn’t that right, Bella?”
He tickled her on the belly and she cooed with laughter.
“I’m heading over to the shop now,” I said. “You got her?”
“You know I do.”
Before I could say goodbye to my brother, the entrance to the bar opened up. I turned and watched Blake walk in. He took a few steps and got the attention of every club member. The Cobras and the Reapers would never be friends, regardless of what they said.
Blake walked up to me with all eyes on him. He kissed me on the cheek and I whispered.
“Hey. Something wrong?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask all of the Snakes in here?”
“You’ve got nothing to worry about from us,” Jordan said. “You know that.”
Blake moved toward Jordan and nodded.
“I know,” Blake said. “After what you did the other week…”
“Save it. You know that I’ll do whatever it takes to be there for my sister and my niece. Even if that includes getting the back of a Reaper.”
Blake and Jordan stared hard at one another. If you didn’t know them, you would have thought they were about to come to blows.
Blake held his hand out and Jordan clasped it in his.
“I’m loyal to my club,” Blake said. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t be loyal to Katrina, too.”
“As long as Kat and Bella are here, nothing else matters.”
Seeing the two of them finally make peace filled me with an emotion that I could feel in my chest. My heart skipped a beat and my words got stuck in my throat. I swallowed to keep everything down but nothing could stop my eyes from glazing over.
“I’ll see you at the wedding,” Blake said.
“Weddings are always fun,” Jordan replied.
Blake turned toward his daughter and kissed her on the forehead. The baby cooed again, giggling with a giddiness that only her father could bring out of her.
“Now get out of here,” Jordan said. “I don’t get much quality time with my niece.”
Blake stepped to the side of the bar and I followed him over. He looked out onto the clubhouse. There was a cocky smile on his face like always.
“What are you smiling about?” I said.
He slowly turned back to me, that confident grin still on his lips.
“I love you, Katrina.”
“…I love you, too.”
“I know that the Winter Cobras have your back with your brother being in charge and all… But the Black Reapers are watching over you, too. You and Bella.”
“I don’t need two MCs watching over me. You’re more than I could have ever asked for.”
Blake leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips. He always made me melt in his arms. It was like that from the moment I met him. There was never a doubt in my mind that he was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
“I have to head back to the shop,” I said.
“You need a r
ide?”
“You know I do…”
Blake and I left and got on his ride. I hugged him tight as we rode down the street.
It was a beautiful day in Ivory. The sun was shining. The breeze was cool. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. There was nothing but open road in front of us. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
Endgame: Chapter 23
GINA
The fire station in Ivory was what you would’ve expected. I’m not talking about the trucks or the equipment or the building. No, the really nice thing about it was the scenery. The real scenery.
The men working at the station were a sight to behold. I guess they had to be in good shape because of the work they did. The station was home to the most eligible bachelors in Ivory.
That’s what I used to think, anyway.
If the firefighters in Ivory were hot, I was with the hottest one there. Nobody came close to Dorian. He wasn’t just in exquisitely delicious shape. He didn’t just have such a gorgeously handsome face. He didn’t just have that sexy ink trailing up and down his arms. Dorian was more than that.
There was someone special inside of him. There was a good man in his heart. A man that was capable of anything but only used his abilities to help those around him. Ever since we were in high school and he didn’t know who I was, I fell for him. Every day that went by made me realize that he was even more than I imagined he would be.
As I waited near the fire station garage, I watched all of the firefighters work. They organized and repaired their equipment. They did maintenance on their trucks. Some music was coming from a radio to the side and everybody seemed to be talking, laughing, and moving to the music. Everybody was having a good time.
Dorian wasn’t an exception. At the moment, he had his attention occupied by a man who was crouched over a small table and leaning toward him. The two of them were arm wrestling.
“You’ve got nothing, Sullivan…” the man grunted. “I’m taking you down…”
“Not… likely…”
The firefighters who weren’t doing anything were crowded around Dorian and the man in front of him. They were cheering and hollering like they probably had something at stake.
“It’s over, Adams,” Dorian grunted.