“Stabbed?” Danny looked over at Amelia. “You didn't think to mention that?” He demanded.
Ace whistled sharply, drew all of their attention. “Why don't we continue this somewhere else? Say your place, Danny? Jillian can take a look at Amelia and they can fill us in on what happened. Right now, we're pretty much just making a spectacle while your Old Lady bleeds all over Monroe's truck.”
“It's okay. The finance company is about to repossess it anyway.” James shrugged his shoulders. “Shit happens, right?”
Danny looked over at Amelia when she laughed at the words, but the laughter faded. Pain flashed over her face. “My place it is. I'm driving. Give me the keys. In fact, you ride with them.” He snarled the words at Monroe, barely resisting the urge to strike the other man repeatedly in the face. “And when all this is done, we're going to have a talk about how you let this fucking happen.”
“Danny, it's not his fault.” He heard Amelia's protest and ignored it. All he could think about was how close she had to have been to them when they died in order to have that much blood and gunk on her. Close enough to the tracks that he was lucky she hadn't gone over the edge. “Danny.” It was harder to ignore her as she tugged on his arm when he got behind the wheel.
“Where was he?”
“We had to split up. There were two tracks.”
“You didn't have to split up. He should have stayed with you.” Danny started the truck.
“Don't be a douche.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don't be a douche. Ding Dong, the witch is dead. We should be celebrating and not arguing. You leave James alone. Maybe you should ask Edge and Rock how Royal sneaked out from right under their noses.”
“That's a good question.” Danny took out his phone. “I called you back like fifteen times. Why didn't you answer?”
“My phone got all covered in blood. It's not working. Doubt it ever will again. Go on and make your phone calls, I'm just going to rest my eyes a little until we get home.” Amelia shifted in the seat, winced and shut her eyes. “Can you turn the heater up? I'm cold.”
Danny turned up the heater and pushed the truck as hard as he dared in traffic. The last thing that they needed was to get pulled over. Buster answered on the first ring. “It's me. Call Miller. It's done. You hear about that shit at the train station?”
“Of course I did. Jesus, Monroe pushed her in front of a fucking train?”
“Not Monroe. Royal,” Danny corrected. “Which leads to the question, how did Royal get out from underneath Rock and Edge's fucking noses?”
“No clue, Brother, but you can bet your ass we're going to find out. Get back here. We've still got a lot to do.”
“Amelia's hurt. I've got to get her back to the house. Jillian is going to check her out. I can be there after.”
“No.” Buster told him. “We'll come to you. I'd like to hear what happened from Amelia. I'll give you some time to get her looked at and settled in.”
“Sounds good. See you soon.” Danny hung up the phone. The conversation that he just had with Buster made him realize that Nightshade was heading into a new chapter. Royal would have insisted that he go directly there, even if Amelia was bleeding out in his lap, just like he'd had Danny on a run at Fiona and Taylor's memorial service.
“I'm going to be fine, so if you need to go you can.” It only took one look at her for him to know that she was telling the truth, she'd be okay with it if he left. Once again Amelia was proving that she understood what Nightshade meant to him and was willing to accept it coming before her. Danny was lucky, really lucky, and in that moment he realized just how much.
“I don't need to go anywhere. The guys are coming to us. Buster wants you to tell him what happened if you're feeling up to it. If you're not feeling up to it, he'll wait. It's up to you, Amelia. Buster's not going to make you talk.” He heard the emotion in his voice, and so did she. Her hand moved to his thigh. “Don't start something that you're not capable of finishing.”
It was a desperate attempt to lighten the mood. She chuckled in response. “I'll try to control myself.” But she kept her hand on his leg, her fingers moving in random patterns over his jeans.
“We're almost home. Jillian can get you sorted out and then you're getting into bed and staying there if I have to handcuff you there to keep you there. You could have been killed today.”
“I could have been, but I wasn't. You might not want to hear this, but the only reason that I'm alive right now is because of Royal. Missy was intent on getting me in front of that train. I'm pretty sure she'd have been successful, but then he was there and they were both gone.”
“Tell me everything.”
“I'd rather just tell it once. It'll be easier. Right now, we should talk about how you're not going to sell James any shit for what happened. It wasn't on him. I knew that there were risks to splitting up. It was less of a risk than letting her get away and effectively killing all of us. So, leave him alone. Please.”
“Fine. He gets a pass this time, but he should have been more careful,” Danny grumbled. If going at James upset her, it wasn't worth it. “Anything else?”
“Remember to thank Jillian. She seemed pretty upset. James sort of went in there like a bull. I've been looking for work, it's not easy to find.”
“Yeah. I think that she's pretty serious about not dealing with us anymore. She's done it before. Until she helped James, she kept clear of us. Never really got a feel for her.”
“I think she and Edge had it rough. Her mother died when they were young. I got the impression her father was a piece of work. He's dead now, too. It's just them. Or it was just them until Edge found Nightshade.” Amelia sighed. “I guess we've all got our story, right?”
“Right. Ours is going to have a happy ending, Amelia. I promise you that. And tomorrow, I don't care if you've got a dress or not, we're going and getting married. I'm not waiting any more for you to be my wife.”
“I am your wife, Danny. I always have been.” She held out her wrist, which was no longer covered by the leather bracelets it had been when she came back. “Even though I signed those papers, I was still your wife. It's why I couldn't stay. A piece of paper doesn't change anything, at least not for me.”
Danny reached out to grab her hand, brought her wrist over so he could press his lips to it. “Not for me either, Amelia.”
“We can still go and have the ceremony, though. I did find a dress.” She smiled widely at him. “I won't be as sexy as I'd hoped in the little something I bought for after the ceremony, not with being bandaged up.”
“You'll be sexy,” Danny assured her. “You're even hot right now and you're covered in...”
“People?”
“Yeah, you're even hot covered in people.” He had to laugh. “And look at that, we're home.” He parked in the driveway. “Stay there. I'll come around and get you. I could use the practice carrying you over the threshold.”
<#<#<#
Danny sat down on the front steps, lit a cigarette and let out a sigh. He had a headache, he was tired and he just wanted to go inside and sleep. But he wouldn't. Instead, he'd ride with his Brothers to go and meet Joseph Miller. After all, they'd met his terms.
The door opened and the porch creaked. He looked over his shoulder and saw Jillian. “Hey.” He rose to his feet. “Heading home?”
“Yeah.”
“Let me get one of the guys to give you a ride,” Danny offered. “I really appreciate you helping us out tonight, and I'm sorry about the job. Phil's a good guy. I'll go and talk to him tomorrow, try and make it right.” He'd grease the man's palm if he had to.
“You don't need to do that. The job sucked anyway, and I talked to my part-time job, I can pick up more hours there. And I don't need a ride. I like walking.”
“It's dark. Late and cold as all hell. Let someone give you a ride. I'll take you myself, just let me grab my keys. Or let me get your brother. No way he's going to be cool with you walking home.”
&nbs
p; “I said that I'm good,” she snapped. “And Amelia's going to be good, too. Just make sure that she takes it easy for a few days and keep the bandages clean.”
“I will.” Danny decided not to push the issue with her walking home. He'd just wait until she'd left and go inside and get Edge. Or Ace. They were the only two she seemed to trust at all. She'd only made it down the walkway when a dark sedan pulled up at the curb. “Get back in the house, Jillian.” He tossed his cigarette.
“I just told you that...” she trailed off as the bald man got out of the driver's side of the car.
“Send the guys out.” Danny started down the steps as Jillian went up. He wasn't sure that she'd heard him or why Joseph Miller was getting out of the car. “Joseph.”
“Danny.” The man nodded, the bandages nearly completely covering him almost glowed beneath the streetlight, which gave a surreal feeling to the moment. “Forgive me for showing up at your home unannounced, but I didn't want to wait until later.”
“What's on your mind?” Danny was still trying to figure out if this was a good thing or a bad thing. One thing was for sure, he never wanted to play poker with either man, because nothing was showing on their faces. He heard the front door open, the sound of heavy steps on the porch. Danny didn't need to turn to know that all of Nightshade was behind him.
“First, my condolences for the loss of your man, even though he wasn't really your man anymore.”
“We're sorry for the loss too.” Buster spoke up. “Royal was a good man who lost his way. He seemed to have found it again in the end, though. We've got a witness who saw what happened.”
“So do I.” Joseph smiled. “Did you really think that I wouldn't have someone watching?”
“I expected that you would,” Buster replied. Danny knew him well enough to know that he was lying just from his tone of voice, but Joseph didn't. It had never occurred to him, either, that Joseph Miller would have someone keeping eyes on Missy, but it told him that the man hadn't wanted to make finding her easy on them.
“I like that about you. You're a thinker, I can tell, but I also feel like you're not afraid to act, either. I look forward to continuing to work with you all. We have much to be done. The things that Mark did, well, they've got to be made right.”
“We're looking forward to it as well.”
“Fantastic. Now, with Mark gone, I obviously needed to replace him. I'd like you all to meet Smoke.” He motioned to the bald man, who smiled. It was an exceptionally unnerving smile. Danny decided immediately that he didn't ever want to get on Smoke's bad side. “He will be my right hand from now on. Being given a job by him will be the same as being given a job by me. Unlike Mark, he is well aware of what lines should never be crossed.” Joseph glanced at his watch. “We must be going. My wife pitches a fit if I'm late for dinner.”
“We'll talk soon,” Buster replied. “Enjoy your meal.” They all stood there until the car had pulled away. “I think that he's probably crazier than Mark. It's going to be in our best interest to figure out a plan B.”
“If we ever make a move on Miller, we'll need to take out Smoke first. I'm not sure that's going to be an easy task, even for me. He's a special kind,” Train said with a sort of reverence to his voice.
“I think that we should all call it a night. Tomorrow will be another long day. I imagine that we'll have a visit from Harris, at the least,” Buster spoke up. “We're also going to need to see to arrangements for Royal. He may not have been wearing his leather when he went over the edge of that platform, but there's no question in giving his life that way, he saved all of ours.”
“I'll do it,” Train spoke up. “I know what he'd like and what Missy would hate. Gonna go really heavy on the stuff she'd hate. Let her seethe over it in Hell. Going to have to be a memorial, they're so mixed up right now we'll never know for sure that some of her wasn't in the grave. None of us want that.”
None of them did. Missy had nearly caused the downfall of Nightshade, had murdered a member and killed an innocent woman and child. None of them would mourn her. The image of Missy seething in Hell gave Danny extreme pleasure, and quite certainly she was in a special level of Hell.
“Edge, make sure that you take your sister home. She doesn't need to walk alone, this time of night, in this neighborhood. Hell, in any neighborhood. Why doesn't she have a car?” Danny questioned.
“I offered to get her one, but Jillian is big on taking care of herself. I'll offer to take her home, but if she doesn't want a ride, I'm not going to drag her in the car like a caveman,” Edge replied.
Danny realized if he had to name the Nightshade member he liked the least, it would be Edge, and not because he was more than willing to let his sister walk the dark Detroit streets in the middle of winter. He realized the feeling had been brewing since he'd found the pills hidden in the man's boot. Even though he hadn't seen any indication of drug use since then. Either way, it didn't matter, he was a brother and Danny would die for him.
“I'll drag her in the car like a caveman,” Ace told Edge. “It's stupid for her to walk. End of story.”
“Let's all do whatever we're doing quickly. I'm sure Danny wants us long gone so he's got some peace in his house.” Buster clapped him on the back. “Amelia went upstairs about ten minutes ago, she said that she was tired.”
It didn't take long for everyone to clear out. Danny took the dog out to run the yard for the last time of the night, locked the house up and headed up the stairs. He found the bedroom door shut, the room already dark. Quietly he stepped inside and began to undress. He could smell the scent of the coconut soap Amelia had used when she'd spent an hour in the shower earlier, and he followed it to the bed. One side was still made up, or as made as they ever managed, and he slid beneath the cover and the sheet as naked.
Skin met skin as he settled down next to Amelia. Her breathing was deep and even, her damp hair spread out on the pillow next to her. Danny knew that she was sleeping. She was calm, so she wasn't dreaming, or they were pleasant dreams. It was a relief because he'd worried that she wouldn't be able to find peace in sleep, that the day's events would replay over and over for her.
She stirred in his arms. “Stop thinking so hard.” Her voice was thick with sleep as she reached behind her and grabbed his hand. “I can hear you.”
“You can hear me think now? That's good to know.” Danny pulled her close to him, pressed his lips to her hair. “Go to sleep, Amelia, I love you.”
Make It Right (Nightshade MC Book 1) Page 27