Michelle gasps on my lap and jolts back “No. I-I’m sorry I…I can’t.”
I release her giving her a bit of breathing room and she stays on my lap, but even though she’s close…I feel like she’s a million miles away.
What the hell just happened?
Neither of us speak, and I just watch Rick kill the fuck out of some zombies behind her head. My phone starts to buzz violently in my pocket and pull it out, seeing a text from Reed.
From: Reed
It goes down tonight. Meet us down at the warehouse. Called in a favor.
Reed knows to keep his texts short and sweet. We may work with the FBI to bring scumbags down, and while we all have immunity, it doesn’t cover everything we do. Take me for example, I’d be the one to know. But I was also the one who was framed for killing a slut in Vegas. Reed had told us a few months back when we were in church that warehouse never actually meant warehouse. We’d never know when or if the FBI decided to flip on us, so we would always tread with caution. He wants us to meet him in the woods, and if that’s the case, it’s telling me that whoever Reed called in a favor with is delivering Dwayne on a platter. Hey, it works for me. Means less work for the group of us.
“I’ve gotta go babe,” I murmur in Michelle’s ear, who peeks up at me.
“You’re not mad, right?”
The way she asks tells me how scared she is that I am. How could I ever be mad at her? “No, baby. I was moving too fast. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” There’s not really anything that I can say that will make her feel better. If shit didn’t go down last week the way that it did I’m sure her and I would’ve had a few rounds already. It’s not like Michelle is actually being open and honest about what happened though, either. I only know Max raped her because Katya flat out told me he did. Michelle hasn’t said a word. I don’t know why she hasn’t told me. Is it because she’s ashamed? What is it…
I’m going to be here for the rest of her days, and never will I view her then anything less then what she is – beautiful, intelligent, compassionate and sincere amongst so many other traits.
Michelle snuggles herself closer to me and I pull her even more, holding her tight against me. “I’ve gotta run, but get some sleep. Okay?”
Michelle nods against me, pressing a soft kiss to my lips before she pulls away and snuggles up on the opposite end of the couch.
“Please be careful, Kyle,” she whispers.
I stand up, grabbing my glock and tuck it in the back of my pants. “What’s gonna happen, sugar? If I get shot again we’ll just add it to the list,” I joke.
“That’s not funny,” Michelle mumbles, eyebrows drawing together, indicating that I’ve clearly upset her.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’ll see you when I get back in. Lock the door and I’ll use my key when I’m back.” Yesterday, I went to the home improvement store and changed out the lock on my door so no one can enter without a key for the deadbolt. I know how afraid Michelle has felt since we haven’t been able to locate Max and it’s something small that I could do to ease her worries, so I did just that.
“Be safe.” is the last thing I hear before I head out, wondering how the hell this night is going to go for us. I just hope that Reed finally gets the vengeance he’s been waiting years for.
Chapter 27
We all need to sit on the rim of the well of darkness and fish for fallen light with patience.
Pablo Neruda
Kyle
I kick myself in the head mentally thinking about this night. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did, it looked like I was trying to pressure her into shit and I sure as fuck know she hasn’t had enough time. Ever since that night she’s been here, but the distance between us is miles away, even when she’s standing right in front of me. I don’t know what the fuck to do, or how I’m supposed to help her besides being here. That’s all I can do, isn’t it? Just be here for her?
I shake my head over analyzing the fuck out of tonight as I make my way to one of the warehouses we own. I didn’t even have to ask which one he wanted us to meet at. He’d pick the most secluded joint so he’d be able to do whatever the hell he wanted. We had a place on the edge of a town in the mountain, it’d take me about twenty minutes to get there from Gainesville but it wasn’t too far out of reach. The warehouse sat in a wooded area, close enough to the main road so that if we needed to split within a moment’s notice, we could.
I pull up to the parking lot and park my bike alongside the rest of them, as soon as I dismount I see Seamus outside, tree trunk arms crossed, glaring at me. “Hope you’re not givin’ me that mean muggin’ face for no reason” I grumble at him, making my way closer to the door.
“Ah, shit. Sorry, it’s not for you. I heard about Dais’ talking to Meech the way she has been and it’s pissing me off.”
“Don’t think about it too much, Sea’. Michelle handled it and I doubt Dais’ is gonna bring it up again to her.”
“That’s not my concern. I’m just wonderin’ why she brought it up in the first place.”
“Some form of girl code bullshit. Michelle’s a bad friend blah blah. We have bigger things to be worrying about then this shit. C’mon.” I urge him, waving my arm in the direction of the door, I see him follow me as I pull it open and enter to walk inside.
Shit.
Reed started on the fun without us. I see Dwayne in the middle of the warehouse, arms tied over his head to a bar, hanging off of the ground. A bloodied tire iron lays on the ground next to him, crimson red coating the striped dress shirt Dwayne wears, his gold chain still lays around his neck just as it did in the old days and I can’t help but wonder what he thinks about the predicament he’s gotten himself in. This day has been years in the making, and Dwayne deserves every awful thing that Reed is going to do to him. I won’t pity this man, he has done far too much for any of us to forgive him for. When you fuck with our family you become dead to us, and the club will do nothing but make your life a living hell for however long it is that we allow you to breathe. Because that is what has happened here. Reed allowed him this time, to focus on the more pressing issues. We never forget someone who has crossed us, and now it is time for Dwayne to pay with his life.
A life for a life. It couldn’t seem more fitting for me.
“Ah, now the whole gang is here. Huh, Reed?” Dwayne coughs, spitting a glob of blood onto the concrete floor below him. I look to my brother who glares at the man hung from the rafters, unable to do anything but wonder what is going through his mind.
“No, not yet.” Reed growls, pulling his phone from his back pocket I watch as he types away. “But they will be here in a few minutes. It’s not me you need to be afraid of old man. You assume I am a selfish bastard and want you all to myself. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to slit your throat and call it a day, but I know of the things you’ve done and I know about the information you have. Some of my friends would like that information. All I care about is that you stop breathing today, either way it’s going to happen, just don’t think you’ll be getting the easy way out.”
The door that Seamus and I just came through bursts open with energy, I put my hand on my glock and turn, watching as Darius, the leader of Purgatory comes waltzing on in with two men behind him.
“Darius, my old friend!” Dwayne laughs in greeting.
“You have not been my friend for many years,” Darius says back to him, the tone of his voice telling me that indeed they were friends before, but there must have been an extreme amount of betrayal in their past. “You and I both know the truth behind it. Ultimately, you’re to blame for that. You got what you wanted though, didn’t you? How does it feel now?”
It’s evident. I know that look, the look of loss that is plastered across his face. Only, I believe the person he lost is the one that hangs before him.
“What, did you bring Darius here to help get the information from me?” Dwayne asks Reed. “Do you believe that by having my old friend it will somehow make
me more likely to talk, that our dead brotherhood will talk sense into me and I will spill all my secrets?”
Reed snickers before looking to Dwayne. “No, you’ve got it all backwards actually. Darius, and the boys are here to beat the answers out of you. Beat you far worse then I have, rip off your finger nails, slice your skin off your body, it’s really whatever they feel like doing. I’ve only asked them one thing. That they keep you alive long enough for me to end your life.”
Dwayne’s eyes bulge, fear is no doubt taking over him.
It’s funny watching from here, when the man believes things are done in one way and are actually the complete opposite. I know that I’m not the only person seeing what is unfolding before my eyes, Reed can see it clear as day too.
“Rafael isn’t going to be happy with this.” Dwayne chuckles, his gaze going from Reed to Pain and Chaos. Both brothers stand in the corner. “He knows too much of you two and his girl, I know he has something fun planned for the three of you. Although, I do wonder if he’ll make you both watch as he harms her. It’s hard to say with a maniac like him.”
Pain clenches his jaw while Chaos grasps his fists, balling them at his sides.
“Enough!” Reed snarls
“What? You don’t like what I have to say? Rafael is going to obliterate your little club off of the face of the planet and there is nothing you can do to stop it. His plans are already in motion, and I will tell you one thing. That girl is going to be back with him whether you like it or not. Selling her to you was a mistake, and as we all know Rafael does not make mistakes. He rectifies them.”
“He won’t be rectifying anything,” Darius states, slamming a sledgehammer into the center of Dwayne’s back. An inaudible cry spews from his lips as his head falls against his chest.
I’d say he didn’t see that one coming, then again neither did I.
“You are fools for underestimating him,” Dwayne whispers lowly. He stares blankly at the ground.
I look to Reed and then to Chaos and Pain who have nothing but concern and anger written across their faces. They may not have told us that Maria is theirs, but it’s obvious. The way they both are with her…it’s how we are with our women. I have been where they stand, an angry man wanting to harm anyone who dares to hurt their girl. In a way, I think that I am still where they stand and no matter what I do I will always be here.
“That’s where you’re wrong. He is a moron for belittling my connections.” Reed cackles, looking like a mad man if I’ve ever seen one. He shakes his head from right to left, contemplating.
I’ve seen him do this many times, instead of pacing he will sometimes shake his head. I see him walk over to the toolbox and yank out a pair of bolt cutters, he places the head against the chains and cuts Dwayne free.
Right as I’m about to interject, he does something I never thought he would. Reed grabs him by the throat, making him stand and walks him backwards. Dwayne’s ankle hits the side of the tank, which I don’t know if he had seen in the first place. I doubt it considering he doesn’t look afraid anymore. He looks like a cocky bastard who thinks that he’s winning, when in reality this is before he takes the biggest fall of his life.
Reed grabs his elbow and shoves him forcefully backwards until he’s fallen in the tank. It has to be something that Reed had added to the warehouse a few weeks back. I’ve never seen it in here before, it could probably hold hundreds of fish and it’s big enough to house an entire human body.
Dwayne goes underwater, thrashing his arms up, trying to get a breath of air.
Darius looks to me and I give him a shrug. This is all Reed’s show, we’re just attending. If he wants to go apeshit, who are we to tell him no?
Reed holds his grip onto Dwayne’s throat and keeps him underwater as he throws his hands up in the air, trying with all of his might to do everything in his power to get out. The minutes pass by slowly as we all watch, none of us interfering. Reed has waited years for this moment and it’s something that he must do alone. We can’t help him, not even if we wanted to.
Flailing arms stop into nothingness, no more bubbles rise to the top of the water. Everything goes silent within a moment and looking to my brother, I wonder if it is finally over.
Not our war, for that is just beginning.
I just wonder about the torment that has been eating at him for years.
Is it finally over?
Chapter 28
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.
Mahatma Ghandi
Michelle
The guys haven’t come home yet. I think I’m past the point of worry. I did what Kyle said and stayed in his room. I slept in his bed and was even somewhat of a creep and took a good sniff of his deodorant. I couldn’t help it, I love the way he smells. You know how some people are calmed down by scents like eucalyptus, lavender or even lemon? That’s what Kyle’s scent is to me, he’s all musky man, my go-to calming oil.
It’s been hours upon hours and I’ve busied myself as much as possible. I’ve cleaned the entire clubhouse with Maria’s help and now we’re both in the kitchen cooking up a huge ass dinner. We’ve had a rough couple of weeks and that’s probably the biggest understatement of the century. What’s better to bring us all together then a family dinner? We may not all be blood related. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t a family.
Maria and I aren’t doing a bunch of work since we’re just a couple days away from Thanksgiving. We just ran to the grocery store and got some pre-packaged marinated ribs. All you had to do was pop them in the oven and after about forty-five minutes, they were finger lickin’ good. She prepped some mac and cheese while I made sure to grab the cinnamon butter and make sure the rolls were good to go when the ribs came out. It wasn’t much, but it was all that they’d need and an excuse for us to all sit down together. At the end of the day, these are the people who matter most to me in the world.
“Hey Princess,” Kyle murmurs from behind me, startling me to jump at least a foot in the air.
“Oh, my goodness. How about you let a girl know when you’re behind her!” I snap, catching my breath.
“You seemed to be off in la-la land dreaming. Not my fault you aren’t paying attention to your surroundings.”
“Sometimes, I forget what kind of a dick you can be.”
“Oh, so what kind of dick am I?” He asks me, smirking as he comes into my view.
“A huge one.”
Kyle’s grin grows wider.
“I totally just complimented you, but that’s not what I was trying to do.”
“Well, it’s what you did sweetheart and I’ll take the compliment.” He sets his hands on my hips and leans in for a chaste kiss.
One that is short, but shakes every part of my body to life. Kyle is getting better at these soul shattering make me go crazy kisses and I don’t know if he’s always been so good at them or if this is something that the years have perfected. All things grow better with time after all.
“Whatcha got there?” He asks, peering over into the oven he surveys the goods.
“Ribs galore, baboon.” Maria laughs, hopping on top the counter.
“I’ve never had one call me a monkey before.”
“Oh, they have, just never to your face.” I laugh at Maria’s words, maybe a little harder then I should.
“Is dinner ready yet? I’m starved, and something tells me this baby is ready to eat. Chop, chop!” Elena beams, barging into the kitchen glaring at Maria and I.
Kyle busts into laughter while Maria and I share a mutually amused look, and as Elena orders of us, we hurry up.
In a matter of minutes, we have plates out for a buffet style meal and have cooked the biscuits to a buttery perfection. All the sides and fixings are laid out next to one another and Maria lets out a holler, letting everyone know that it’s time to dig in. Maria and I have done this for long enough, kind of becoming co-cooking buddies that we know to get our plates made before anyone else or we wil
l end up starving. By starving, I mean cooking one of those shitty minute frozen meals because we end up eating a bite and then tossing the damn thing in the trash.
I walk alongside Maria, plates in hand out into the main living area of the club. It’s not formal dining by any means and I don’t think that we’ll ever have a day where it is. It’s more TV dinner dining, where we have plates in our laps and sit alongside the ones we love the most. I take my seat on the plush leather couch in the side of the room, a lot of the brothers don’t like to sit there cause the couch is worn in over the years but I just find that more comfortable.
Brother after brother the rest come pouring in. Pain and Chaos take a seat by Maria on one of the other couches, Reed has Elena in his lap in the biggest arm chair, Seamus and Daisy sit next to one another on the loveseat while Ryder is playing with a toy truck on the floor in front of them and I see Enzo and my father in chairs across from one another talking. I just wish Bellamy and Butch were here to join in. It feels so weird having a dinner like this without them.
“I’ve got an announcement to make,” Reed states firmly, locking eyes with every man and woman in the room. “Before I go into it, it’s best that everyone knows the decision is already made and I will not be reconsidering…Dwayne is dead, and that means that all of his business ventures have died with him. Darius has taken it upon himself to get rid of the shadier shit Dwayne was into, however we have some opportunity to grow on the more legit businesses. He didn’t have many, but I will use whatever we can to our advantage. There was a time when we were in the porn industry, and a couple years ago we more or less fell out of it. It was never because we didn’t have the means or resources, but because we became lazy as fuck. That changes now. Dwayne has a studio on the western part of Nashville that is fully equipped for filming adult movies and we’re going to maximize on it. Kyle, I want you to head it.”
Wait. What did he just say? “You mean Enzo,” I correct Reed, glaring blades into him.
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