by A Parker
Carrie and I had shared looks across the porch all evening, and now it was nearly time to go.
It all happened so quickly.
Jackson climbed the porch steps and pulled Sam aside. In the corner near the patio doors, they bowed their heads together and spoke quietly. He held her hands in his and ran his thumbs over her knuckles while she nodded to what he was saying. She looked rigid and tense, her expression drawn, but she understood the toll of being a Devil’s woman. She’d understood since the very beginning.
Mason did the same with Suzie. He led her down the porch steps to the lawn, where he held her face in his hands and kissed her like he might never see her again.
And he very well might not.
She clung to his shirt, whispered for him to be safe, and fell into his arms for an embrace.
Carrie stood from where she sat up on the porch and ran her palms down her thighs. She looked good in her skintight jeans and white T-shirt. I climbed the porch steps, my ribs protesting slightly, and took her hand. She followed me back down the steps and onto the gravel where we could have a moment of privacy.
She gnawed her cheek and looked around. “Are you really going to leave me here with the girls while you guys go off and get Bates?”
“It has to be this way. Bates doesn’t fight fair. You know that. And if you were close by, you’d be a target he’d want to hit, especially since he’ll know you betrayed him.”
Carrie sighed. “I’m the best shot out of all of you. You’re basically benching your best player.”
I chuckled. “I know how badly you want to help, but you’ve already done your part. We can take it from here.”
“Tex, come on.”
“I want you as far away from him as possible,” I said firmly. “Leave it to us. We’ll put an end to all this tonight, and you can… you can go home after.”
She searched my eyes. “Home?”
“Austin.”
She smiled sadly. “Austin has felt less and less like home every day.”
What did that mean? Did it mean she was thinking about staying? My heart fluttered in my chest in a way I’d never felt before.
Carrie smiled and wrapped her arms around my waist. She was careful of my ribs as she rested her cheek on my chest. “Please be careful. Don’t do anything too reckless. You’re still hurt. You did your part last night. Let the others show up for you tonight.”
I slid my fingers into her hair and held her to me. “I’ll come back to you.”
“You’d better.” Carrie stepped back and wrapped her arms around herself. “Call me when it’s done.”
“I will.”
“Keep your head on straight.”
“Promise.”
“And don’t get shot,” she added as she smoothed out my leather jacket, running her hands down the front of the collar.
“I’ll do my best. And you,” I said, hooking my thumbs in the belt loops of her jeans and pulling her back to me, “stay put. Stay right where I left you because when all this is done I know exactly where I’m riding to and exactly whose lips I’m going to kiss. I need you waiting for me on the other side of this mess.”
Her bottom lip trembled. She took a deep breath to steady herself and keep her emotions at bay. “I’ll be here.”
“Good girl.” I kissed her forehead.
Right on cue, Jackson hit the porch stairs and bellowed at us that it was time to leave. Mason gave Suzie one last kiss, and she watched him go with her arms wrapped around herself. Sam came down from the porch as the men moved to their bikes parked in the gravel. She took Suzie’s hand and held it tightly.
I caught Sam’s eye and nodded to Carrie, who stood alone off to the side as I made my way to my bike.
Wordlessly, Sam knew what I was asking. She and Suzie came up behind Carrie. The three women slid their arms around each other’s waists and watched as we got on our bikes. We were about to ride off when Jackson held up a hand for us to wait. He dismounted and jogged back over to the women.
I thought he was going to steal another kiss from Sam, but instead he clasped Carrie’s hand in his and spoke to her.
She smiled at him.
What’s going on there? I wondered.
Beside me, Brody cleared his throat. “He’s come around.”
Fucking finally.
Jackson jogged back to the bikes and left Carrie grinning in his wake. Sam nudged her shoulder the way an older sister might.
I was glad that was the last I saw of her before we rode out into the night.
Her smile lingered in my mind as we wove down the residential streets, traveling in a pack.
My brothers all around me gave me a sense of peace, but I couldn’t deny the sense of unease spreading in my gut. Carrie had held up her end of the bargain last night, but I didn’t trust Bates. He’d proven time and time again that he was capable of surprising us.
And killing us.
I thought of William.
The night he’d died, we’d all been out for a joy ride. We all knew who Walter Bates was at the time, and we knew he was a newcomer trying to become the new kingpin, but it never really sank in just how power hungry he was until Will was face down on the asphalt, bleeding out while Mason leaned over him and begged him not to die.
I truly thought we’d lose them both that night. Mason took a hell of a risk getting off his bike and rushing to Will’s aid. If the rest of us hadn’t been there, Bates and his men would have gotten close enough to blow him away, too.
And tonight we were riding straight into the viper’s den to face the same enemy.
Even though it was necessary, I didn’t like it one bit.
I wondered if this was the feeling Jackson had when he was overseas in Syria. My hands cramped on the handlebars and I tried to relax my grip. I reminded myself that I had everything I needed. My brothers. Justice. My own moral compass. A beautiful woman tucked safely away, waiting for my return.
When tonight was over, all of this would be a thing of the past.
I could go back to my normal work as the Treasurer. After all the action, I wouldn’t mind some quiet years, and that was something I never thought I’d say.
Funny how a woman could change everything in a matter of weeks.
As we cruised through town in the direction of the landfill, I muttered into the wind to our fallen companion. “Tonight’s the night, William. We’re going to finish it once and for all. Watch out for your brother. He’s going to need it.” Off in the distance, the horizon darkened. That was right where we were going. Out of town. Away from the city limits. Into the darkness of the surrounding desert. “Hell, we’re all going to need it.”
Chapter 34
Carrie
The night was cool, and my nerves didn’t help. I shivered even wrapped up in a blanket Sam had brought out for me. She, Suzie, and I sat around the coffee table on the back porch. A candle burned between us and a bowl of chips sat untouched beside the flickering flame. We each had sodas that we’d cracked open, but none of us had touched them. We all gazed into the tiny dancing flame as the air filled with the scent of citronella.
Had they arrived at the landfill yet?
Was Bates already there, lying in wait?
Did he know I’d conned him?
Had I said something last night that tipped Caroline off, but she pretended to go along with it?
Sam stood up abruptly. “I’m going to find a deck of playing cards. I can’t just sit here. I need something to do.”
Suzie watched Sam disappear into the house before returning her gaze to the candle.
I felt compelled to reassure her. She looked as worried as I felt. “They’ll be okay.”
Her eyes flicked up to me and she bundled herself up tighter in her blanket. “Yeah… yeah, of course they will be.”
I forced a smile. “I’ve seen Mason in action. He’s a fighter and he has proper motivation. They all do.”
Suzie nodded, but it didn’t look as if my words had rea
ssured her. She nuzzled her chin into her blanket and sniffled. “I’m glad my brother has finally decided to trust you.”
Minutes before they left, Jackson had come up to me, shook my hand, and thanked me for what I did the night before. Apparently, Brody had given him a play by play earlier this afternoon and told him that I’d held my ground and followed through. Finally, I had Jackson’s full buy-in.
I no longer had to prove myself.
His approval might have felt better if it hadn’t come seconds before I watched Tex drive off to fight a madman.
Sam returned with a pack of playing cards. She sat down and began shuffling, but within seconds, she messed it up and the cards went flying.
Sam went to her hands and knees and started picking them up.
Suzie slid off her chair. “Here, let me help you.”
Suzie tucked the last cards into the box and set them on the coffee table while Sam pushed smoothly to her feet and suddenly swayed. She took two hurried steps backward to brace herself against the porch railing before lowering herself slowly into the closest chair. By now, Suzie was already on her feet and making a fuss, asking Sam what was wrong.
“I stood up too fast is all,” Sam said, waving Suzie and her concern away with one hand. “I’m okay.”
“I’m going to get you some water.” Suzie disappeared inside.
Even though both of the women were well versed in stressful evenings at home while waiting for their men to return—or not return—their nerves still showed. I’d been sitting here thinking I was the only one of us coming apart at the seams, but Sam’s sudden dizzy spell after her need for a distraction reminded me that we were all human, and we were all in love, and waiting around like this sucked.
Maybe I could do my part and help distract them after all the help they’d given me over the past weeks.
“So how did you and Jackson, you know, start seeing each other?” I asked.
Sam glanced up at me with a creased brow, but she managed a smile before sinking deeper into her chair. Suzie came out of the house with a glass of water and pressed it into Sam’s hands. She drank thankfully, draining nearly half the glass in four steady gulps. “He and the boys were regulars at my bar for a long time before anything ever came of Jackson and me. My father knew him better than I did and used to serve them and let them stay late whenever they wanted. Having them around back in the day used to be something that kept people safe. Now… well, now things kind of feel like they’re the other way around, don’t they?”
Suzie and I both nodded absently.
Sam sighed. “I didn’t see him for five years when he joined the military. William took over as President for those years and I still saw the whole crew, Suzie sometimes too, but in those days, we never really liked each other.”
I tried to picture what they might have been like five years prior. Suzie would have been quite young, just becoming a young adult.
Sam laughed lightly. “She used to roll her eyes every time I walked into a room.”
“I thought you were a priss and wouldn’t be able to handle my brother, okay? In one sense, I was trying to look out for you. I thought he’d chew you up and spit you out.”
Sam lifted her chin proudly. “And it turns out he just loves me more than anything in the world. I’m the one who chewed him up and spat him out.”
Suzie giggled and got comfy in a chair beside Sam. “You can say that again. My brother thinks the sun shines out of your ass.”
Sam blushed and grinned, a proud and content young woman, and as I watched, her hand fell to her stomach. At first, I didn’t think anything of it. At first, I thought she might still be feeling a little off balance and therefore nauseated.
At first, I thought it was just a coincidence that she rubbed in a slow and affectionate circle.
Sam caught me staring at her hand and immediately did something to keep both hands busy. She sipped her water and watched me over the rim.
I tried to move on without bringing attention to it. “So Jackson came back from Syria and you guys hit it off pretty quickly?”
Sam nodded hurriedly. “Mhm. I saw him the first night he came back to town because, well, he’d just found out about his brother’s death, you see.” Sam reached over and put a hand on Suzie’s wrist. She gave the other woman’s arm a comforting squeeze as she spoke of William. “He was really struggling. Every man expects to lose brothers when he goes to war. He never expects to lose the one at home while he’s away. It rocked him. Changed him forever.”
Suzie couldn’t meet my eye. “It changed all of us forever. It started this whole mess.”
“Anyway, I guess things started off between Jackson and me because I had a bar I let him into after hours where he could process and have peace and quiet. And food. He wasn’t eating. I don’t think it even occurred to him in those first few days to eat. But I made sure he had a meal a day. Truth be told, I don’t know why I really latched onto him in the beginning. I suppose I was hurting too. I’d lost my dad and felt alone for a really long time. Jackson made me feel seen.”
Her hand was back on her stomach. I frowned. Sam turned bright pink.
Suzie seemed to catch onto what was happening and stammered to change the subject. “So uh, what about you and Tex? What’s the game plan after tonight?” She spoke like everything would go perfectly well tonight and the men were only down at the end of the street buying liquor and cigarettes. “Are you guys going to go your separate ways? It’d be a shame. I think Tex really likes you.”
I had a gut feeling he really liked me, too.
“We’ll have things to talk about,” I said, trying to avoid looking Sam in the eyes. There was something going on there. I’d been around my fair share of friends back in Austin who were hiding pregnancies. Sure, they might have said and done all the right things consciously, but there were unconscious habits and instincts that went under their radar—like a fond touch of their belly, a wistful gaze at a newborn baby, nausea, dizziness.
Sam and Jackson were going to have a baby.
“Well, I kind of hope you stay,” Sam said.
I blinked. “You do?”
Sam laughed at my genuine surprise. “Yes, I do. Suzie and I are totally outnumbered here. There is too much testosterone. Besides, Tex needs a woman like you to keep him in line. And based on everything that’s gone on, I think they all need you.”
That might have been the nicest thing any of them had said to me.
Sam reached over and grabbed my hand. “You’re a badass, Carrie. You saved Mason’s life. You kicked ass last night to orchestrate a plan that has the potential to save us all. We’d all be better for it if you stayed.”
My throat felt a little tight. I cleared it and looked away, afraid my emotions would get the best of me. “Thank you, Sam. That means a lot.”
“And,” she added, “it might be nice to have someone else around who can keep my secret.”
Unintentionally, my eyes swept to her stomach.
Suzie bit her bottom lip. “We can’t say anything to anyone.”
Were they crazy? “Jackson will want to know,” I said. “This news is incredible! After everything that’s happened, I’m sure he feels like he’s been kicked while he’s down for the last five years. But to find out he’s going to be a dad?” I cupped my cheeks in my hands as a warm fuzzy feeling spread through me. “Why don’t you want to tell him?”
Sam shifted forward in her seat and leaned forward. “Carrie, this is very important. I don’t want Jack to know until Bates is out of the picture. He already has too much on his plate worrying about keeping me, his sister, and the MC safe. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders. I should know. He lies in bed staring at the ceiling countless nights, contemplating everything he’s lost and what he still might lose before this is over. If I tell him I’m pregnant, he might not be able to keep his fear at bay. It’s better he doesn’t know.”
The thought of keeping something so huge from the President scare
d me. “Won’t he be furious that you lied?”
Sam shook her head and leaned back. “No, he’ll understand why I did it, and he’ll be free to celebrate and look forward to fatherhood when that time comes rather than be filled with worry over losing it all.”
I supposed it made sense, but a terrible question rolled around in my brain.
What if Jackson died tonight and Sam never got a chance to tell him he was going to be a father?
Had she thought about that? Did it weigh on her? Was it a risk she was willing to take—a burden she was willing to carry for the rest of her life?
“I know what you’re thinking,” Sam said before sipping her water. “He’s coming home tonight. I’ll have my chance to tell him, and when I do, it will be perfect.”
Suzie smiled. “Exactly.”
Their confidence shook me because I didn’t feel it. Not even a little bit. I’d been eye to eye with Bates. I’d looked into the deep, empty pit of his soul and felt the whispers of evil in their depths spilling over into my heart. I’d felt true fear in his presence, and I’d felt the weight of truth of all his wrongdoings and bad deeds as I breathed in his cigar smoke.
He would kill Jackson if he got the chance tonight. He’d do it however he could pull it off. Bloody, clean, quick or long and torturous, he’d see it through. And the Devils were already down one man. If William had still been alive, they’d be one man stronger.
He would have been an uncle.
I got to my feet. Sam and Suzie looked up at me. “I have to go,” I said.
“Wait,” Sam breathed.
“No.” Suzie got to her feet.
But I wasn’t listening. My decision had been made. There was no way I could sit here on this deck twiddling my thumbs when I knew for a fact I could be useful tonight. I could fill the place of a man who would fight tooth and nail to protect his brothers. I was just as capable of helping them, of saving them, and of riding with them.
And if they didn’t want me there?
Fuck ‘em.
This was my plan. My design. My fight.
I had every right to be there.