“What about Slade?” Dex shouts out.
“We’ll leave him be, for now. First, we have a Mill of Crow fucks who need putting down.”
“Yeah, and we both know who has to bury them all,” Myles mutters and I roll my lips to hide my smirk.
The twins took over Pope and Ricky’s job of burying bodies and I’m fucking glad it wasn’t me. I’ve heard about Pope’s cemetery and that’s one ghost land I never want to step foot on.
“What are you all waiting for?” Dad shouts and the brothers start to move. “Be ready to ride in ten.”
Dad walks over to Cas and they clap hands as dad pulls him in for a quick hug, man style.
I walk over to Leo, leaving the twins to get ready and Leo ends up meeting me halfway.
“You good?” I ask him, wanting to hear him say it.
“I’m as good as I can be right now.”
That’s good enough for me.
“You ready to end those cunts who held you down?”
His mouth hooks up at the corner and he rolls his neck. “You fucking know I am.”
“And there won’t be any more talk about laying your cut down?”
“Nah, but I am going to take some time with Rayna. I want her to feel settled and I need to find my way with her on our own.”
“As long as you come back.”
“I will. Come on, let’s do this.”
The tight tension threading the club the last few weeks has flipped, excitement buzzes through the brothers and I watch the old timers and it’s like the years are falling from them.
“For fuck sake, I forgot I came here in the fucking car,” I hear dad moan and grin to myself.
To be honest, I’m fucking knackered, I don’t mind driving tonight.
The three prospects are still on watch at the Old Mill when we arrive, and it takes a minute for the dust to settle after all our bikes and the car kicks it up.
“They seem happy with the offering,” I say, turning the engine off.
“We’re not difficult people, the vote came and went, they saw the bond being mended with Cas and Leo, and now they’re about to wipe out our enemies, by sunrise, the club will be well on its way to healing. It’s our way, always will be.”
With that said, we throw open our doors and climb out and join the brothers walking into the Mill.
Whistles of appreciation circle through the brothers and I try taking in the scene like them as if it’s for the first time.
Twenty-nine Crows are dotted around the room, all hands and feet tied, some sitting up, some lying on their sides, which the ones lying down soon struggle to their asses and all their eyes pin us as we scatter to find our place to watch this unfold.
The Crows who held Leo down are separate from the others, tied to chairs in the corner of the room.
Leo recognises them, weaving through the bodies to stand before them. He stands there, staring at them. Not moving, and not giving anything away as to how he’s feeling. He’s stoned over and none of them can look at him. Pussy’s.
“You’re all going to die tonight for your part in attempting to take over our club, for the deaths caused and simply because of the patch you’re all loyal to,” Cas says, walking around them all with his hands clasped together behind his back.
This is why I didn’t vote against him. The power exudes from him like I’ve seen from no one else. He knows this shit like the back of his hand and the brothers salivate at his word.
“Did you honestly think we would let you all live after your misguided attempt to wipe us out?”
I roll my eyes over the Crows and not one of them answers and tries to defend themselves or plead for their lives.
For a brief moment, I wonder what it would be like to be them, if it were them holding us Lost Souls like this in an abandoned warehouse, down on our knees, bound. I shake it away, it’ll never happen.
Cas pulls a chair from the side of the room into the centre and sits his ass down.
“I’m going to sit here and watch you all die. I saw your president choke on his last breath and I’m going to take great fucking pleasure watching all you Crows choke too while my brothers have their fun.”
A few of them have the decency to look petrified now and I grin. Good. They deserve this, they sure would have done the same to us if given the chance. Well, they had the chance with some of us and still, they couldn’t pull it off.
“Then I’m going to go home to my old lady, and it’ll be like none of you ever existed,” he finishes with a smirk and my grin grows broader.
Cas looks over his shoulder at us brothers and says, “It’s up to you how you take their last breaths.”
Mason steps forward first and Myles steps up beside him.
“We want that one, untied and on his feet,” Mason says, pointing to a fat bellied Crow.
Cas sweeps his hand across the air, telling him they’re free to do what they please and I make myself comfortable on the table. I’m not interested in joining in, I had my fill with Ellis and the two Crows on the side of the road. This is for the brothers who haven’t had their blood. I’m happy to watch the show.
The twins walk over to their chosen Crow and Myles makes quick work of pulling a knife out from his boot and cutting the Crow’s hands free. He repeats the action with the tie around his feet and Mason hauls him up to his feet. Standing either side of him, the slowly circle him.
“Remember us?” Myles asks him.
The Crow fuck shakes his head.
“Do you remember pointing your gun at us so we couldn’t get to our sister when your cunt of a president dowsed her in alcohol?” Mason spits out.
Recognition hits him and he pales, holding his hands up.
“I was just doing what was asked,” he says, someone finally trying to save themselves.
“Go on, boys, make the cunt pay,” Pope goads them.
They look at each other and while the Crow frantically ping pongs his head to try and keep his eyes on both of them, it’s when he looks to Myles when Mason throws the first punch to his jaw. His head snaps in Myles direction but before he can bounce back, Myles is landing a solid punch to the other side of his jaw and his head snaps back to Mason. The guy’s head is bouncing all over the place and I chuckle to myself. He didn’t even see it coming.
When the twins fight, they fight as one, it’s like they put on a show. It must be fascinating being a twin, being able to work in sync the way they do.
Mason kicks out and boots the Crow in the stomach so hard he stumbles back and then Myles shoves his boot in his back and he tumbles forward again to receive a swift upper cut from Mason, and he ends up on his knees. It’s like watching tennis, only this isn’t as boring, it’s fucking beautiful.
Myles drops behind him and wraps his arm around the Crow’s neck, holding him tight so he can’t get away from him. Mason looms over him and punches him repeatedly to the nose, his cheekbones, his chin. There isn’t an inch on the guy’s face Mason doesn’t land his knuckles on. In the blink of an eye, Mason is holding the Crow and Myles is taking his turn, working his ribs and stomach. The Crow can’t catch his breath and when Mason releases him, he drops to the floor in a heap of blood and broken air.
Once again, they look to each other and silently come to the decision to end him.
They both nod at the same time and pull out their guns. Positioning themselves side by side, they take aim and pump their barrels of bullets into the Crow and stand watching on as his body jolts and twitches from the impact.
Silence surrounds us after they’re done for all of five seconds before chaos breaks out and Crows are trying to move away, and Lost Souls are descending on them.
Zachery runs towards a Crow in the back corner and boots him in the head as he tries to get to his feet. Punches are thrown, kicks are made, and blades are pulled out of pockets.
It’s Leo I turn my attention to and slip off the table. I walk closer to him and stay far back enough to allow him his time to take his rev
enge.
He circles them twice, all their heads trying to keep up with him, waiting to see what waits for them, but when he stops at the back of the Crow in the middle, he pulls his gun out and releases the safety catch. He releases a shot and the Crow’s head falls forward, his chin hitting his chest.
The other two squirm in their restraints even though it’s pointless. It’s understandable, but still, pointless.
He steps behind another and releases another shot. Two down, one to go. He doesn’t hang around and in the next breath, all three are dead.
He looks and sets his eyes on mine. There is nothing there, no tears, no fear, no coldness, just emptiness.
“It’s funny,” he says, not laughing or smiling. “I thought about how I wanted to do this, I thought I needed more than to give them a bullet each.”
“They’re still dead, brother.”
He looks down at the gun in his hand and he slides it back in his holster inside his cut. Looking up he sees me close by and walks over. Once again, Leo and I are standing shoulder to shoulder and we turn to see what’s going on behind us. Shots are rapidly echoing around the room and Crows are falling like flies.
“You got a plan for all these bodies, Prez?” Ricky asks, leaning his hands on his knees as he tries to get his breath back.
“Mass grave at Pope’s cemetery. Once this place has been cleaned, it’s going boom. Not one trace of Crows DNA will be found, then we’ll use the land in some way to fund the future.”
“The future sounds good,” I boom and the brothers cheer.
Cas, my dad and I are the only ones without a trace of blood on us and it’s takes fucking ages for each brother to wash up and dump their bloodied clothes, if needed, into a pile ready to be burned.
Harper
Bonnie went to bed a while ago after setting me up on the couch, but I haven’t seen a wink of sleep. Alannah is the only one still sitting up the table in the kitchen, waiting for any news to come in from Cas.
I gave up checking my phone hours ago, I’m not going to hear anything until JJ is back and tells me himself.
Every now and then I hear the soft clink of a bottle hitting the rim of a glass as Alannah pours another wine.
The hands on the clock tick by painfully slowly and loud too. The wooden windchimes knocks together in the wind outside on the porch. I hear every little noise, my breath itself being the loudest sound around.
A harsh disturbance fills the house as a phone vibrates. It doesn’t rattle against the table for long.
“Hey,” Alannah answers and goes quiet. “Of course I can,” she answers next. “I’ll drop her off later today.”
I hear the phone being laid on the table and I kick the sheets off me, I leave my make-shift bed and walk into the kitchen.
I take the seat next to her and her happiness exudes from her in droves.
“That was Leo, everyone’s on their way home.”
“And?”
There has to be more, she wouldn’t be this happy because the night was coming to an end.
“Leo asked me to keep Rayna so he could be alone.”
“And that makes you happy?”
“Yes, because yesterday he told me I wouldn’t see her again.”
I get it now.
“Why does he want to be alone?” I ask next.
“He didn’t say, I guess we’ll find out when the guys get back.”
If they’re on their way back that means this is over, finally.
“It’s done, Harper,” she tells me. “Life will change and this, like everything that has happened before, will change. If what I think is done and the Crow’s are gone, there is nothing left for you to fear.”
“And relationships in the club and families? What about them?”
“Most will go back to how they were, and others will take longer to heal, but those men of ours are bonded deeper than life itself. They’ll find their way back to each other, they always do.”
Casting my eyes down at the table, I ask, “And what about you and me? I mean, you said you didn’t have a problem with me, just that Cas shouldn’t have hidden facts from the brothers. How are we now you say it’s over?”
“You don’t have to seek my approval, Harper. It came as a shock that you were Cas’s daughter, but if I’m honest, I thought something like this would have sprung up years ago. He put his dick anywhere he could, it wouldn’t surprise me if there are ten more of you out there,” she says, surprisingly not bitter at all. “You are a part of our family, you are my family regardless the lack of blood ties. We’re fine and we’re going to be spending a lot of time together. One thing about us is we do like our family days.”
She grins and the future grows so flipping bright it’s blinding.
“Luca is looking forward to you being around, he loves Leo but their connection hasn’t been tight ever since Luca got tied up with that Sara girl.”
“Sara? What happened there?”
“Well, Luca got caught up with this girl from school. Her father abused her and Luca tried to help her. They thought they would run away and I don’t know, Luca was going to protect her. Anyway, she ran off on him leaving him to come sulking home, twenty thousand dollars and your dad’s gun lighter. She skipped town and he hasn’t been right ever since.”
I’m confused. “How does Leo fit into it?”
“We’re not quite sure, Luca has always been a quieter boy next to Leo but he was always angry and Leo wouldn’t help, cracking jokes at his expense. He’s been a lot better lately, but he’s not the same.”
“Maybe Victoria is the reason why he’s not so angry.”
She sits forward and intrigue pulses through her.
“Why would she be the reason?”
Wow. Finally something I know she doesn’t.
“I’m not sure what they are, but they’re definitely closer than friends. Just after we got back from Mercy, before we got the call Cas had taken a turn, Jay found them…together.”
Her mouth hangs open and I’ve managed to shock her.
“How do I not know this?”
“I don’t know, to be honest I thought everyone knew.”
“Does Pope know? No, he can’t do otherwise I would’ve known. He’s going to kill him.”
Her rambling makes me smile and I can’t help but laugh. Her and Bonnie were right, we will gossip about others.
The front door opens, and heavy boots pound the wooden floorboards in the hall.
Cas, Sparky and lastly, my husband walk into the kitchen and I’ve never been so happy to see them all grinning and happy. As happy as they get anyway.
“We’re not staying,” JJ whispers in my ear and takes my hand in his.
We quickly say our goodbyes and JJ opens the passenger door for me and I climb in. The drive home is quiet, and I take stock of him as he expertly drives fast but not recklessly. Once home, he unlocks the door and leads me upstairs and into our bedroom. The sun is rising but we slip out of our clothes and climb into bed. Him on his side, me on mine. I roll onto my side and tuck my arm under my pillow.
“Talk,” I instruct him. I can’t take this silence for much longer.
“The Crows are done. You have nothing to fear from now on.”
The relief is intoxicating, and I close my eyes, getting the dizziness under control.
Nothing to fear, it’s exhilarating.
“It feels strange,” I say.
“What does?”
“Being free,” I clarify.
He leans over and presses his lips to mine. I return the kiss and break away before it renders me forgetful.
“Your mom was talking about grandkids last night,” I say, and this gets his attention.
“Was she now? I hope you put her straight and she listened.”
“Actually, a lot has happened, and I’ve been thinking it’s a conversation we can maybe revisit in the future?”
He stays quiet for too long for me to expect an answer but he gets round to it and
asks, “What has changed your mind?”
“I always thought I would be like Lily, but I could choose to be different. I can break the cycle, like your mom did with you. While I was waiting for you, I was imaging us having a family of our own and it didn’t scare me.”
Not like it usually does.
He stares up at the ceiling and I wait for him to speak.
“Jay?” I push when nothing comes from him.
“I don’t see a kid in our future. It’s not something I’ve given a single thought about.”
“How about we revisit this in a year or two? Like I said, I’ve just been thinking about it.”
“And what if you want a baby and I don’t? What happens to us then?”
“It would never come between us, Jay. Just forget I said anything.”
I blame the rush of the last few days on my muddled mind and roll over, pulling the sheets high around my neck.
The bed dips as Jay rolls with me and he uncovers my shoulder, bare from the sheets.
“Don’t get shitty with me, if you want a kid, no doubt we’ll have a kid. Haven’t you worked out I’ll do anything for you yet? Just not any time soon, I’m in no way ready to be a dad.”
“Not a kid, I just want a conversation in the future, that’s all.”
“Done. Now turn around and kiss me. It’s been one hell of a night and I need you.”
I turn and face him, “You’ve got me, always.”
JJ
I rode away from the house not having to watch my back for Crows, but my head spinning from baby talk. I thought we were on the same page when it came to having kids. I want her to myself, I’m that selfish. The wind whips at my face and I’m glad to be back on my bike.
Cas has called the brothers in and it’s the first time in fucking ages that we’re going to be sitting around the table in the back room.
Normality is returning and it feels fucking good as I ride through the gates. It looks like I’m one of the last ones here and after parking in my usual spot I scope out the bikes already here and notice Leo’s is missing.
His One Choice Page 17