Chapter 7 Brick
I heard Dagger and Ginny’s conversation. Every word she said about second chances, being in love, and supporting who you’re with, including her declaration that she chose me, knowing who I am and what life I lead in the club.
Fuck, she was so goddamn perfect.
I held her hand as I led her from the house, going out the back and walking down the stairs toward the gazebo. It was time to come clean and tell her the truth, including the last day I saw Hesh alive and informing her that Doug Porter, aka Butcher, was out on parole.
I should have said all this shit sooner, but Judge thought the less Ginny knew, the safer she’d be. The problem was he got it wrong. Just like Ciara, Ginnny’s mom, and her Uncle Trig. They all protected her and kept the shit Hesh did for the club a secret. What good did that do now with his enemies trying to hunt her down?
“You sure we’re okay out here?” Ginny asked as I climbed up the steps, brought her inside, and gently pushed her onto one of the cushioned benches.
“You want to know about Hesh, right?”
Her chin lifted. “Yes.”
“Everything, even the dark shit?” I clarified. Once we opened Pandora’s Box, there was no closing it.
“I do. I can handle it, Brick.”
Yeah, I knew she could. Ginny was tough like her dad. She had his spirit, his tenaciousness, and his ability to cut through the bullshit. She saw the best in people but didn’t let them dick her around. Hesh would give anyone the shirt off his back, but fuck with his family or club, and there was no place you could go to outrun his wrath.
That was why Thorn, Judge’s father, had made him his cleaner. Hesh could handle the gore, blood, and death, and he could keep it compartmentalized in his head. He flipped that switch when it was needed, doing his part for the club. And when he was with his family, you’d never know what a ruthless son of a bitch he could become.
Was that his true self? Hell no. Hesh was one of the best men I knew and ever met. He was real, honest, and loved with all his heart. He worshiped Ciara and adored his daughter. His club came a close second. Judge never had a problem with that, and neither did his father when he was president.
“Hesh was the club’s cleaner,” I confessed, unsure if she understood what that entailed.
“Cleaner?” She frowned. “I suppose it’s not the type of cleaning I’m thinking.”
“Oh, I bet he used bleach on occasion,” I mused, shaking my head. “His job could get messy.”
“Messy,” she repeated. Her head tilted to the side. “Oh, shit.” She folded her hands on her lap and clenched her fingers together. “He tortured people?”
Well, we’d all done that at one point or another. The Crimson Skulls forced that outcome when they dragged us into a war. “Not quite.”
“I’m confused. Did he hurt bad people?”
“He did,” I confirmed. “The men who went after the club and our families. The Crimson Skulls.”
“Who else?”
She was right to ask because any threat to the club was taken seriously. If that threat was dangerous? We did what we had to do to ensure our members and their families were safe.
“Drug dealers. A fucker who liked to touch little kids. The list isn’t long.” Maybe I shouldn’t have divulged that last part.
“So, you’re telling me that my dad fucked up a few bad people and rival club members?”
“Well, he took part and cleaned the messes.”
“Oh.” She blinked. “ Oh .”
Yeah. Oh.
“Okay.” She nibbled on her bottom lip, her teeth sinking into the puffed flesh. “He hurt Crimson Skulls,” she realized. “He helped get rid of men who tried to harm us.”
“He did.”
She seemed to think about that for a minute. “During this war you had going, how many did he torture and clean up?”
I nearly snorted at how she phrased that. “A dozen.”
“Shit.” Her gaze dropped to her lap as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt. Finally, her head lifted. “They went after him for it, didn’t they? It’s why they followed him after he left the clubhouse on my birthday.”
“Yeah, Ginny, baby. They did.”
Her shoulders slumped. “I’ve always wondered. Mom never told me any of this.”
“We’ve only talked about it once. She didn’t want to burden or overwhelm you, sweetheart. I suspect she also didn’t want to ruin how you viewed your dad and the relationship you had with him. I bet she didn’t want to tarnish his memory.”
“I don’t think less of him, Brick. In fact, it helps. He was so brave and fearless.”
“He was,” I agreed.
“I’m so proud to be his daughter.”
“You should be. He fucking loved you so much, Ginny. You and your mom were everything to him. All that shit he had to do, he did it willingly because it kept you safe.”
Sorrow penetrated her delicate features. “Not anymore. The Crimson Skulls are after us.”
“They are.” I wouldn’t lie to her.
She jumped to her feet. “I won’t let his death be for nothing. He didn’t sacrifice his life to let those bastards win.”
“That’s exactly how I feel.”
Good. We were finally on the same page.
Ginny moved closer, lifting her hand to rest her palm against my chest. “Who was in that black truck the day we were run off the road? You never told me.”
No, I didn’t. It wasn’t relevant until now.
“A Crimson Skulls member. Their old enforcer.”
“There’s something else you’re not telling me,” she quietly replied.
Yeah. Two things. The first was easy to admit. The second? I didn’t want her to hate me for keeping it from her.
“I found Hesh the day he died.” My chin dropped. I couldn’t handle seeing uncertainty or doubt in her eyes. My fucking heart squeezed with my confession.
“Alive? Or after they shot him?”
“Both.”
She gasped. “What did he say, Brick? Was he in pain?”
Her anxious expression nearly tore me in two. “He made me promise to be there for you, to watch over you and Ciara. I swore to keep you both safe.”
Ginny flung her arms around my neck and buried her head in my shoulder. “Brick.”
“I tried to save him, but I was too late.”
There. I said it. The words that had haunted me for fifteen years.
“It wasn’t your fault. I’m sure you did everything you could.”
Which was nothing more than call 9-1-1. I pressed my hand to his wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but he’d been hit in the chest three times. He bled out before the paramedics arrived.
But his dying words and my promise never faded.
“I was the last person he spoke to, Ginny. That day fucking haunts me.”
“I don’t blame you for what happened. Neither does my family.”
Fuck. I hated remembering that day, covered in Hesh’s blood, and having to make the phone call that devastated so many lives. It spurred on carnage to the extent that I still dreamed about the killings that followed.
Every member of the Desert Titans had blood on their hands.
“Brick? Is there anything else I should know?”
Fuck. I wished she had never asked. I could have avoided the subject for a little longer. “Yeah.” I sighed. “You’re not gonna like it, Babygirl.”
“What is it?” She stiffened like she knew I was about to deliver bad news.
“Butcher is out of prison.”
She shoved away from me. “What?”
“He got out on parole.” The words nearly burned with my hatred as I thought of the man who shot Hesh.
“He murdered my father!”
“I know, sweetheart.” I reached for her, tugging her back into my arms. “Don’t overexcite yourself.”
She made a noise of disgust. “How the hell do I stay calm after hearing that?”
I lowered my hand to her belly. “Because of him.”
Our baby.
“You know.”
“Of course. I bought the pregnancy test for you.”
“Right.” She avoided eye contact. “Are you happy, Brick? Do you want this baby?”
The fuck? Why wouldn’t I want him?
I grasped her chin and forced her to look at me. “I’m fucking thrilled, Ginny. The woman I love is having my child.”
She blinked rapidly like she was fighting the urge to cry. “You love me?”
I nearly smirked because that was what she focused on. “Yeah, I do.” I pressed a kiss to her lips, eager to taste her sweetness. I fucking loved everything about her, even her stubborn nature. “We’re going to be a family.”
“Aren’t we already?”
“I’m just making it official.”
A tiny smile curled her lips. “Do you think my dad is looking down on us and happy?”
“He would be right after he kicked my ass.” I laughed as I thought about it. Hesh would be furious until he saw how much I loved her. I’d like to think he’d come around after that.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Her wistful smile faded. “Why didn’t you tell me about Butcher?”
“You’re already in danger from the Crimson Skulls. I wasn’t adding more for you to handle.”
She opened her mouth to argue or change my mind but ended up closing it.
“I’m right?” I asked, amused.
“Yeah. I wasn’t ready to hear that when we first got here.”
I lifted a strand of her fiery dark red hair and placed it behind her ear. “You’re fucking beautiful, Ginny.”
“I’m furious with you, but I also know you made the best choice for me, and I can’t stay mad.”
“Good.”
“Do my mom and Uncle Trig know about Butcher?”
“Since the day he got out. Trig texted me within an hour of learning about it. He’s fucking livid.”
She nodded, not surprised. “I need to know how the club is handling the Crimson Skulls, but it’s Butcher I want to know about the most. Tell me you have a plan.”
I did. He wouldn’t be breathing for long once I knew Ginny was safe. I’d hunt him down myself and get justice for Ginny and her family. I just had to wait for Judge to give the all-clear and find out everything he could about the Crimson Skulls returning to Las Vegas. “I’ve got one.”
“Will you be cleaning him?”
How fucking adorable. She wanted to know if I planned to be the one to spill his blood and end his life. “The whole club wants a piece of that cocksucker. He won’t die easily. We’ll be dragging it out for as long as possible.”
“But he will be punished and face justice, right?”
“He will,” I vowed.
“Okay. I can live with that.”
She just accepted a man’s torture and death like it wasn’t a big deal or the first time it was presented to her.
“I’m impressed,” I admitted.
“With me? Not freaking out?”
“Well, yeah, baby. This is heavy shit we’re discussing.”
“I feel like that’s the way it’s been since that black truck ran us off the road on Christmas Eve. One stressful moment to the next.” She placed my hand on her stomach. “This baby needs a future where a war between clubs doesn’t threaten to steal his parents away.”
“I won’t let that happen.” No fucking way. I wouldn’t die and leave her alone to raise this child. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Butcher has to die, Brick. All the Crimson Skulls do.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m saying all this, but if any of them live, they might come after our son. No loose ends. No threats lingering in the background and waiting to catch us unaware.”
“I already feel the same. Reached that conclusion the second that black truck showed up in my rearview mirror.”
“I won’t hide forever and look over my shoulder. This is the only way we survive and ensure our baby comes into this world safe.”
“You have my word, Ginny.”
“I’m going to hold you to it.”
Ominous words. If I wasn’t so focused on murder, I might have picked up on the subtle shift in the air and the danger that finally found us.