Chapter 27 Knox
KNOX
I was glad I’d gotten Everly’s number, because once I filled in Diesel on what happened he wanted me to bring her by. I dialed her number and it took me a few tries to get her, but she eventually picked up. I told her she needed to come back because the guys wanted to see her.
She was hesitant, but I got her to agree to come.
The two of us hopped on my bike and away we went.
She was clinging to me, trying to hold on for dear life.
It was obvious she’d never been on a motorcycle, which told me right there how ‘close’ her and her brother were.
We rode out into the woods and kicked up dust, riding around so I could make sure we weren’t being followed.
The two of us pulled up and the guys were all standing outside. I hopped off my bike and set it up, then I offered my hand to help Everly. She took it gladly and slid off, making some comment under her breath about how her brother needed to take a lesson from us.
I wasn't sure what she meant, but I figured it was probably a good thing.
“This her?” Diesel asked.
“If by ‘her’, you mean Rex’s sister, then yes,” Everly said.
“You gotta name?” Grave asked.
“Everly,” she said.
“Pretty name for a pretty girl,” Grave said.
“Down boy. Not what she’s here for,” Diesel said.
“What? Can’t I admire the beauty of my surroundings?” Grave asked.
“I’ll tickle your fancy later,” Everly said. “Right now, I think you’re going to want to hear my story.”
I watched Grave’s face light up with her enthusiasm and retorts. She really was right up his alleyway. Sassy. Confident. Independent and didn’t take any shit. That was the kind of woman Grave needed. Someone who wasn’t afraid to rope his violent ass in.
“What’s going on?” Mick asked. “Why’s she here?”
“Because I’m proof Knoxy boy here didn’t kill Blaze,” she said.
“‘Knoxy boy’?” Grave asked with a grin. “I like it. Can we use that?”
“No,” I said.
“I was there that night,” she said. “I was on the other side of the fire, but I was there.”
“Fuck. I knew she looked familiar,” Brewer said.
“You saw her?” Diesel asked.
“I mean, it’s hard to miss that pile of blonde hair. You were wearing a green top, right?” Brewer asked.
“With some blue jeans, yes,” she said.
“And a fucking… um… damn, it’s not a coat. But uh…”
“Cardigan?” she asked.
“That. It was light pink. Yeah. I remember you,” Brewer said.
“What happened?” Diesel asked.
“Rex wanted me and a couple of other girls there to get out of dodge. But I didn’t want to leave him.
My brother’s a hot-headed idiot who gets himself into more trouble than he can manage and I was prepared to bail him out.
But when the fight started, I thought about running.
Getting out of there and all that. I’m actually the one that called the police. ”
“You didn’t tell me that before,” I said.
“Figured I stood less of a chance of you killing me over it if I was surrounded by other people,” she said.
“I wouldn’t have killed you over it,” I said.
“Then you work very differently from my brother and his club,” she said.
“Wait, so they’ve killed before?” Rock asked.
“Yes. They have. Some took. Some didn’t,” she said.
“How do you know all this?” Mick asked.
“My brother can’t keep his damn mouth shut.
You guys have to understand, The Black Saddles don’t work the way you guys do.
They’re loud and proud and have no issues boasting of the things they try to do.
That night, when your buddy Knox here was kicking the crap out of Blaze, that was when my brother’s gears started to turn.
He was creeping around the edge of the woods, watching everything that was happening. And when you guys ran away, I saw-”
We all stared at Everly as her eyes lined with tears. She shook her head and looked away, her hands balled up into fists. I watched Grave reach out for her, taking her hand within his and trying to comfort her.
It was weird. Seeing our burly Grave so weak for a woman.
“You’re good here,” Grave said. “Safe. What happened?”
“I saw him kill Blaze. In front of everyone. Just… a knife to the back. Easy as pie. He didn’t hesitate and he didn’t pause. It happened and everyone was freaking out and he kept saying ‘we’ll pin in it on him. We’ll pin it on him.’.”
“You saw your brother kill Blaze,” Diesel said.
“Yeah. Haven’t been able to sleep well since,” she said with a snicker.
I watched Grave squeeze her hand as she turned her watery gaze to him.
“Thank you for coming to talk with us,” he said.
All of us furrowed our brows as we watched the interaction.
“Yeah. It’s fine,” Everly said.
“You guys know what this means,” Diesel said.
“Can we discuss this after she’s gone?” Grave asked.
“Why the hell are you so concerned about what she feels?” Mick asked.
“Because she was brave enough to hop on the back of a bike of a rival gang and come talk to us without anyone with her. That’s why,” Grave said.
He was almost snarling at Mick.
“What does this mean?” Everly asked.
“It means we’re at war with The Black Saddles,” I said.
“Knox,” Diesel said.
“What? She’s gonna find out anyway,” I said.
“War?” she asked.
“In our world, what your brother tried to do is the equivalent of terrorism on foreign soil. He committed a heinous crime on our turf then tried to take us down with it,” Diesel said.
“We can’t let that stand. Redding’s in trouble with people like that in town,” Brewer said.
“Should I be like… leaving, or something?” Everly asked.
“No,” Grave said quickly. “I mean, no one will be harmed. No one’s dropping bombs or sending in military guys. But we do have to clean this up.”
I watched Everly nod as Grave finally dropped her hand.
“We’ll hold church in a while to figure out what our next move is,” Diesel said. “In the meantime, get Everly back to wherever she needs to be.”
“I can take her back,” Grave said.
“Her car’s at my place. I’ve got it,” I said.
My phone started vibrating in my pocket and I pulled it out. I saw Monroe was calling and I looked around at the guys. I turned the phone to Diesel and he nodded his head, shooing me off with his hand so I could take the call.
“Monroe. You good?” I asked.
“Knox. We need to meet up. And soon,” she said.
“Why? What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I’m not talking about any of it over the phone. Can you come over to my place?” she asked.
“I’m on my way,” I said. “I’m about thirty minutes out though.”
“Perfect. I’ll meet you there. Come in when you get here. The door will be unlocked.”