14. Bear
14
BEAR
“ Y ou don’t have to watch this,” I said, grimacing as Selene shoved the needle in the skin on my ribs and pulled the stitching thread through. I skipped the numbing stuff because I didn’t want anything to take away from what this night had cost me. The pain would fuel my anger and keep me focused, and I needed to be as clearheaded as I could when I went into the barn.
“I have to,” Julia said, grabbing my hand. “I have to know they’re dead, so they can’t haunt me.”
“You can trust me,” I told her. “They are not going to survive the night.”
We had killed half of the Hell’s Knights that teamed up with Stallion and Reaper, their vice president included. The president and some other officers had escaped unscathed, but they wouldn’t be free for long. Switch and Castor were already trying to hunt them down, and when I found out where they were, they would pray for mercy before I granted it.
“I do trust you,” Julia said. “But I need this.”
I glanced at Selene, who looked between us before raising her eyebrows and going back to stitching me up. With Doc in the barn, already tearing the traitors to pieces, she’d been left to patch us all up. We’d lost four prospects and three brothers today, five from my own chapter and two from the New England chapter. Titan was pissed, I was livid, and there wasn’t enough Judas blood to pay for it.
“Please, husband,” she said. And damned if that fucking word didn’t make me melt. It used to be a taunt between us. A few weeks ago, hearing it fall from her lips would have made me smirk and think of the worst thing I could say in response. Now, I wilted. Now, I wanted to do whatever I could to hear it over and over again.
“I don’t want you to see me like that,” I whispered, pressing my forehead against hers.
“Nothing you could do would make me feel differently about you.” She kissed me, and her soft lips against mine dissolved any remaining resistance. I wanted to believe she meant it in a positive way, but I remembered this was all pretend. If I looked behind the curtain, I’d realize she still hated me and nothing I could do would change that . It wasn’t like she could dislike me more than she already did.
I’d been right about my shoulder, the bullet had gone straight through, and the one in my leg had only left a scratch. The worst one was on my side, which hurt every time I moved. Julia had been shot in the leg, but I’d made sure Selene fixed her first. Now patched up, my wife sat at my side, too afraid to leave me again so soon after the attack. That, too, turned me into a vicious man. Stallion, Reaper, and the others hadn’t just broken their vows tonight, but they’d also taken my trust in my brothers, the same trust Julia had in me to keep her safe.
“All right,” Selene said, snipping the last piece of thread before dropping her forceps on the tray next to her. She picked up a bandage and peeled off the stickers to place it over the wound. “I’m giving you some antibiotics and pain meds.”
“Skip the pain meds,” I said. “I’ll take Tylenol if I need it.”
Selene smirked. “Always the fucking hero.”
“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes, but Julia raised an eyebrow.
“I’ll make sure he rests,” she said.
Selene smiled. “Good. I’m glad you’re here, Jules.”
My wife gave my cousin a half-hearted grin, but it was time to go. We’d already waited too long, and I had to get in there to do my worst. I pushed to my feet and put an arm around Julia’s waist, half helping her walk, half guiding her out of the clubhouse and into the humid summer night.
“Will it be gruesome?” she asked, brushing her hand over the shirt I’d given her from the spare clothes I found in my truck. She’d been covered in blood, and we’d come straight to the clubhouse to regroup and deal with the fallout. Now, the white T-shirt swallowed her, making her seem small and delicate. But fuck if I didn’t love the sight of her in my clothes. It sent a possessive, territorial spark straight down my spine.
“Yes,” I said. “You really don’t have to come to this.”
“No. I need to see it done.” She took a deep breath and raised her chin in defiance. “Besides, we’re a team, right? We need to convince the rest of the club we can do this together.”
I wanted to scoop her up and take her home, to bury myself so deep inside her that nothing and no one would ever touch her again. I hated that I hadn’t had my phone on me when she needed me. I hated that someone had gotten close enough to hurt her. If we hadn’t gotten there when we did, it could have been so much worse.
The Roses’ clubhouse sat on a huge piece of property that had luckily been transferred to me in the weeks before my father’s arrest. A few hundred yards behind the main building sat a big barn where we did our dirty work. Once upon a time, Leo had been held captive in it for months. Now, the rest of my club had gathered to deal with the traitors who had tried to take out my wife. Would they have hurt Alba, too? I didn’t know. I’d like to think not, especially since she’d been part of our family for years. But they had gone all in with the Hell’s Knights, and they wanted to hurt us where it counted. If the men were the muscles of the Roses, the women were the heart and soul. Hurting them sent all of us into a rage.
I opened the wooden door and stepped aside so Julia could enter first, steeling myself against the smell. It used to reek like animals in here, but after the last few years of Doc’s handiwork, it now stank of old blood and rotting flesh.
Stallion, Reaper, and Lunchbox were on their knees in front of the fireplace, gags in their mouths, their hands tied behind their backs. Four other Roses had also assisted them, but they’d been casualties of the shootout. Too easy a death for my liking, but at least these three conspirators were here to face the club’s justice.
Doc stood next to a table covered in his tools, his hands bloody and his forehead sweaty. Wheels and Thor were off to one side with Leo, Saint, and Hollywood on the other. The rest of the club filled in around the perimeter. KC, bless him, must have already blown off some steam. His knuckles were bloody and his white T-shirt was covered in fresh crimson. Judging by the amount, it probably wasn’t all his own.
At our entrance, everyone turned to face us, all eyes expecting my wrath.
I steeled myself against what I knew I had to do, taking a deep breath so I didn’t back down. My father had always told me if a man was going to pass judgment, he had to be the one who carried out the sentence. Doc was our enforcer; he usually handled traitors. But this was personal, and I had to do it myself.
“Wait here for me, okay?” I kissed Julia on the temple, and she nodded, going to stand next to her brother. Which was good. He’d keep her strong through this. It wasn’t going to be pretty.
I walked up to Doc, ignoring the twinge in my shoulder and the ache in my side. He laid down his scalpel and glanced up at my arrival.
“What’d you get out of them?” I asked.
Doc rubbed bloody fingers over his forehead and brushed his hair out of the way. “Not much. But there’s not a lot to tell. It’s easy to guess what happened.”
“Hmm.” I grunted and looked at the three traitors lined up on the ground. Stallion and Reaper stared back at me with hatred and anger in their eyes, but Lunchbox shook like a little bitch. I didn’t know if it was adrenaline withdrawal or fear, but either way, he’d be the one most likely to run his mouth. I grabbed the machete off Doc’s table and walked toward him.
“You know, I’m disappointed,” I said, twirling the weapon around. “I would have thought you’d have the balls to come after me.”
Stallion snorted and Reaper rolled his eyes, but Lunchbox trembled harder. Now that I was closer, I could see that Stallion and Reaper had been beaten, likely by KC. They had patches of skin missing from their hands, and looking over their shoulders told me Doc had torn off the nails from all their fingers and toes, the psycho motherfucker.
“Going after our old ladies?” I shook my head and stopped in front of them, holding the blade up to run a finger over it and prove how sharp it was. “That’s low—even for cowardly motherfuckers like you idiots.”
Stallion groaned, but it was Reaper who tried to come after me, pushing up on his knees so he could attempt to head-butt me. I leaned out of the way and KC grabbed his shoulders to haul him back into place. Doc and Saint moved behind them to keep them detained, but I glanced at KC before continuing. The wrath and confidence in his gaze told me I had to keep going, that this was the right thing to do.
“Cut him loose,” I said to Doc, gesturing to Reaper.
My brother furrowed his brows. “What?”
“Did I stutter?” I nodded and grabbed a cinderblock from next to Doc’s table, sitting it down in front of the traitor. “Cut his hands loose.”
Doc grumbled something to himself before doing as I asked, and the moment Reaper was free, he launched at me again. KC and Saint grappled for his shoulders, but his reaction was exactly what I wanted. I grabbed his wrist and draped it over the concrete, tightening my fist around his forearm.
“Hold him steady,” I told my brothers. KC and Saint complied, leaning their weight on Reaper, keeping him in place despite his wiggling. “Listen to me, you piece of shit. You see that woman over there?” I pointed to Julia at the edge of the crowd, her hands clenched into fists, her face set in a stoic mask. “Mine. And if you touch what’s mine, I take your fucking hand.”
I raised the machete high in the air, only to bring it down in one harsh slice right on his wrist joint, separating his hand from his arm. The crunch of bone echoed through the weapon, and blood spurted all over my shirt and the floor. My shoulder twinged and something snapped in my side, likely a popped stitch. Selene would kill me, but fuck it. This had to be done.
Reaper screamed, struggling against my brothers, and when I shoved his arm back at him, he collapsed on the ground, clutching the wounded limb to his chest. Yeah, it was gruesome, but I had my father’s temper. And right now, nothing in the world would put a stop to it.
Lunchbox cracked like an egg. He cried and screamed, mumbling something behind the gag.
“What’s that?” I yanked the bandanna down.
“It was Stallion’s idea,” Lunchbox said, sputtering, hardly making sense. “H-H-He told us the Hell’s Knights would help us, that they only wanted the Caputi girl, that’s it. We didn’t know about Alba.”
“Uh-huh. I see.” I glanced at KC, who sneered with disgust from behind the quivering coward. “And how long have you known about this?”
“Only a few weeks, I swear.” Lunchbox sobbed and shook his head. “Only a few weeks.”
Stallion growled from behind the gag, shoving his shoulder into Lunchbox to make him shut up. But he kept going, detailing how they planned to let Alba go if she agreed not to tell the rest of us about Julia. “We shouldn’t be allies with them. They’re gonna stab us in the back. We were protecting you, prez, I swear it. We only wanted the best for you.”
I nodded and squatted down in front of him. “Why didn’t you come to me with this?”
He shook so hard, his teeth chattered. “By the time I realized what they were doing, I was in too far. I thought you’d think I had something to do with planning it. I was just going along with it. I swear, I swear, I swear.”
“Ohh, you were just going along with it.” I turned to look at Julia, Leo, and the rest of the Roses. “He was just going along with it.”
Some jeered while others heckled the terrified brother. But the look on Julia’s face spurred me on. She scowled and pursed her lips, and I wasn’t deterred. She needed to know who she married and what I would do if anyone came for her again.
“Cut him loose,” I said to Doc, who agreed with no argument this time.
“Please,” Lunchbox said, trying to back away from me, his wide, panicked eyes begging me for a reprieve. “Please, don’t. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, you’re gonna be,” KC said, grabbing a hand to yank it out in front of him. Lunchbox fought it, blubbering as he tried to prevent it from happening. But KC was bigger and stronger and pissed, and when I moved the cinderblock in front of Lunchbox, he screamed.
“Wait! I’ll tell you where the Hell’s Knights are hiding! Please!”
“Best make it quick,” KC said, holding a hand out to me.
“They came through here on their way to the Caputis,” Lunchbox said. “They were supposed to bring Julia to her aunt. They’re looking for Leo. They just want Leo. That’s all.”
I glanced back at Julia and Leo, who both seemed to agree that could be a plausible plan.
Nodding, I handed the machete to KC and took his place, holding Lunchbox so my cousin could have his vengeance. KC pulled down his shirt, revealing the sunshine tattoo on his chest.
“You see this? You know better than to touch a brother’s old lady.” KC raised the weapon high and brought it down on Lunchbox’s wrist. “You should have come to us.”
The traitor screamed and pissed himself before passing out, dropping to the ground like a bag of potatoes while his limb gushed.
“Wake him up,” I said to Doc, who grabbed smelling salts from his table before kneeling over Lunchbox. KC handed the weapon back to me and I stalked to the head fucking Brutus himself, big bad Stallion who stared at me with fire in his eyes. He wouldn’t back down, not now, not even after I’d maimed his cohorts.
“Is all that true?” I asked. “Did you think you’d be able to ride off into the sunset with the Hell’s Knights like I wouldn’t come after you?”
Stallion sighed through his nose, refusing to cower an inch. Of course, it was this bravery that had led us to patch him in the first place.
“Did you think the Caputis would come save you?” I raised my eyebrows as my rage swelled up inside me. If I didn’t do this, the others would see me as weak. The rest of the club would think it was okay to stab me in the back, to invade my home and harm my family. I wouldn’t have it. “What made you think that coming after my wife would be okay? You really are a dumb motherfucker, huh?”
Reaper curled on his side, pushing up into a sitting position while still clutching his wounded arm. He yanked the gag down and, when Saint went to restrain him, I shook my head.
“Her father killed your mother,” Reaper said. “Her aunt killed Skulls and countless more. Look at you. Not married two months and you’re already pussy whipped.”
“Do you think that’s what this is about?” I grabbed his hair and yanked his head back. “This is about respect. I told you if you had a problem to challenge me for the top spot. Rather than do that, you go behind my back. You go to my house. You fuck with my old lady, with KC’s old lady. Pussy whipped or not, I won’t accept that treachery.”
“C’mon,” Doc cut in, grabbing his pistol. “We’ve let these cowards suck up too much air already. If you’re not going to let me have my fun, then let’s end it.” He aimed the barrel at the back of Reaper’s head.
“If I have to die to show what the Caputi cunt has done to your strength, then so be it.” Reaper sneered.
“Hmm.” I almost laughed. Here he was, thinking my marriage to Julia had made me weak. But I knew differently. I glanced back at my wife for reassurance.
Should I kill them now or make it slow?
She gave me a subtle nod—quick and short. But I understood what it meant. She wanted it to be done with. She wanted it over so they couldn’t haunt her anymore.
I grabbed my gun from the holster under my arm and held it at his forehead, right in between his eyes.
“Make your peace with God,” I told him.
“Fucking do it, you—” He didn’t get the rest out before I pulled the trigger, bits of brain and skull exploding out the back of his head. Reaper’s body fell over backward, nearly colliding with Doc’s legs.
Lunchbox wept next to him, sobbing and snotting down the front of his shirt. Alas, I was but a merciful leader. I aimed my pistol at his head next and put him out of his misery.
Then, I returned to Stallion, who sat stock-still like none of this bothered him. Perhaps he thought he’d get away with it, or perhaps he knew he would always end up here.
“What to do with you?” I shook my head and tsked through my teeth, blood boiling with the thought of what could have happened to Julia had we been delayed. My rage nearly bubbled over, having not dulled with what I’d done to Lunchbox and Reaper. “Should I take your hands? Should I beat you to death?”
None of it fazed him.
“Should I throw you to the club?”
Whoops and hollers of agreement came from around me. I wouldn’t be so delusional as to think they cared enough about Julia in two months to avenge her honor. No, this was about loyalty. Roses didn’t fuck with another member’s wife. Roses didn’t side with another club over our brothers. Roses didn’t disrespect our colors like that.
Stallion gulped and squared his jaw around the gag, training his features so he didn’t react. But the twinge at the corner of his eye gave him away. If I tossed him to the wolves, they’d tear him apart.
“What do you all think?” I turned toward my brothers, toward the over sixty members crammed into the barn to witness my retribution. “Stallion came after my old lady because he disagreed with something I did.”
“Boo!” came the chant from all around me.
“Should I take his hands?” I glanced around, connecting with Hollywood’s stare. It could have been V, and his uncharacteristic scowl told me what he thought about that. “Should I take his skin?”
Some cheers filled the space mixed with arguably less boos.
“Should I let you have him?”
A chorus of applause echoed through the small space.
“What do you say, wife ?” I glanced at Julia, tilting my head to the side.
She considered, looking around at this motley crew of outlaws. When she came to a decision, she met my gaze again and said, “Let them have him.”
Stallion sighed and sagged, sitting back on his haunches while the rest of the Roses shouted their enthusiasm. But I agreed. The club deserved a chance to have their revenge. We allowed disagreement. None of us were slaves to the patch. But the way Stallion had gone about it spat in the face of everything we stood for.
“You heard the lady,” I said. “Do your worst, but for the love of God, clean up after yourselves.”
I walked back to Julia and put my arm over her shoulder to guide her from the barn, but I caught Leo’s gaze just as we turned to leave. He nodded, approval and respect in his expression. If someone had asked me a year ago whether that would have meant anything to me, I would have said fuck no and never. But now, some small part of me ached with satisfaction that both he and my wife were okay with what I’d done. It took a monstrous side of me to deal with those beasts, and even if I didn’t like it, they had to go.