Chapter 26
Ashes to Ashes
Thunder
“What did you say, motherfucker?” Pretty shoved Wreck in the back as we walked out into the parking lot. “You speak Spanish? When the fuck did that happen?”
Wreck spun around, grabbed Pretty by the neck, and shoved him backward until he pinned him against the wall. “Don’t.” They didn’t look away from each other, both breathing heavy.
“Just crack already,” Pretty said, grabbing two big handfuls of Wreck’s T-shirt. He pulled on the fabric, but Wreck resisted, realizing we were watching them. He quickly released Pretty, taking a few steps to put distance between them.
“What did you say?” Sabre asked him, leaving no room for interpretation.
“Diego promised his men El Dorado if they were obedient soldiers. Now, they’re dead, and their families are not reaping the reward. Manny is probably threatening their families and recruiting their sons with the same fucking promises.”
“Still doesn’t explain what you said.” Pretty was hot. His face was flushed as he opened and closed his fists.
“I reminded the leader of their predicament in a language he clearly understood.” Wreck crossed his arms over his chest, closing down any further discussion.
An awkward silence settled among us.
I stepped up, drawing attention to myself. “There are six bodies in that booth, and now would probably be a good time to poke another hole.”
The brothers smirked, knowing exactly what I meant. They’d been told about our family meeting, and now, any time someone mentioned El Sombra Roja, it usually came with a hole joke.
“They’re wearing the Lopez signet,” I said, planting the idea and knowing exactly how far I would take it. “What if we sent Alex their ring fingers? He won’t have the context, but it might strike a little fear. At least give him pause.”
“What if we sent them with a note? ‘Pick up your own trash.’” Zook smirked.
“Yes! Too bad we can’t send the bullets with them.” How’s hands were on Zook’s shoulders as he jumped up and down.
“Are you trying to send us to jail? They’d match those bullets, and we’d each get a list of charges a mile long. Your family’s money wouldn’t save you then.” Op shook his head as he ran a hand over his face.
“We pay the cleaning crew big bucks for that shit not to happen,” Grizz chimed in. “I don’t even know whose gun this is.”
“It’s from the armory.” Sabre leaned against his bike, crossing his feet at the ankles. “Are we sure this is how we’re going to send a message?”
“I don’t have a problem with it, but if he retaliates, then we have to own it.” Grizz shuffled his feet, readjusting his stance.
“If this is what we decide is best, I’ll have the cleaning crew cut the fingers, unless one of you sick fucks wants to do it.”
“Oh, pick me.” How was still jumping up and down.
“Just remember this when you say I’m too much.” Pretty wrapped his arms around himself.
“If you’re doing it, you’ll need to get the blowtorch from the Playroom to cauterize the wounds. Otherwise, you’ll be dripping blood all over the place.” Sabre tapped his fingers against his leg. “The note needs to hit harder.”
A few of the brothers threw out some ideas, but none of them communicated the level of damage we wanted to inflict.
“No, Liz said he threatened to send Peter back to her in pieces if she continued trying to contact them.” I paused, trying to come up with the specific wording.
“What if it was something like, ‘Coming full circle when we’re the ones sending you pieces?’” Wreck stared at a spot of asphalt.
“That’ll definitely poke a hole,” I said, rubbing my chest. I didn’t enjoy remembering the mental anguish Liz had told me she’d gone through. It made me wonder if we were pushing too hard without giving her enough support.
“I’ll pick up one of those condolence cards from the flower shop.” Twig bumped fists with Pint. “We’ll get it delivered to his front door.”
***
Elizabeth
Thunder jumped when I called his name, even though he was sitting right next to me.
Meredith said something to Grizz, but he had a thousand-yard stare.
He wasn’t ignoring her, but whatever had happened weighed heavily on his mind.
The rest of the men who’d ridden out this morning weren’t much better.
Dinner was a quiet affair, and when it was over, I escaped to our room to put on my pajamas.
Everything felt too tight. My clothes. The elastic on my socks.
Even my scalp itched, but when I entered the main room, my husband wasn’t there anymore.
Sitting next to Slate at the card table, I waited for Snake to shuffle the cards.
“Are you playing?” Slate asked me, nudging my elbow.
I shook my head and leveled the Wise Men with my best smile. “I need...to win.” It had the right effect, and they all cracked up laughing. Slate even held his stomach as he pounded his hand against the table. It wasn’t that funny, but I let it go.
“I know what you’re doing. Where’s your Old Man?” Slate whispered.
“Outside?” If I had to guess, he was sitting on the back stoop. If he didn’t come inside before I went to bed, I’d go looking for him.
Snake dealt the cards, ending the conversation.
We’d gone through four or five rounds before Thunder appeared. He grabbed a chair, straddling it next to me. He didn’t smile, nor was he relaxed, but the veins in his arms popped as he propped them up against the back of the chair. I didn’t dare peek at his thighs, fearing merciless teasing.
Snake tried to deal him in, but he waved off the invitation. “I’m good.”
“You’re not,” I whispered, patting his thigh before I threw a few of my chips into the middle of the table. “Space.” He reached for my hand, kissing my knuckles before placing it back on the table.
“These cards suck ass.” Slate threw his away. “It’s a good thing it’s chip night, otherwise I’d be broke.” A few of the Wise Men nodded. We played round after round, teasing each other, but no one gained the upper hand.
A few hours later, a blaring alarm went off.
Cyph took off running towards his room, and we all faced the top of the stairs, waiting for his return. He took the stairs two at a time while clicking on his tablet. I held my breath until he landed on solid ground.
“We gotta go. Masked men at the back of the banquet center.”
No one hesitated. Men ran up to their rooms, skipping two and three steps at a time. They wove around the men coming back down with riding gear in their hands. The club girls stood in a corner, out of the way. JR’s cries mixed into the background.
“I’ll stay as the executive member,” Count said, moving towards one of the barstools.
Grace started to run towards the front door, but Meredith grabbed her hand, forcing her to stop. She put her hands on either side of Grace’s face, making her focus. “I’ve got the kids.” Grace nodded, but I doubted she had heard anything.
I stood, forgetting I was wearing my slippers as I headed for the front door, but Thunder reached for my elbow, turning me into his body.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked me, trying to be gentle, but the frenzy in the room was hard to ignore.
“I go.” It was Grace’s, and I wouldn’t stay behind.
Grace popped up on my other side. “Can you drive my SUV?” she asked Thunder.
There were three hallways that ran from the main room to the back of the clubhouse. Sabre must have gone to his office because he came running from the middle one. “Mama,” he called out, getting Grace’s attention as he headed toward us.
“No,” she said. “I’ll stay in the car with Aunt E, but I’m going.” Her lip trembled. Thunder agreed to stay with us, and Sabre relented. I held Grace’s hand as we hurried out the front door, but I made the mistake of looking over my shoulder.
The poker table sat untouched. The chips were in the same place we’d left them. An eerie chill crept down my spine at the image.
***
“Tell me the Lopezes didn’t show up this morning,” Grace pleaded with Thunder.
“I’m going to have to remind the brothers that some things don’t need to be circulated within the clubhouse.” His eyes didn’t leave the road.
“You all have that haunted look in your eyes, like the night Diego Lopez attacked the clubhouse. I just had to wait for the rumor mill to catch up.” She fell silent, staring out the window.
Thunder drove under a streetlight, the beam of it hitting Grace’s face directly. I gasped at the stress lines forming between her eyebrows, deepening with each second that passed. It took me a minute to gather my thoughts, but when she saw me staring, she asked, “Do you think they destroyed it?”
I opened my mouth, ready to stumble through false words of encouragement, but Thunder beat me to it.
“You’ve been here long enough to know good things don’t happen behind masks.” He sighed, making the turn onto the road that led up to the banquet center’s parking lot.
We were last in the caravan, and Thunder pulled to the side of the road, killing the engine.
He faced Grace, holding out his hand for hers.
“If it’s gone, I’ll make sure the club gives you a few days to grieve.
” Grace nodded. “Then I expect you to get back to work. You’ve never given up, so why should this be any different?
” She nodded again, but her lip quivered.
I said nothing, not wanting to ruin the moment as he turned the car back on. Listening to him a second ago, I would never have known he wasn’t the head of this family. He stepped in when Grace needed him the most.
We crested the hill, and I almost wished we would have stayed at the bottom.
Red. Orange.
They sparked amongst the trees, like a fucked-up firework.
As soon as Thunder stopped the car, Grace didn’t hesitate.
She jumped out of the car, and I followed right behind her.
I tried to grab the back of her shirt, but she was too quick.
I stumbled a few steps forward, trying again to reach her, but I caught the fire flickering inside the building.
The heat was unbearable, and it made my pajama top stick to my back.
She stopped, bending in half to grip her stomach. Thunder reached her before I did, but when he asked if she was alright, a wail cut through the roar of the fire.
Her knees buckled, and Thunder grabbed her before she hit the asphalt.
“No, no, no.” She let out a sob, burying her face in his chest.
“I know, but this isn’t forever. What did we say?” He was trying to keep her focused, but all I could hear was the anguish. I wanted to reach out and hold her, but I wasn’t the person she needed. I stood next to them, awkwardly patting her back.
I raised my head at the sound of boots hitting the pavement. Sabre and the brothers came running from the back of the building, but as soon as they saw us, they ran directly towards where we stood.
“Mama,” Sabre said as he got close, but an explosion went off. We stood there, horrified as the roof collapsed in on itself. All the arches Meredith had worked hard to open up were gone.
Grace threw her arms around Sabre’s neck, and he held her tight against him.
“I’m so sorry, Mama,” he said to her. “We’ll rebuild.”
I moved closer to Thunder, stealing a little of his warmth, and he slung his arm over my shoulder, pulling me into his body.
Sirens blared as the fire trucks barreled up the driveway. Their lights bathed us in red, and that’s when I saw it clearly. In Sabre’s hand, which was wrapped around Grace’s back, he held a single blood-red rose.
“Drop it.” I wasn’t loud enough over the noise. “Drop it.” I took a step forward.
“Prez, drop the rose.” Thunder stepped in. He was louder.
Sabre threw the rose toward the blacktop. The ribbon burst into flames mid-air.
I was the first one to move, taking each step as if the rose would turn into a fire-breathing dragon, swallowing me whole. The petals were gone, but the ribbon still had small flames dancing at the ends. I hadn’t seen it before, but there was a white card attached.
You only exist because I let you.
El Sombra Roja.
It was the first time I’d ever thought of him as the cartel don and not the man I’d been in love with.
It wasn’t physically possible, but my heart hardened further at the mention of him.
“You did… this,” I said directly to the flower, like the man himself would show. “This…is…Grace’s. Not the…club’s.”
Thunder wrapped his arm around me, and I slid mine around his waist.
“We end this…now.”