Chapter 17 #3
I don’t pay him any attention because I’ve got his sister to worry about.
She’s the true victim in this whole ugly situation.
She presses her hands over her ears to block all the threats he’s still throwing my way.
She whispers so low, I barely catch her words, “Make him stop. Please, make him stop.”
Before we can do anything, Spark comes to his feet.
His hands are covered in blood halfway up his arms. Blood is dripping down the front of his cut.
He has to get right in his brother’s face to get his attention.
“Brave. Look at me, brother. He’s gone. Our old man is gone.
If you keep it up, these Rager assholes are gonna put you down too.
Is that what you want, to leave me all alone, trying to hold the club together by myself? ”
Brave stops fighting and looks up at his older brother. “They fuckin’ killed him. They need to pay.”
“Yeah, I get that. But look around, Brave. We fought the good fight and lost. That means there’s no payback to be had, not now anyway.” His voice breaks as he tries to get his brother to understand. “I need you to pull your head together and stand the fuck down.”
The words reverberate through the room. Truth gets through when nothing else does. The fight goes out of him. I can see it in the way his shoulders slump and the way his expression goes from furious to a dead-eyed stare.
He shakes off Jasper and Merc’s hands and they let him go, sensing that Spark finally managed to get through to him. Scar appears in the doorway with a roll of zip ties. His eyes fly open as he takes in the whole ugly scene. Jasper gives him a small head shake and Scar backs away.
Spark looks at me, his gaze broken in its own way. “We’re done fightin’ this useless club war, Rager,” he says, hoarse. “Whatever this was, it was my Pa’s doin’, not mine. I’m not losin’ another brother over this beef with your club.”
Jasper speaks up. “That’s not how it works, Spark. You don’t get to start a war with our club and decide once we beat your ass and take down your club president that you want peace between our clubs.”
“You’re not stupid. You know that your club needs to officially surrender,” I tell him. “We’ll talk tomorrow when we’ve buried our dead and seen to our wounded.”
Onyx adds, “Your medic sees to your wounded, ours sees to ours, and no one else has to die. That’s the only deal on the table tonight.”
“I’ll take that fuckin’ deal, Rager,” he responds tightly.
Scar speaks from the doorway, “The Hyenas’ medic examined Stripe. As well as a busted leg and ribs, he’s got internal bleedin’. He needs a fuckin’ hospital and quick if he’s gonna have a chance of survivin’ this night.”
“Let his people take him,” I say. “They can take him to St. Mary’s. Tell them to go the back way and leave their cuts behind. They are more likely to buy a story about him falling if they don’t know he’s a biker.”
Spark nods once. “Yeah, that’s the best plan.”
I walk downstairs and outside, with Nora still tucked under my arm.
They carry Stripe’s broken body out to one of their vans on a piece of plywood.
It’s no hardship for me to see the man who thought he owned my old lady because money changed hands lying on his back, staring up at the starlit sky, his face contorted in pain.
I guess that I’m a bit of a bastard that way.
The Hyenas move around us, dragging their wounded brothers over to be seen by their medic.
Coal ended up being left where he fell for now.
One of the Hyenas went up to lay a jacket over his face.
I know because they asked Spark if it was okay in front of us and it set off another round of crying by Nora.
I hear her whisper, “Will this horrible night never end?”
That’s my cue to get her the fuck out of this nightmare.
I scoop her up in my arms and carry her to my bike.
She turns her face against my neck and shakes in my arms, still tearful and grieving.
I feel her fingers tracing around my officer’s patch.
That gets to me, but I don’t put her down until we’re right beside my bike.
I help her onto the back and strap the spare helmet I carry in my back storage compartment onto her head.
By every measure that matters to a sergeant-at-arms, we won this war, fair and square.
I should be satisfied. If only my old lady hadn’t had to watch me gun down her old man, it would have been a perfect win.
I’m not stupid. I know this is going to change the way she sees me.
The hard part is tomorrow. Once the shock wears off, will she want to wake up next to the man who did it?
I throw my leg over my bike and settle into place.
Her arms go around my waist before I finish putting my helmet on.
I start my engine and slowly pull out onto the road.
I worry about what comes next all the way home.
No matter what, I’m going to make sure Nora gets through this, even if I have to put her into therapy. Whatever it takes, I’m there for it.