Chapter 9
CHAPTER
NINE
Logan
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “What did you do?” I say to Sawyer, eyeing the man who’s tied up in the chair.
He’s gagged, his face bloodied and bruised as I try to work out what the fuck is going on.
Don’t get me wrong, we use the warehouse to get information out of people from time to time, but Sawyer isn’t usually the main instigator. This guy must’ve done something bad.
“It’s not what I did,” he says, circling the man who is trying to get out of the chair unsuccessfully. “It’s what this asshole did to Nova.”
I frown, then it dawns on me. This must be Bobby.
Her ex. The man who drugged and beat her, and god knows what else while she was out of it.
He’s been in jail, and when Sawyer managed to track him down some months ago, we all learned at the same time why we couldn’t find him. But jail sentences don’t last forever.
“Holy shit,” I say with a chuckle. “You made the trip all by yourself? Brew and Haze won’t be happy.”
We all made a pact that we’d snatch Bobby before he could hurt anyone else, but it seems that Sawyer has his own plans. “Yeah, well, I haven’t even told Nova?—”
“And you’re not going to, right?”
He looks sheepish. “Well, she wanted to face him again, one last time. Closure and all of that.”
“That’s not a good idea.” I point at him. “We don’t involve women in the MC unless it’s completely necessary. What are you thinkin’?”
“It’s Nova,” he reminds me. “You know how she gets, and she’s wanted to get revenge for a very long time. I don’t see why she can’t after waiting so long. Plus, this asshole hasn’t been very compliant.”
Asshole Bobby grunts and struggles against his restraints. He keeps going in and out. Docile one minute, frantic the next.
“He said anythin’?”
“Nah. I thought I’d give him the same drug he gave to Nova but twice as much, just to see how he likes it, but he came back with a beatin’ heart, unfortunately.”
That explains the sudden burst of energy and then the lull.
“Looks like you did a number on him.”
Bobby is bound with his feet together and his hands behind his back in an awkward looking position.
“Cracked ribs, broken nose, probably a few busted organs, but where he’s goin’ he won’t need any, or his eye sight.”
One eye is completely closed from the beating. Ouch.
“I have to say, bud, I’m impressed. I know we’ve done shit before, but I didn’t think you had it in you.”
He rolls his eyes. “It’s Nova. You know I’d lay down on a train track for her if it came down to it. You think I’m gonna let this piece of shit live after what he did to her?”
“Not for a second. But you know if you tell her, she’s gonna want to come down here and handle this herself.”
He pauses his circling, folding his arms over his chest. “I don’t like lyin’ to her, but you have a point. Takin’ matters into her own hands has come up a few times in conversation, but I think that’s just her anger talkin’.”
“I don’t think her facin’ him is gonna help any, but that’s just me.”
“You can’t say somethin’ like that if you haven’t suffered at the hands of an asshole like him.”
I swallow hard. I have suffered, but not in the same way.
What my father did in terrorizing my family will stick with me for the rest of my life, but I try not to think about that asswipe for too long.
It’s a waste of time and energy. My father died of an early heart attack through all the booze and an unhealthy lifestyle.
Just as well I kicked him out when I did before he could inflict more pain and suffering on my brothers and my mom.
Though, she took the brunt of it for a long time.
“What’s to say I haven’t?” I fire back. When he gives me a look, I add, “My dear old dad didn’t drug me, but we all copped one hell of a beatin’ on the regular, until I kicked his ass out.”
“Shit, man, I’m sorry,” he says, running both hands through his hair. “I wasn’t thinkin’.”
“It’s alright. Shit happens, and you’re right about Nova. If she wants closure then she should have it.”
This reminds me of a little while back when we had two goons tied up while we extracted information out of them. It didn’t turn out so well for the two of them, but that’s what you get when you mess with the MC and this city. Dare to cross us and you die. Plain and simple.
“Not sure if it’s just closure she wants,” Sawyer admits.
I shift my eyes to him. “Nova’s never killed anyone,” I say, like it isn’t obvious.
“Not sure how she’d go pullin’ that trigger or yieldin’ a knife.
When you take a life, it does somethin’ to you.
I’m no expert, but Nova’s been through a lot.
Maybe lettin’ her know he’s already dead might be the best thing.
She was traumatized for a long time because of this prick.
What if all those bad memories resurface? ”
“That’s valid, and I understand where you’re comin’ from. The Dawsons stick together, but I’m all for Nova choosing what she wants to do,” he says.
This is where we differ.
If it were Payden, I wouldn’t be giving her the option to do shit—then I stop myself. What in the actual fuck? If it were Payden?
Why the hell did that pop into my head?
I swallow. Not being able to get her off my mind for the last few days has been hell, so seeing her earlier at the cafe was a surprise. I wanted her to stay. I told her to stay, which wasn’t chivalrous and the words just kinda flew out of my mouth.
After my breakfast, I dropped Dozer off with Luna because he had to get his shots, and since I had an emergency to get to—Sawyer about to dismember Nova’s ex—I said I’d be back within the hour.
Did I miss the way Payden’s eyes had dropped to my mouth when I took a sip of my coffee?
Or the way she doted on Dozer like he was the sweetest thing she’d ever seen?
Of course he is turning out to be the best dog ever, but I didn’t know she has a real soft spot for animals and that’s something I dig.
I can’t stand people who act all grossed out when an animal fusses over them or licks them with excitement getting all up in their business.
That leads me to my other dilemma about Dozer.
I wasn’t planning on getting attached because I don’t want a little dog, but over the last few days, we’ve gotten into a rhythm.
He wakes me up pawing my face, and I try to work out how the fuck he got out of his crate.
Luna suggested that be the best option until he felt safe because he’d done just that while they had him in temporary foster care.
But this little guy just won’t stay put.
He’s like fricking Houdini. I’m gonna set up a camera to find out how he’s doing it.
“You might be all for Nova ‘doin’ what she wants to do,’ but that’s not gonna wash with the club. Plus, if you are gonna kill him, Cash has to know about it.”
Sawyer grumbles, knowing I’m right. Even if it isn’t official club business, taking another man’s life comes with consequences that affect all of us. Then his eyes brighten. “What if we just dump him in the bayou?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Not exactly a grand plan, is it? Or an original one.”
Many have suffered at the hands of what lies beneath the swamps.
“Why not? He’d just go swimming with the other lowlifes we threw in there.”
Bobby struggles again. Clearly he’s still half out of it, but now and again he comes to life and begins to thrash around.
“That’s true, but would you tell Nova any of that?”
“Of course. I’ll tell her that he got out early and I dealt with it. It’s the truth, and in all honesty, that’s what I should do because I’m her old man. She can depend on me to do what needs to be done.”
I pat him on the back. At least he has his priorities in order. I’ll give him that. “Right.”
“Then again, tellin’ her might make her mad if she wanted a chance at closure.”
His indecisiveness is giving me a headspin.
I quirk a brow. “Since when did we give the women in the MC the power to make decisions?” Not being sexist, I’m all for them making some of the decisions.
They’re more level headed, and sometimes the men in the club only see things one way, and that can be a problem.
Not that any of the stubborn ones like Tag, Hawk, and Brew would listen because when the club wants revenge, the club gets it, no matter what.
“As if the women of the club don’t secretly have their noses in where it’s not wanted half the time,” Sawyer reminds me. All of which I know are to be true.
Despite that, I frown at his words. This isn’t like Sawyer. He’s normally level headed, and I don’t want him getting in too deep. He’s suffered enough trauma of his own, and while Bobby deserves it, what matters is his and Nova’s sanity.
“We all want to see this dick suffer, but you still gotta tell Cash what you’re plannin’,” I say. “Think about it. You gotta run it by him, and I’m more than happy to help.”
Sawyer knows how this club works, and we will support him, but he can’t go making decisions to end a man’s life without consulting with the club. “You gotta understand… when I saw how fuckin’ smug he was when he walked out of that jail, I couldn’t help myself?—”
“Yeah, and I wish you’d told me about it. I would’ve had your back and come with you.” I shake my head. “Brew and Haze are gonna have a field day with this. If you’re even thinkin’ about involvin’ Nova, you better do it before they find out.”
“He’s mine,” Sawyer says. “Neither of them are gonna do shit over my dead body. Nova is my ol’ lady. She may be your cousin but none of you get to call the shots on this one.”
I wave my hands in surrender. “Relax, nobody is gonna do anythin’. The club has a code of ethics, you know that more than anyone.” I give him a chin lift. “Did you tell your brother?”
Sawyer’s younger brother Pipes is also part of the MC, and the two of them were reunited a few years ago after a long separation when Sawyer was trafficked. They’re close, so it surprises me when he tells me he hasn’t.
“He’ll wanna get involved, and like I said, the less anyone knows about it the better.”
“Except Cash,” I interject.
“Yeah, I know, quit remindin’ me.”
“Until then, what are you gonna do with this asshole?”
He shrugs. “I might just keep him tied up here for a little while. Let him think about his sins while I contemplate how he’s gonna die.”
“Anyone lookin’ for him?”
Sawyer shakes his head. “Nah, not one person was there to greet his ass. Pathetic, but lowlifes like him aren’t memorable, even to their own family.”
From the looks of it, Sawyer asked me here to give him advice, and since we’re not going to the bayou right now, I relax a little.
I need to go get Dozer soon, I don’t want him thinking I’ve abandoned him right after taking him in.
That leads me to thinking about him cozying up to Payden again with his waggy tail, and that has me thinking about her all over again, too.
I should text her.
I should invite her over.
I want a repeat.
Sawyer distracts my thoughts by yanking the rope out of Bobby’s mouth. “What did you say, you piece of shit?”
“Fuck you,” Bobby spits.
Sawyer gives me a ‘he did not just say that’ look and then elbows him in his already broken nose.
I wince. “I’ll leave you to it, gotta go pick up my dog.”
“Since when did you get a dog?” Sawyer calls after me.
“Long story. You gonna be at the club tonight?”
“If that’s you askin’ me if I’m goin’ to see Cash, the answer is yes, Mom.”
Wise ass.
“Later,” I say, and stroll out to my motorcycle.
I meant what I said: I’ll look forward to roughing Bobby up at a later date. But for now I need to get back to a twenty-pound Frenchie who I’m actually starting to miss.