Chapter 26
AXEL
I think I’m in shock.
I don’t really have anything to compare this to, but I have to think that this is what shock would feel like. Or maybe it’s better described as an out of body experience.
I know that one of my best friends is dead, but it doesn’t feel real.
Luke died before we got to hash things out. He probably died thinking that I was mad at him, and I wasn’t. He was dying and still thought to protect Wren, and I’ll never be able to thank him for it.
There’s so much that I want to say to him that I’ll never get the chance to.
“Ax?” Wren’s voice breaks through the haze as she reaches out and gently clasps my hand. “Are you okay?”
I sigh. “I’m not,” I tell her honestly. “But I will be, eventually. How about you?”
Tears fill her eyes, and she shakes her head furiously. I pull her into my arms and press a kiss to her head. “I can’t believe he’s gone,” she chokes out.
“Me either, baby,” I whisper.
“He apologized to me before it happened,” she tells me. “I told him he didn’t need to apologize for anything. I hope he knew that I wasn’t mad.”
“He knew, baby,” I murmur as I stroke her hair.
“How are we supposed to get through this day?”
“We have to lean on each other. That’s one of the best things about this club. There’s always someone there to lend a helping hand.”
“We can’t lose anyone else.”
“We won’t,” I promise her, and that’s a promise that I’m determined to keep.
The prospects couldn’t make anything out in the darkness, but when everything died down and we went searching, we found where the shooter was set up across the road. He left behind a note with the shell casing.
I could have killed her, but I settled for him. Be thankful.
Zach
He was already on our hit list, but now he’s the top priority of the entirety of the Sovereign Sons.
It’s not just the Silver Springs charter that’s after him, it’s every charter.
That means he can’t go anywhere within the United States without looking over his shoulder.
I don’t think he knows what he just unleashed.
I feel like I let this club down. Like I let Luke and Wren down.
I’m the security of this club and I didn’t think we had to worry about someone setting up a rifle across the road and shooting through our gates.
I didn’t think that would be a problem. Now, I know, and we’ll make this place impenetrable. I won’t ever let myself screw up again.
“Let’s head downstairs,” I say as I tug Wren to her feet. “It’s going to be a long day, but I think someone is here who you’ll want to see.”
She follows me downstairs where the rest of the club is waiting.
The guys from other charters decided to stay in town for the funeral, instead of leaving and having to make their way back.
Right now, the clubhouse is eerily quiet because it’s just our charter.
The rest of the charters will join us on our ride, but there are a few inactive members here for the funeral.
When we step downstairs, I know the moment that Wren sees him. She gasps in surprise and runs into his arms. Wren’s dad made the trip from California.
Wesley Dixon is a tall, broad man. Even in his sixties, he’s a man you wouldn’t want to mess with. He’s a fucking teddy bear when it comes to his daughter, though.
His arms wrap around her, and he squeezes her tightly. “It’s so good to see you, sweetheart,” he murmurs into her hair. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
We filled him in on what happened to Luke but decided to leave out what happened with Zach. If Wren wants to tell him, that’s her decision and story to tell, not mine.
She pulls back, her face a picture of shock. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“And miss this look on your face?” He chuckles. “I don’t think so, darlin’. I missed you, and there was no way I was missing Luke’s funeral.” His voice becomes more somber. “My little girl needed me, so I’m here.”
Wren’s lower lip trembles and she hugs her dad again, making eye contact with me while her head rests on his chest. She mouths a thank you, and I muster a smile for her.
This isn’t the first funeral for our club, and I know it won’t be the last. Hopefully, it will be the last of one of our young members. I want my brothers to die of old age, asleep in their beds. This funeral will be different than Sophie’s dads, though. Luke was loved by everyone.
When he gives the order, we all silently follow Grayson outside to our bikes and climb on. I wait for Wren to sit down and wrap her arms around my waist before turning the engine on and waiting for everyone else to do the same.
We fall into formation as we pull through the gates and onto the road.
The inactive members ride behind us, and the prospects bring up the rear.
Since the prospects are riding with us today, a few patched members from other charters are hanging back to protect the clubhouse.
Even though the prospects aren’t fully fledged members yet, Luke was still their brother, and he would want them to have the chance to say goodbye.
We drive towards town and the other charters fall in line behind us, taking up the entire road. There are hundreds of members here to say their goodbyes. As we enter town, my heart is in my throat as I take in the people lining the street.
Silver Springs is a small town where everyone knows everyone. This town doesn’t fear the club like some people might think they would. They respect us. They know that we’ll do whatever we have to do to protect this town and the people in it. Today, they mourn Luke with us.
I’m not surprised to see Chief Benning’s SUV at the entrance to the cemetery, though. I get a glimpse of him as we pass by, and he looks pissed off that there are this many bikers in his town. Hopefully, everyone will be on their best behavior today, so we don’t have any issues with him.
I feel Wren’s arms tighten around me and I reach back and squeeze her thigh in comfort.
We pull further into the cemetery and park our bikes along the path.
I help Wren off the bike and lead her over to the graveside.
There are seats for the Silver Springs charter in front of Luke’s grave and we all take one.
My eyes scan Luke’s coffin and I bite back my tears as my gaze lands on his face. He looks like he’s just asleep, not gone from this world.
Luke, please forgive me.
Wren must sense my discomfort, because she squeezes my knee. I pull her closer to me and wrap my arm around her, planting a kiss on her hair and breathing in the smell of her shampoo.
The service isn’t long, but I don’t hear a word of it. I just stare ahead as we say goodbye to one of my best friends. We stay until they lower him into the ground and then we all grab a shovel and add dirt to his grave, effectively covering him from the world forever.
We make our way back to our bikes and leave the cemetery, this time going for a longer ride to honor Luke. We ride for hours one way and then head back to the clubhouse. Tonight, we’ll throw a party in his honor, but first, we have church.
We leave the girls in the main room with our families, Chef, the inactive members, and the prospects and go into church. This is the quietest I’ve ever seen us, the loss of Luke hitting us hard.
As soon as we’re all seated, Grayson bangs the gavel.
“We know why we’re here,” he murmurs. “Zach Rycroft was already set to meet his end. We need to vote on how to handle this now that he killed Luke.”
“What are our options?” Levi asks.
This is the newly patched members first club vote, and I wish that it was for something less nefarious than this. They have sat in during church before, but this is a whole different ball game.
“I think we only have one real option,” I offer. “We kill him fast. We find where the fucker is, and we take him out as soon as possible.”
“I think that’s the only thing we need to vote on, for now,” Rowan confirms.
“Everyone in agreement?” Grayson asks. Every single member nods their heads. “Good. Noah, find him. Ask the other charters for their tech guy’s help. Tell them we’ll owe them a favor.”
“On it, pres,” Noah says before leaving the room.
“Now, let’s honor Luke the way he deserves,” Grayson whispers before banging the gavel.