Chapter 25
70
55 youchers
-Logan-
I’d seen blood before. Death. Hell, I’d caused more than my share of it. But nothing hit like hearing her pull that trigger.
The sound still lived in my skull – one sharp crack that split something open inside me. She was safe, yeah. But when I looked at her after, I knew neither of us was ever walking back from it.
Now, hours later, I stood in front of the clubhouse smoking a cigarette. The air was cold enough to bite, but I needed it. Needed something sharp to keep my head clear.
Inside, I could hear the muffled rumble of voices – River and Monty arguing about something stupid, the clink of bottles, the jukebox. The same background noise that always chased a job gone sideways.
But I couldn’t make myself go in.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face – pale, streaked with tears, hands trembling as she dropped the gun.
I’d told her she did what she had to. He had it coming, sure as shit.
But it didn’t feel like that. I didn’t want her to be the one to pull the trigger.
I dragged the cigarette down to the filter and crushed it under my boot. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking, and that pissed me off more than anything.
I’d been through worse. Seen worse. But none of that prepared me for the way it felt to watch her cross that line.
She didn’t belong in this kind of darkness.
I reached for another smoke, but the memory hit me like a sucker punch before I could light it.
Shit, it was five years ago now. Eighteen years old. My first kill.
The warehouse had smelled like motor oil and stale piss. I could still see the guy’s face. Some low–level thug who’d skimmed from the wrong crew. Talon put the gun in my hand. “Club business, son. Time you learned.”
I remembered how heavy the piece felt. How the guy begged, snot running down his face while he promised to pay it all back. How my old man’s hand clamped down on my shoulder when I hesitated.
“Either you do it, or I will. But you walk out that door, you’re walkin‘ out on your brothers. And that’s fine, once. But you won’t walk back in.”
The gunshot cracked through the warehouse. I could still hear it, all these years later.
I blinked, and the memory dissolved. My fingers were still shaking around the unlit cigarette.
That was the difference between me and Hailey. Despite my mother’s protests, I’d been raised for this shit.
The door creaked open behind me, and I could tell it was River without turning to look.
“You gonna stand out here all night, or you gonna come get shitfaced with us like a normal fuckin person?”
I crushed the cigarette in my fist. “In a minute.”
He was quiet for a second. Then he grunted and left me to my ghosts.
The door slammed shut behind him.
13:06 Mon, Dec 22 M
Chapter 25
Teds vouchers
I exhaled hard, my breath fogging in the air. That was the thing about the club – we joked, we drank, we pretended the blood didn’t leave a stain.
But Hailey? She wasn’t built for it. She felt everything too deep, too raw.
And now she’d have to live with that sound in her head forever. Because of me. Because I let her walk into that house before
- me.
I turned toward the clubhouse, and the music and laughter got louder with every step. But all I could hear was the echo of that single gunshot – both of them separated by years but landing in the same damn place.
—
The realization hit me like a kick to the ribs. I’d been so busy trying to protect her, I never stopped to think I might be the one to get her killed. Either by dragging her into this life, or by letting my own shit get in the way when she needed me clear-headed.
I pulled the door open.
The guys were loud, laughing and drinking like nothing happened. They didn’t see her face like I did. Didn’t hear the tremor in her voice when she whispered ‘bananas‘ through the comms.
I ignored them, heading straight for the stairs.
When I got to the bedroom I pushed open the door, slow and quiet as I could. She was curled up on my bed, facing away from me. Dead asleep. One arm tucked under her head, the other clutching my pillow like a teddy bear.
I wanted to crawl in with her, pull her against my chest, chase the nightmares away. But she needed rest more than she needed me hovering like some goddamn mother hen.
I backed out quietly, pulling the door shut behind me.
Downstairs, the guys were three sheets to the wind. River was standing on the pool table with a bottle of Jack dangling from his fingers.
“Finally,” he drawled when he spotted me. “Thought you went to bed.”
Scarlett slid a glass toward me, half–full of whiskey. “Drink up, kid. You look like shit.”
I knocked it back in one swallow. The burn did nothing.
“Where’s Hailey?” Link asked, leaning against the bar.
“Asleep,” I muttered, reaching for the whiskey bottle.
River whistled. “Damn. Girl puts a man in the ground and sleeps like a baby. Respect.”
My fingers tightened around the glass. “Shut the fuck up, River.”
He held up his hands, grinning. “Easy, killer. Just saying-”
“I know what you’re saying.” I poured another drink. “And I’m tellin‘ you to shut the fuck up about it.”
The room went quiet for a beat. Then Monty cleared his throat and changed the subject to some bullshit about bike parts. The tension bled out just enough.
I should’ve been relieved. Should’ve been celebrating with the rest of them. The bastard was dead, Hailey was safe, and the
club had her back.
But all I could see was the way she’d looked at me in the parking lot of the cop station – like she didn’t recognize herself
anymore.
13:06 Mon, Dec 22 M
Chapter 25
And I’d put that look there.
MJ
C
田
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
