Chapter 23
Diesel
“I’m not closing my fucking eyes, D.”
I watched Brynn struggle as she tried to pull away from Rex’s grasp. And suddenly, I caught a glimpse of something at her side. Something that glistened with darkened desire. Then, my eyes locked with hers. Wide not with fear, but with desperation. With intent. Brynn had a plan, and I was pretty sure that plan included the gun she had stashed at her hip, underneath her shirt.
A gun Rex didn’t know about.
I trained my gun onto the man holding Brynn and he turned his gaze to me. His smile was malicious and his eyes flared with disgusted intent. The trembling barrel of his gun against Brynn’s head made me nervous, but the way she inched her hand between their bodies to grab that gun of hers made me more nervous.
“Let her go,” I said.
“Did you really think that was gonna work?” Rex asked.
“What do you want?” I asked. “What is the point of all this?”
“The point in the beginning was to get you assholes the fuck out of town. Then, I decided to play with my food a bit before I ate it. Then, this beautiful woman came back from the dead.”
Brynn’s hand fell from her side as Rex traced her cheek with the barrel of his gun.
“My priorities shifted when she came back,” he said.
“So, what? You take the woman you claim to love and you kill her? That doesn’t seem to make sense.”
“It is when she’s whoring around with other men!”
His voice echoed off the chambers of the room. Footsteps were heard in the distance, but I knew the guys would never find us. This place was locked down like a damn fortress. Gunshots still rang off in the distance as bodies dropped all around us, but my gun was trained only on one person.
Right between Rex’s eyes.
All of his body language signaled to me how out of control he was. The dilation of his pupils. The flaring of his nostrils. The trembling of his hand. The way he kept moving his feet, shuffling them as if he was nervous. Rex knew he was backed into a corner and that made him reckless. Which meant Brynn’s life was on the line because of him.
Again.
“So, you wanted us out of town. You framed one of my guys for a murder you committed, got pissed when your sister ratted you out and got you arrested, so you start talking with the feds and ratting on everyone around you to get your ass out so you could… do what? Kill the woman you love? I want to know what the fuck you’re up to, Rex. So, you might as well come clean, because there isn’t shit I don’t know about you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that asshole club member of yours in a second. No one knocks up my damn sister and gets away with it. But there is one thing I still want. I figured maybe you’d give it to me in exchange for this slut’s life.”
Brynn cried out as he twisted his hands further into her hair. I clenched my jaw, trying to keep my feet planted on the floor. Though every part of me wanted to lunge at him and feel his facial plates crack underneath the blows of my fucking fist. Every time Brynn’s hand got closer to that gun, he pulled some shit that made her flinch. Made her back off. I wanted to shoot. I needed to shoot. But if I shot, Rex had a split second to pop one off on his own. And because he was holding Brynn at point-black range, it guaranteed her death even though Rex would be eliminated.
That shit wasn’t acceptable to me.
“I don’t want your sloppy seconds,” Rex said. “But I do still want you out of my damn town. So, I’ll make you a deal. I let Brynn go so she can go suck whatever cock she wants if you turn yourselves into the authorities. I’ll even say not all of you have to. Just the man who knocked up my damn sister and you. Order your men out of town, and leave us what’s rightfully ours.”
“No town is rightfully--”
“Those. Are. My. Terms!”
His voice boomed across the chamber as he dug the barrel of his gun deeper into Brynn’s head, forcing tears to cascade down her cheeks. My heart thundered in my chest. I’d never lusted after blood so much in all my fucking life. But there was no way in hell I was taking him up on his offer. Grave loved that woman. He was going to be a father in a few months. A great one. I’d die before I’d ever sacrifice anyone in my crew to the likes of the pathetic asshole that was Rex and The Black Saddles.
“I’m fucking sick and tired of the feds being on my damn back all the time, so you and one or two of your men are going to take the fall for it. For all of it,” Rex said.
“There’s one thing I don’t understand,” I said.
“And you think I’m going to explain it to you.”
“Where did Mick fit into all this?”
I watched Rex lean away from Brynn as a sly smile crossed his cheeks. Perfect. That was the movement we needed. I watched Brynn’s hand out of my peripheral view sneak up and wrap around the gun at her hip before quickly inching it out. Good girl. I kept my eyes trained onto Rex, trying not to give away what she’d just done as he brought her back to his side.
“I really should kill Rock for putting a bullet in that man’s head,” he said. “Because Mick was very useful. He was easy to turn, though. You should pick your personal prospects better, Diesel.”
I clenched my jaw and tried not to lunge at the man.
“All Mick wanted was a little bit of money. And when you and your club announced ‘cleaning yourself up’ or whatever the fuck you called it, offering him the money he’d lose out on meant I had eyes and ears on all of you. He was the vainest of all you guys. Wanted nothing more than money and a comfortable life. He didn’t give a shit about turning you guys in or rolling over on your fucking asses. Anyone could’ve greased that shithead’s palm and he would’ve sang like a baby crying out for some food.”
“So, Mick was your way of infiltrating us to try and build a case against us. But when you didn’t find shit you could use because we actually are cleaning up our act, you decided to blackmail us into turning ourselves in for shit we didn’t do so you could reign supreme in little old Redding, California?” I asked. “Doesn’t sound like a lofty ambition to me.”
My eyes flickered over to Brynn and she nodded her head. Holy hell, that woman was phenomenal. My eyes made their way back to Rex as he stood there, darting his head between the two of us.
“What the fuck was that?” he asked.
“Rex,” I said as I put my gun down, “it’s been a pleasure. But I think it’s time for my fiancé and I to go home now.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked. “No one’s going anywhere until you make that damn phone call!”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure Brynn and I are going somewhere. See, I’m engaged to this wonderful girl, and we haven’t started planning our wedding yet. That’s going to take some time. I almost haven’t gotten her pregnant yet, which is a damn shame since I want her to be the mother of my children.”
“You do?” she asked.
My eyes panned over to her gaze and my face fell into a very stern demeanor.
“I do,” I said. “I always have.”
“What the fuck is going on!?” Rex exclaimed.
“The problem with you Black Saddle idiots is that you think this kind of life is all about drugs, sex, and rock and roll. When really, it’s about family, and dedication, and toeing the gray line while making sure you know where your ethics stand. We can settle anywhere we want, so long as we know Redding is protected. I wasn’t going to give this damn town over to you because we wanted to stay. I wasn’t going to give it to you because you and your club are full of a bunch of pussy-ass quick shots who can’t even take in what’s around them.”
“You wanna say that one more time?” Rex asked.
He moved his gun from Brynn’s head and pointed it to me, and that was when she struck. She lifted the gun she had behind her back and pressed it into Rex’s side. And without blinking, she pulled the trigger. That asshole went down like a sack of fucking potatoes as his gun tumbled out onto the floor. Rex roared out in pain as he clenched his side and I raised my gun back to him. I opened my arm for Brynn and she came running into me, so I pulled her in and placed a kiss against the top of her head.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Please tell me you meant it,” she said with a whisper.
“We can talk about that later,” I said. “Right now, I need you to close your eyes.”
“Why?” she asked.
I looked down at her as I cocked my gun.
“Just close your eyes, beautiful.”
My gaze turned back to Rex. He was on his knees, bleeding out onto the concrete flooring of the warehouse. I heard men running around, yelling out my name and trying to figure out where the fuck I had gone. He looked up at me with eyes that were dwindling of light, and part of me wanted to watch him bleed out. Wanted to watch the life drain from his eyes before he fell flat on his face.
But Brynn was shaking at my side and I was ready to get her home. Back to a place where she felt safe and secure again.
So, I raised my gun and aimed it straight between his eyes.
“What? You’re gonna… kill me in front of… your… your girl?” Rex asked.
I felt Brynn cling tighter to me as she pressed her face into my chest.
“There are two things in this world you never do,” I said. “You don’t fuck with my guys and you don’t fuck with my girl. You decided to do both. And for that, you pay the ultimate price.”
Then, I pulled the trigger without a second thought.
The final gunshot rang out across the room and pierced Rex between his beady little eyes. His jaw fell open and his eyes went dead, and I lowered my gun as his head rolled to the side. Blood seeped from his torso as blood from the back of his head seeped into a puddle on the floor. Brynn whimpered and clung to my shirt as I holstered my gun. I wrapped her up into my arms before scooping her off her feet, cradling her as close to my chest as I could get her.
“Come on,” I said. “It’s time to get you home.”
“Diesel!” Knox roared. “Where the fuck are you!?”
I turned around, laying my cheek on Brynn’s head as she nuzzled her face into the crook of my neck.
“Diesel!” Rock exclaimed. “Say something!”
“Where the fuck is Brynn!?” Dean roared.
Brynn chuckled into my skin as I stepped through the wall and started down the hallway.
“It’s over,” I said as I kissed her skin. “It’s time to go home, my love.”
And I felt her breathe a sigh of relief as I made my way through the never-ending maze the warehouse had to provide.