Doctor Sam Innis strode down the hall to the second, smaller doctor’s lounge, already knowing what sight would greet his eyes when he entered. The head nurse Marcy had taken one look at the general waiting room heaving with huge, glowering, scary bikers, and had used her initiative to send them up three floors to the lounge. She’d had no interest in seeing worried families and kids intimidated by the terrifying men. Also, they’d taken up an incredible amount space.
Sam was braced and ready and professional to talk to the Road Warriors. Even if he did want to fucking beat Wolf Connor into the goddamn ground.
I always knew this day would come… always, always.
Sam paused in the lounge doorway, gauging the mood of the thirty or so big, surly MC maybe-ex-maybe-current-one-percenters. Vic’s brothers were not the most level-headed, mellow guys on earth, and so Sam had fully expected tension and anger, of course.
But not this much.
This wan’t tension and anger on any measurable human scale – this was bubbling, boiling rage. Oh, nobody was rampaging around like a crazy person, there wasn’t any shouting or even any raised voices. No, quite the opposite. It was still, quiet, somehow dark with shadow. Like a clenched fist, or a snake all coiled up and eyeing its prey. Simmering, silent – but not patient. No… not patient at all. This was the stillness of men gathering their energy and focusing their purpose, waiting for the opportunity to be set loose on an enemy.
This wasn’t the calm before the storm; this was the silent gathering storm before the damn apocalypse.
“Sam.” Wolf was immediately right there beside him, and Sam drew himself up to his full height. Sam wasn’t a short man, but somehow Connor made his extra two inches in height feel like two feet. “How’s Keira? And Scars?”
“Vic is hopefully being stabilized right now,” Sam said, really making a point of stressing what he would always consider his brother’s real name. “He went into shock and cardiac arrest in the ambulance – did you know that?”
The dark, dangerous edge in the room got keener, sharper, more cold and silver.
“No,” Wolf hissed. “We didn’t know that.”
“Well. Now you do.” Sam met Wolf’s eyes full-on. “I ducked into the trauma room quickly, but too much was going on, so I stayed out of the way. I wouldn’t be much help, to be honest. I’m – I’m too close. I couldn’t be emotionless about my brother, not even if you demanded it with a gun to my head.”
The men around him all nodded, and despite his anger at them, he did feel their hurt for him. Yeah, they understood what working on Vic’s burned body would have meant for Sam. After all, these were the men who had smothered the flames as his strong, indestructible, protective brother had screamed and writhed in agony in a fucking tattoo parlor parking lot. They’d seen the hair burned right off his head, they’d seen the skin hanging off his back and legs in long, jagged strips.
They knew. They knew as well as Sam did how bad it was.
“And Keira?” Wolf asked quietly. “Zoe hasn’t been back to say anythin’.”
“She’s sedated and intubated,” Sam said. “She’s having lots of trouble breathing on her own, and when she does, she coughs up mucous. Her nostrils and throat have some soot, which we’re still trying to get out completely. It’s harder with babies, just because their nasal passages and throats are so small and tight, but now that’s she’s out, it should be easier.”
“Is her blood work back?” Viking asked. “Her metabolic profile?”
Sam nodded, knowing Viking’s medical background. “A minor change in pH in the blood. No carboxyhemoglobin or methemoglobin levels.”
“Thank fuck,” Viking said.
“Translation?” Jinx asked. “For us non-doctor types?”
“Keira doesn’t have any signs at all of severe smoke inhalation,” Sam explained. “She won’t suffer any permanent damage. Vic – maybe Vic just got to her in time, but all I can think is that she must have been on the ground, or close to the ground in her crib, and it was a huge help. She had cleaner air for longer.”
“My God,” Saint said, looking at the bandages covering the smarting burns on his forearms. “I can’t believe it… I went back to get her, man, and couldn’t breathe for the smoke. Not even shallow, half breaths. I can’t – I don’t understand how that little thing survived.”
“Luck,” Sam said. “Blind, sheer, stupid luck.”
“Yeah.” Wolf took a deep breath, feeling grateful for the sweet, pure oxygen. Funny how he’d never really thought about the simple, physical act of breathing before today. “That’s the long and short of it.”
“So.” Sam shrugged. “I should get back to Vic. If you wait half an hour, you can see Zoe and Keira. Just let the doctor finish cleaning out Keira’s nostrils and throat, OK?”
“You’ll let us know how Scars is?” Arrow said, haltingly. “When we can – can go see him?”
The question hung in the air, because the truth was, they didn’t know if they’d be seeing Scars again… when was optimistic, maybe to the point of foolishness. But they needed that hope, needed the when not the if, and since Sam needed it as badly as they did, he went along with it.
“Yes,” he said crisply, cleaning his glasses on his white coat, and they watched him slip back into E.R trauma specialist and surgeon mode with that small gesture. “I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything.”
“Thank you, Doctor Innis,” Cole said, and one by one in a rippling murmur, the Road Warriors thanked Sam as a doctor. It was the rarest of events, for these men to show any deference or respect for authority, but they did it for him. It was the emotional equivalent of a lunar eclipse spontaneously happening in the waiting room, and Sam recognized it for the little miracle that it was.
His throat tight with tears and oddly touched despite himself, knowing that these hard men had just given him the gift of generosity and compassion in the only way that they knew how, Sam nodded, then left. He had to go see his big brother.
Maybe for the last time.
Is it that bad? It looked bad… but all burns are bad, right?
God, he wished that he was home with Annie and Cindy. Just curled up in front of the TV watching a movie, a huge bowl of extra-buttery popcorn between them. No worries, no cares, no life-and-death scenarios. Pure bliss in normality, in the simple touch of a warm body next to his.
Just then his work cell rang. With a sigh of annoyance, he fished it out of his pocket, glared at the number. It was the main nurse’s station, and he supposed they were calling to tell him about Vic being admitted… maybe they didn’t know that Marcy had already talked to him.
Sam swiped ‘accept’. “Doctor Innis here, and I know about my brother, but thank you. I appreciate the call.”
There was a pause at the other end. Then, an unfamiliar voice:
“Doctor Innis… I’m really sorry to hear about your brother, we all are. But that’s not who I’m calling about.”
“It’s not?”
“No, doctor. Could you please come down to the E.R.?”
“Now?”
“Yes. I’m so sorry to ask, I know you want to be close to your brother. But – but there’s a woman here and she’s… well. She’s saying things that I think you need to hear.”
“Look.” Sam took a deep breath, sped up his pace as the exam room came into sight. “This isn’t the best time –”
“She’s talking about Zoe Parish,” the nurse said in a rush. “And Zoe’s baby girl, Keira, and The Road Devils. She’s mentioned everyone by name, including your brother. She said everyone is in danger, and she’s screaming that you need to believe her and call the police before it’s too late.”
Sam slowed. “She said Vic’s name?”
“Not exactly. She said Scars. And Doctor Innis? She’s been in and out of consciousness and she hasn’t always lucid… but she’s okay right now. I think the sedatives have taken effect, and it’s a rare moment to get some genuine and calm information from her, but she might pass out soon…”
Sam stopped dead in his tracks. “Three minutes.”
“Yes, doctor. I’ll talk to her, keep her alert as best I can.”
Sam thanked her and disconnected the call, then spun on his heels and rushed down the stairs to the ground floor level. If this woman knew something – anything! – he wanted to hear it, and the sooner the better.
Anything that helped figure out who did this to Vic, and that sweet innocent baby.
**
In the lounge, Wolf watched Sam go, feeling very calm after that surprisingly warm and heartfelt moment with his brothers, and Scars’ kid brother. He enjoyed an almost fanciful musing about how ‘family’ had about a hundred different meanings to him, knowing full well that in a few seconds, his family was going to look at him, look to him. And they’d be waiting for their instructions, because hell was going to be paid that night. In pain, in blood, in souls.
Fuckin’ Dawson. This was you, and I know it. I’m comin’ for you, and you’re gonna die so, so slow. You’re gonna beg for it to end. It’s not gonna end, though. Not until I’m good and ready.
And just as he finished having the thought, every man in the room turned and stared at him. Wolf knew those looks – the fact that he hadn’t seen them for almost a year hadn’t dulled his memory of them – and God knows, he knew what they meant.
The boys were ready for vengeance. They’d do anything to get it. They’d die if they had to.
That was when Wolf understood – really, really understood – that all of them had been wearing flimsy paper masks ever since he’d taken The Road Devils legit. Oh, sure, they’d all played by the rules, they’d colored inside the lines, they’d led beige and vanilla lives. Maybe, like him, they’d even believed that they were different men, a different club.
But as they stood there in front of him, unmasked and honest, Wolf saw his brothers. And in their faces, he saw himself reflected back.
This is who they were, in their cores. They were men who operated outside the law of the civilian world, but that’s not to say that they were lawless. No, they just lived by their own laws and rules and honor systems. They meted out justice as and when they saw fit… and at its heart, that justice system’s credo was ‘You fuck with my family, you die, asshole.’
“You all know what we’re goin’ to do,” Wolf said now, and though his voice was low, it carried. “Whatever truce or understandin’ we had with Dawson and his boys is over. Law-abidin’ is fuckin’ over. Tonight we go lookin’ for blood. I’m gonna rip that asshole’s head off his goddamn shoulders with my bare hands, and if any of you has a problem with that, or are thinkin’ about talkin’ me out of it, you can go now. I release you from the club, no conditions or hard feelings. Just leave your cut at the door as you go.”
Nobody moved.
“Last chance, guys.” Wolf met every one of their eyes. “You stay here with me, you’re with me all the way to the end.”
Silence. Stillness.
“OK.” Wolf exhaled hard. “We need a plan.”
“Besides shooting out The Blood Crew’s clubhouse?” Ice asked coolly. He was so clearly back on well-worn, familiar ground, Wolf wondered if he’d ever really left. “And leaving no survivors?”
“Yeah,” Wolf said. “We need more weapons, for starters. We need everyone in an assigned position, too, military-style, Ice, the way you and Cain did it overseas, so you and your Enforcers plan that for us. Finally, we need to work in waves, you get me, man? Separate assaults, and we need one group to stay outside and pick off any runners.”
“No problem.” Ice’s blue eyes were pools of zero emotion. “Give me and Cain and the twins an hour to pull shit together.”
“Good,” Wolf said. “I want to hit them in no more than four hours. Call in every favor we have, get our weapons stash way bigger.”
Dux and Drake nodded, and Cain said, “I’ve kept my old contact with someone local. He’ll get us what we need.”
“How fast?” Wolf asked.
“Two hours, tops.”
“Go, man. Go.”
Cain headed out, closely followed by the MC’s other former – or not really ‘former’ anymore – Enforcers, Ice and the twins. Wolf watched them go, then switched his attention back to the rest of his brothers.
“Stay here,” he ordered. “If Dawson hit the parlor, then there’s a damn good chance that he also set up bombs or whatever the hell that thing was at Satan’s and the garage. Maybe our houses, too.”
A dark ripple went through the room as the men muttered to each other. Wolf waited, and they fell silent again.
“Silver, Cole, you guys are up,” he said. “Pull all footage you have… everythin’ and everywhere. If you see anythin’ weird, you let Kansas know.”
“Me?” Kansas asked, surprised. “Usually I do the surveillance and intel stuff with Cole…”
“Yeah. But you’re my temporary right hand man, just while Scars is out of commission, so Silver’s with Cole for now.” Wolf stared around, fiercely daring anyone to contradict him, to even breathe a hint that Scars being down and out wasn’t temporary. “Everyone reports to you from this moment forward. Call Ice and his guys, make that clear.”
“And what about you, Prez?” Jinx asked hesitantly. “You going off the grid?”
Wolf sighed heavily. “I’m goin’ to be with Zee. She’s all alone with her baby, and I don’t like that. But I don’t want this shit creepin’ into that little girl’s room… this all stays outside that door, you follow me? As long as I’m in with her, no calls, no visits. I’ll come back here and check in every thirty minutes. So unless the fuckin’ Blood Crew are standin’ in this very room and openin’ fire, you wait for me to come back. We clear?”
They all nodded again, and Wolf gestured to his remaining men. “You all stay here… you keep an eye out. It’s possible that Dawson’s boys might start somethin’ here at the hospital. They got us all in one place, pretty much, and that may be one hell of a temptation.”
“Gotcha, Wolf,” Rebel said. “A few of us will be outside and some on each floor. We’ll for sure put someone outside Scars’ door, wherever he is.”
“OK. I want Arrow and Holt on Scars’ door first shift.” Wolf pushed back his wild hair with two hands, wondering if he’d ever been so enraged. “I’m goin’ to check on Keira now.”
They parted so he could get through the group, and Wolf headed down two floors. He took the stairs, and took a few minutes to calm himself down. The last thing that Zee needed was to see him in President mode and persona. She needed her friend, the one that she’d known since the age of ten, and Wolf was damn well going to make sure that she got that comfort. She had no use for a cold-blooded killer.
He paused outside the door, listening. There weren’t any voices, so he gently tapped, then eased the door open a few inches. He stuck his head in, and there was Zoe sitting next to a crib. She was holding a tiny hand through the raised bars, and staring at her daughter. It was hard to see Keira, though, because of the tape holding a tube in place down her throat.
“Zoe?” he whispered, shutting the door quietly. “Hey, baby girl…”
Zoe looked up and over at him, and Wolf froze. God, he hadn’t seen that dazed, lost look on her face since that night in the bar back room. It was a look that he’d hoped hard that he’d never see again, and his heart hurt for her. Wolf moved to her now, wanting to hold her, to show her that she wasn’t alone in her fear and worry. Zoe stood up and took a few steps forward – to meet him he thought – and he opened his arms to her.
“Zee –”
The shove against his broad chest shocked him, and he staggered a bit. Yeah, OK, he hadn’t seen it coming, so that was part of the surprise, but what really stunned him was the rage behind it. She hadn’t held back, not even a bit, and she was a strong, tall woman. The push had some serious power behind it, and Wolf just couldn’t fucking believe it.
“You prick!” she said, not bothering to keep her voice low. “You lying sack of shit!”
“Zoe…” The rest of his sentence was knocked out of his mouth by another hard shove. “Hey…”
“You promised me, Wolf!” she cried. “You promised me that I’d be safe here, me and Keira. Well, look at her!” She pointed at the tiny form in the hospital crib. “Does that look safe to you? Huh? Does that look like a kid whose Mom has nothing to worry about?”
“Ah, shit,” Wolf said, realizing that he’d completely missed this whole aspect of things, somehow. “I didn’t think – Zoe – I didn’t mean –”
“You didn’t mean for this to happen? Is that what you were going to say, Wolf? Well, it did happen! And my kid almost died, and the man that I love is half-dead, maybe. I told you that I’d only come back if it was safe, and you told me that it was. You lied. You put me and my daughter smack in harm’s way, in the line of fire of a bunch of one-percenters. You almost got a bunch of your own brothers killed at work. You – oh, God.” Zoe shook her head, catching her breath. “Wolf – you swore up and down that it was OK with Dawson and his dickhead friends, that I was in good hands and could trust you. How could you? How could you?”
She flew towards him again, pummeling his chest this time, weeping now, crying out her anger and helplessness. And Wolf just let her, just kept his massive arms hung limp at his side, letting her release all her worry and fear on him, because he deserved it. He fucking deserved it.
This was all his fault.
And now, in one fell swoop, he’d maybe lost his sister and his favorite brother.
Oh, and his soul. That too.
Zoe stepped back suddenly, and his heart ached as she stared at him like she hated him.
“Get out,” she spat at him. “Get the hell out, and don’t come back.”
“Zee…”
“Get! Out!” she screamed. “Get away from my baby! From me!”
He backed up now, his hands up in front of him in a placatory gesture. “I’m gettin’ away from you, baby girl. But I can’t leave you alone here –”
“You can, and you will! I’m staying here with Keira, and I’ll be moving between her and Scars for as long as it takes, and when I do, I don’t want to see you. You hear me? Don’t talk to me. Don’t touch me. Don’t have one of your guys check in with me and report back to you. Don’t even look at me. Just – pretend you don’t know me. Pretend we never met.”
“No,” he said, horrified. “No, please –”
“Leave me alone,” she said, her voice so hollow now, so lacking in any emotion at all, it scared him. “Leave us alone. Now.”
“Please…Zee. Let me be here for you.”
“No.”
Her tone was so final, so done-deal, that Wolf knew that he had no choice. He knew that he couldn’t reach her right now, and maybe he wouldn’t be able to again, not ever. Maybe this fuck-up was too awful, too destructive, and maybe there was no way back to a friendship from here. Maybe he’d broken it beyond repair.
She was standing there, in so much goddamn pain, and he knew that he was just causing her more. Wolf had spent the past twenty-two years of his life making sure that no harm befell Zoe, and no matter how much of a prick he was with other women, he’d made it his life’s mission to be good to her, to not harm her.
And here he was – hurting her, just by standing in front of her.
That’s totally fuckin’ unacceptable.
So, he left. It was with a heavy heart, and cement in his boots, and actual damn tears in his eyes. Badass, brutal Wolf Connor, a man who hadn’t cried in over twenty years – and here he was, tearing up today. It had been one hell of a day and he’d seen more than his fair share of hellish days, but still… today was really bad.
Today threatened to finish him, because today, for the first time in more than two decades, he didn’t have Zoe in his corner.
So it killed him to walk away, but he did as she said. It was the least that he could do. It was the only thing that he could do.
**
Wolf was back in the lounge, staring at the TV without seeing it, wondering just how the hell he’d messed everything up quite this badly. How had he gotten Dawson so wrong? When had someone actually plant a bomb at one of his businesses? Why couldn’t they figure out whose finger was in the box? What had they missed?
What have I missed?
“Wolf…”
The voice came from the doorway behind him, and Wolf shot to his feet and spun at the same time, his hackles rising, his heartbeat accelerating.
“Dawson,” he said, in complete disbelief. He was too stunned to be angry right off the bat, because this was like Dawson wandering into a lion’s den, playing a kazoo and carrying fresh, bloody meat. This was literally the stupidest, most dangerous place on earth for the man to be, and just by showing up and breathing, he was being full-on provocative. “What the fuck are you doin’ here?’
Dawson entered slowly, his hands up like someone surrendering in a Western. “I came to talk. I’m alone. Nobody at the hospital but me.”
“Oh, yeah?” Anger was coming now and Wolf advanced, shifting seamlessly into predator mode. Without a word or even a glance, his brothers flanked him. “What do we have to talk about, do you figure?”
“I didn’t do it, Wolf,” Dawson said in a rush. “It wasn’t me or my crew. I swear it.”
“What didn’t you do, Kinley?” Wolf asked, the menace heavy in his tone.
“I didn’t blow up Blue Dragon, OK? I didn’t… I didn’t hurt Scars, or any of you. I didn’t, and I wouldn’t.”
“Is that right?” Wolf stopped a few feet away from him, watching him closely. “Wasn’t you, huh?”
“Lookit.” Dawson glanced behind him, saw that his ex-brothers had him surrounded, and he was in a slowly-closing circle of muscle and blame. He spoke more quickly, realizing that time was running out on him. “It makes no sense for me to do this. Right? If I did this, or any of my boys did, the blow-back would be huge. Wouldn’t it? Every single MC Prez who already disliked me or who saw me as competition, or who still hoped to work with you again someday, would be out for my fucking blood. I’d be a dead man walking, I’d have a target on my back.”
“And maybe you didn’t care,” Wolf said. “Maybe you thought you’d be able to bluff your way out of it and get away with it, act all honest and up-front… like you’re tryin’ to do right now.”
“No,” Dawson said desperately. “I’m not acting anything, Wolf. I’m not – not throwing up a smoke screen here, OK? I’m not here proclaiming my innocence to make you look elsewhere for who did this to you all. I’m here because you do need to look elsewhere, man. It wasn’t me. It just wasn’t.”
Wolf shot out his large hand now, wrapped it around Dawson’s throat. The other man gagged, tried to back up, but came up against Cowboy, Saint, and Kansas.
“Watch the door,” Wolf growled, and Rebel moved quickly, stepped outside and shut the lounge door behind him.
“Wolf…” Dawson choked out his name. “I didn’t…”
“Shut up,” Wolf hissed the words right into the other man’s reddening face. “You said your piece, now it’s my turn. Clear?”
Dawson grasped Wolf’s hand in both of his, desperate to get air, nodded.
“Now. You think for one second that I’m gonna believe a lyin’ piece of shit like you?” Wolf asked, giving Dawson a shake. “You started a whole club behind my back. You showed up at Satan’s every single goddamn day and smiled in my face and called me ‘Prez’, and the whole time, you were settin’ up your own crew. You were negotiatin’ and takin’ up my dropped contracts with Jensen’s people. You were the perfect fuckin’ snake in the grass, so I know good and well that you can lie to my face, no problem. I also know that you’re all about lookin’ out for number one, boy, and hurtin’ us like this helps you. A lot. Especially if you show up and offer help and support. Makes you look good to anyone who might get suspicious, right? Well, I ain’t buyin’ it.”
“I promise you,” Dawson said, in a strangled tone. “I didn’t do this.”
Wolf stared down at the man who he’d once loved and trusted like a brother, and felt nothing but disgust. To think that he and this man used to shoot pool and drink beer and talk about everything – women, bikes, Dawson’s kid, vacation plans, the secretest of secret club business. God, Wolf had never seen any of this coming. But he was seeing clearly now, man. Crystal clear.
“Bullshit you didn’t.” Wolf nodded at Kansas. “Find me a wheelchair and a blanket. We’re takin’ out the trash in a few minutes. Makin’ it look like a sleeping patient…but he won’t be sleepin’.”
“No,” Dawson gasped as he understood that he was going to die right there in that room, in a circle of men who he’d once have died for, who’d have died for him in return. “Wolf… no. I didn’t –”
“You did!” Wolf thundered. “If not you, then fuckin’ who?”
“Gil Purdie.”
Wolf’s head snapped to the lounge door. Sam was standing there, Rebel behind him.
“Sorry, Prez,” Rebel said apologetically. “But he says that he knows who did this. Says it’s not Dawson.”
“Gil who?” Wolf spat out, not loosening his grip on Dawson one iota, not at all interested that Sam was seeing him strangle a man where he stood. Some things were worth jail time. “I don’t know a Gil.”
“Gil Purdie is Keira’s Dad,” Sam said. “He’s been on the run ever since he killed Zoe’s sister Hailey… but he’s here now. He did this, Wolf. He did this to get Keira back.”
“How do you know?” Wolf snarled.
“Because a woman down in the E.R. just told me all about it.” Sam approached slowly, like he would a wild animal. “Gil has been holding her for weeks, using her for information about Zoe and Keira, about Blue Dragon, and about all of you. He – he hurt her, Wolf. He tortured and mutilated her to get what he wanted to know. I guess he was done with her and decided that today was the day to make his move, because he beat her up this morning and dumped her up in the mountains. Left for to starve out there. But she managed to crawl to an empty weekend cottage and break in. She called the cops for help, and they brought her here. I just finished talking to her, and she’s hysterical, saying that Gil was going to hurt Zoe, you, Scars, anyone that he had to to get his daughter back.”
“The fuck you say,” Wolf rasped. “For real?”
“Yes. She didn’t know about the actual plan, about the bomb, but she knew that he was watching all of you, and he was ready to kill. Maximum damage, Wolf… payback for Zoe taking his daughter from him, and you for helping Zoe get back here, and Scars for being with Zoe as a Dad for Keira, and the parlor for helping her earn a living… he was out to wreck Zoe’s whole life, at any cost. And if Zoe died, then Scars would have to live with the fact that he hadn’t protected her – you all would.”
“This woman, who is she?” Wolf demanded. “Who exactly was Gil usin’ for all this info?”
“Her name is Willa Moore,” Sam said. “She says she’s Zoe’s best friend from back in Fargo.”
“Willa,” Wolf said, stunned. He let Dawson go now, didn’t even notice when the other man fell to his knees, gasping and gagging. “She went back to Fargo weeks and weeks ago, man. She’s been sendin’ Zee texts from a vacation with her boyfriend, and from their new place back in North Dakota. They just moved in together.”
“Gil was using her phone,” Sam said quietly. “Because it definitely wasn’t her sending Zoe those messages. I promise you that. Willa told the cops that Gil grabbed her at the airport, and then used her phone to send Zoe messages about a trip with her boyfriend Jimmy, other texts to Jimmy who thought his girlfriend had broken up with him and decided to stay in Denver permanently, and to Willa’s mother, telling her the same thing. Gil was telling stories to keep everyone from noticing that Willa was missing.”
“Holy fuck,” Wolf said, staring at Sam. “He… Gil? Keira’s Dad? For real?”
“That’s what Willa told me.”
“Wait,” Kansas said suddenly. “Sam, you said that he tortured and mutilated Willa. What do you mean?”
Sam sighed. “She’s missing a finger. She says that Gil cut it off after a couple of weeks when she refused to talk.”
There was a long, long silence. Then Wolf said:
“Her middle finger?”
“Yes.” Sam looked startled. “How did you –”
“Goddammit.” Wolf suddenly understood everything, saw everything, but he did so way too late. “Just… goddammit.”
“Wolf?”
For the third time in less than thirty minutes, Wolf heard a voice and turned to look at the lounge door, but this time, it wasn’t with dread, shock, or anger. No, this time it was with hope, joy, happiness. Maybe a bit of surprise after all, considering how things had ended between the two of them just two hours ago. It then occurred to him that maybe she wasn’t there with good news.
“Zoe,” he said, already moving towards her. “Baby girl… is Keira OK?”
“What? Oh. Oh, yes. I mean… you know. Still intubated and sedated, but she’s breathing better. Clearer.”
Every man in the room sighed in relief.
“But I – I heard about Willa. From Doctor Innis.” Zoe looked over at Sam, who gave her a warm smile. “And I just talked to Willa, down in the E.R. And the thing is, I…I just… I have to…”
“What, baby girl? You what?”
Suddenly, Zoe was sobbing, and every one of Wolf’s protective instincts savagely surged forward. He grabbed her into a bear hug, and held her close, not caring at all that they had an audience, just wanting to make it better, whatever it was.
“Zee? What’s upsettin’ you?” Wolf stroked her tumbled hair. “Talk to me.”
She gave a tiny, watery giggle that ended in a squeak. “Well, between Keira, Scars, not having a place of employment anymore, and now Willa, what’s not upsetting me, is probably the better question.”
“Yeah, I’ll give you that one.” Wolf held her away from him, examined her beautiful face. “This is a lot, huh?”
“You know it.” She paused. “Could we – could we talk alone for a minute?”
“Yeah. Course.” The words weren’t even out of his mouth before at the guys headed for the door as one. “Hey, Kansas?”
The bald man turned to his President, already knowing what he was going to say. “I’ll call ‘em off, Wolf. All of ‘em. Ice, Cain, Silver… everyone. Don’t worry. Consider it done.”
Wolf nodded, glad yet again that Kansas was a smart-as-a-whip guy, one who could fill in the blanks just fine on his own. Saved Wolf time and energy, and that was good, because right now, this woman got all of both of those things.
“Ummm,” Zoe said, watching the men file out, and deciding to just not ask what the guys were being called off from. “I kinda thought that we’d leave the room, go talk in the hallway. I mean – it’s way easier to move two people than thirty.”
“Nah. That ain’t how this works, Zee, and you know it. Whatever you need or want, we give it to you, and none of us finds it a problem, not ever. Don’t give it a second thought.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I know.” Tears were in her eyes again. “And that’s why I’m so sorry, Wolf.”
“Ohhh-kaaaay.” He scratched the stubble on his chin, wondering what the hell he was missing here. “Sorry for what?”
“For what I said to you, in Keira’s room. The way that I shouted and shoved you.” Zoe shook her blonde head. “I – I was such a bitch, and I said some incredibly awful things. I had zero right, and I’m so, so sorry.”
“Hey, you were under the worst kind of stress. You’re a mom, Zee, and your kid was in a goddamn fire. She was rescued by your man, who damn near died gettin’ her out. If you think I hold you bein’ upset against you, you’re way wrong.”
“But I blamed you for what happened to Keira and Scars.” Zoe spoke quietly. “I said that you’d lied to me, and broken your promise about me and Keira being safe here. But you hadn’t.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t know that. It was the logical thing to think, though, that it was one of my old grudges that caused this whole damn mess. I mean… until ten minutes ago, I thought that Dawson did this. I was sure of it. We all thought it, Zee. Don’t beat yourself up about thinkin’ the most obvious thing.”
“That’s not the point, Wolf.”
“Then you better tell me what the point is, baby girl, ‘cause I ain’t followin’.”
“The point is that it’s one of my old grudges that caused this whole damn mess.”
Wolf stared at her, horrified, as understanding at last began to dawn. “Oh, hey… hold up, Zee…just wait a sec…”
“It’s all my fault,” she said quickly, cutting him off. “I said that you brought all this pain and trouble into my life, and Keira’s life… but I was wrong. I had it backwards. I brought it into your life and world. I brought it with me, and now, Scars is hurt badly, Willa was taken and lost her finger, a key club business has burned to the ground, some of the guys are hurt, and my daughter…” She stopped and collected herself. “My daughter can’t breathe on her own. And it was all me.”
“No.”
“Yes. I’m the one who stood next to Keira’s crib and accused you of making my life here unsafe. Well, I made everyone’s life here unsafe. I said that you put me and Keira smack in the line of fire, but I did that. I put every one of you in that sick prick’s sights, and now everyone is paying the price.”
“OK, enough,” Wolf growled. “Enough, Zee. Look, I’ve been around bad people for a long, long time, baby girl. I know how they work and think, and I also know that once a sick asshole has made up his mind to hurt people for whatever reason, he does it. No interest in who’s standin’ in his way, or how many innocents get hurt as he goes after his goal. None. All that a guy like that sees is what he wants – and to hell with the cost to all others. Gil Purdie wanted Keira. Maybe to hurt you, maybe as a final ‘fuck you’ to Hailey. Maybe because he really loved her and wanted to know his own kid. Who knows? And really, who the hell cares? Because the second he decided to burn everyone’s life to the ground, he showed himself to be a murderous prick, and he deserved to die. The end. In my world, justice has been served. I won’t be losin’ sleep over that man chokin’ to death on smoke, I promise you.”
“But –”
“Stop the goddamn ‘buts’, Zee. He was a monster, plain and simple. He wasn’t goin’ to stop, no way and no how. He made his choices, and they were bad choices, and the way things ended were the way they were always goin’ to end. Eventually. He was a violent and angry man, and he saw nothin’ but hurt as an answer. If he hadn’t come after Keira, he’d have been off hurtin’ someone else, baby girl. Don’t forget: he killed your sister. He had zero conscience or problems with killin’. Good riddance.”
Zoe bit her lip, stared up at Wolf. Then she said:
“What’s Kansas calling off?”
“Aw, shit, Zoe.” Wolf looked away. “You don’t need to know.”
She studied him closely. “You guys were going to go after Dawson? His crew?”
“I ain’t sayin’ one word.”
Zoe smiled. “Yeah, OK. I get it.” She shook her head, but it was an affectionate gesture. “Thank you, Wolf.”
“For what?” He looked back at her. “I didn’t do much.”
“You had my back, even when I didn’t have yours.”
“Bullshit, Zee. You always have my back. Just sometimes you kinda forget.”
“But promise me, Wolf… don’t undo all the good work you and the guys have been doing. Not over me, not ever.”
“But –”
“Nuh-uh. My turn to talk, and no ‘buts’.”
They exchanged grins, then Zoe turned serious again.
“I get that you guys did things a certain way for a long time, that you were well-paid to do things that way, and that it’s easy for you to slip back into the old ways when things are really – fraught.” She sighed. “I understand the temptation to revert to violence as an answer is huge. I’m guessing your Enforcers have retired mostly in name only, because let’s face it, they’re a certain breed of animal. They’re born, not made, and the fact that Ice and Cain and the twins have stayed peaceful and law-abiding for a year is amazing.”
“I had my doubts,” Wolf admitted. “I thought they’d join Dawson, you know. Just for the thrill and the cash. I figured they’d give it a shot with me out of loyalty, and then cave in time, go back to the way it was, because they’d find it too hard to turn their backs on their old lives. Too extreme of a change for them, in a way that it it wasn’t for the rest of us. Enforcers are different, like you said.”
“Most men would have gone back to what they knew best,” Zoe agreed. “It’s easy and quick – but under your leadership, they’ve really, really tried. They’re still trying. So, I get why you guys wanted to go on a mad spree today and take down The Blood Crew. I do. I even thank you for it, in a messed-up way. But I’m hoping that you can regroup after this, and decide on a plan for when things get really out of control with Jensen’s people, or an ex-MC ally, or even Dawson.”
“You think I need to?”
“I do. I think that even if you and the guys do everything right, there will always be things that come up, people that try to drag you back, old scores that maybe aren’t totally settled. You’re President of The Road Devils, Wolf, so you need to be the one to keep your damn head and keep your boys under control and in line. Personal feelings aside.”
Wolf was silent for a minute, and Zoe watched him think. She knew what he was going to say before he said it, and though it wasn’t what she’d hoped, it was 100%, pure Wolf. It was the only thing that he’d say, and she loved him for it, even as she worried.
“I can’t promise you that, baby girl.” He looked regretful, but he never lied to her. “I’m sorry. I am. I won’t let loose on the fly, I swear, but I can’t promise calm when people are dyin’ or hurt or dead. I won’t. If a one-percenter group or former rivals or ex-partners or whoever are pissy about somethin’ from years ago and plottin’ shit, I’ll talk them down as best I can. I promise, I will. But if people decide they’re my club’s enemies and they attack us, if they draw our blood… no mercy, no negotiatin’, no time-wastin’. We hit ‘em back. Harder. I know that the boys are the same as they always were, under all the rule-followin’, and I’ll call those dark sides out, and I won’t feel bad about that. But I swear – I’ll only do it when there is no other choice. That’s the best I can do, Zee.”
“I have a daughter, Wolf. I can’t have her in a war zone.”
“Listen, Zee… listen and think. I took the club out of all that shady shit a year ago, right? In that time, we’ve had zero problems. Not one. A bit of b.s. from Dawson recently, tryin’ to pressure us about somethin’, but me and Scars said no. He was a bit pissed at us, but he dropped it, and the last I heard, he’s found another way to get what he wanted. See, baby girl? We’ve been left alone. I’d even say that we’ve been shunned. The other MC’s have either accepted the change, or think that we’re pussies and they don’t want to bother with us pack of losers. Jensen’s people have already forgotten us, and are workin’ with others. If you think about it, the only bad thing that’s happened has been fuckin’ Gil Purdie, and he had nothin’ to do with the club’s past.”
“Ummmm.” Zoe blinked. “Well… that’s true.”
“Damn right it is, Zee. We’re doin’ good. Gil Purdie hurt us, hurt us bad, but not because of anythin’ from our past activities. And before you start feelin’ guilty again, let me make this clear to you: if it was a choice between you bein’ here and havin’ to rebuild a new tattoo parlor from scratch, or havin’ my parlor intact and you back in Fargo strugglin’ day-to-day, it’s no contest, baby girl. I choose you and Keira here with me, every single damn time. No regrets.”
“None?” she asked, her eyes tearing up again at his gruff gentleness. “Not even when you think about all the time and money lost in building a new Blue Dragon?”
“You kiddin’ me?” Wolf scoffed. “I see this as the perfect chance to expand that place. Add another few hundred feet to the outfit. Two offices. More work stations. Bigger storage space.” He paused, risked a tiny joke. “With no goddamn back door leadin’ outside.”
Zoe giggled, then shook her head. “But – Scars. He’s… he’s not good. They don’t know when he’ll wake up…”
“Hell, Zee, I know. Scars.” Wolf struggled to stay calm and positive for her. “The man is strong, and he has lots to come back for. He’s got you and Keira, he’s got Sam and his niece, he’s got us guys. The man is loved, and he knows that. No matter where he’s floatin’ around right now, he still knows that. I’m totally sure that he does. A man doesn’t forget bein’ loved like that, not ever, no matter where or how far he goes.”
“The burns, though.” Zoe’s throat tightened as she remembered what she’d seen when the nurse had cleaned Scars’ head and back and legs an hour before. “They’re so bad…”
“I know that when he comes back to us, he won’t be the same, OK?” Wolf said. “He’s gonna need a whole bunch of skin grafts and physical therapy and counseling. I get it. I do. And he won’t have to ask for anythin’, not even once. He’s a hero, and he’s family. He gets whatever he needs, even before he knows he needs it.”
“You promise?”
“I swear it on my life,” Wolf said. “When Scars wakes up, he’s my priority. He’s everyone’s priority.”