Chapter Twelve
Xander
After Letty left the bathroom, I exited the restaurant without glancing back. I couldn’t look at her with that asshole and not want to burn down the whole world. I went straight back to the clubhouse and sat at the bar to drown in self-pity for a while.
Tomorrow I’ll go back to being a badass.
But the sun was shining through the windows and I wasn’t ready to leave my stool just yet.
I heard footsteps and then Ajax was sitting next to me.
“Hey,” Ajax said.
“Sorry about the punch,” I said without looking at him.
“It’s okay. I know you’ve lost your mind over that girl,” he said, rubbing his jaw.
I could hardly deny it so I just keep looking down at the bar.
“So, where is she?”
“Back in Grady.”
“If you want her so much, why aren’t you claiming her?”
“If she leaves Grady, she will never see her family again. And I can’t take her to California with us. It’s too dangerous,” I told him.
“So, you’re scared.”
I finally turned to him. “I ain’t scared of shit,” I yelled at him.
Ajax gave me a wry smile. “Then go get her, ya pussy,” he said as he stood up and walked away.
I shook my head. Ajax didn’t understand anything. California was my future. It was my chance to be more than a slut’s son. And yet, the idea of California didn’t seem exciting any more. Now that I’d found someone like Letty, someone who wanted me as I was now, made me wonder if I really needed California. I knew the Wraiths would need me in the fight to come.
But what if I’m leaving behind my only chance for something real.
California seemed like a barren wasteland without Letty.
Ajax was right, I was being a pussy. I wanted Letty and nothing was going to stand in my way. If having Letty meant not going to California, then so be it.
I got off my chair to find Bethany.
Twenty minutes later I rolled into Grady on my loud Harley, causing everyone to stop and stare. The men openly glared while the women just gawked. I pulled up to the address Bethany gave me and parked right in the driveway. It was a small but nice house in a clean neighborhood. I went up to the door and knocked hard, not bothering with the doorbell.
A man with Letty’s eyes opened the door. It was on the tip of my tongue to demand to see her, but I thought the man deserved a little respect as my old lady’s father. “Morning, sir. Is Colette here?” I asked, trying to keep my normal gruffness out of my voice.
“Xander,” I heard from inside the house. I leaned in to see Letty sitting on a couch next to that douche of a fiancé. Another woman sat to her right, who I assumed was her mother, and another man with glasses and a cold stare sat nearby.
“Let’s go,” I said simply. Her look of shock quickly gave way to a smile and I saw tears appear in her eyes.
She stood up, but was pulled back down by Sebastian. “Colette, don’t you move,” he muttered.
I took a step into the house, but her old man pushed me back. I didn’t want to raise a hand to him so I let him push me again until I was in the yard.
“You will leave now,” he said firmly.
The fiancé came out behind him along with glasses guy. I saw Letty move to the doorway, but her mother held her shoulders.
I was quickly losing hope that this would end without bloodshed. “I’m not leaving without my woman,” I told them.
“She is not your woman. You shared one kiss. I am to be her husband,” the douche said.
I smirked at the boy. “I’ve done a lot more than kiss her.”
“Xander, don’t,” I heard Letty say as she came out on to the porch.
But Sebastian was asking for it and I couldn’t let him down. “I’ve had her in the biblical sense.”
They all whipped their heads back to look at Letty.
“Is this true?” her father asked.
I expected her to bow her head in shame, but instead she lifted her chin. “It’s true,” she said.
She started toward my bike, but the boy ran over and grabbed her, pulling her to him. I saw a gleam of metal and then he had a knife to her neck. It was small, probably a Swiss Army Knife. I instantly reached for my gun in my hidden holster and aimed it right at him.
“What are you doing?” her father exclaimed.
“Colette is mine,” Sebastian yelled. Letty gripped his arm, but he shoved the point into her skin and her eyes went wide.
Son of a bitch. Motherfucker was dead. The minute I got Letty away from him he was getting a bullet in the brain.
Just then I heard the rumble of two motorcycles coming down the road. Jackson and Mac pulled up behind me and jumped off their bikes.
“What’s up, Prez?” I asked as Jackson approached my side while Mac lingered behind me.
“Bethany told us what you had planned and we figured you could use some backup.” His voice was light, as if they had come for fun.
I shrugged, but didn’t take my eyes of Sebastian. “I got it handled.”
“I’d rather see her dead than with a Wraith,” the boy snarled.
“Pastor Dean, it’s been awhile,” Jackson said congenially to the man with glasses.
I glanced his way and the pastor seemed a little pale. Jackson gestured to Letty. “What do you say, Dean? Let’s make this easy and give my boy what he is asking for.”
“No,” Sebastian shouted.
The pastor looked hesitant. Jackson walked forward a few feet so that he stood in front of the pastor. Dean had enough sense to take a step back. Jackson was a dangerous man and it was obvious that they had met before.
“Do you really want to deny Xander what he wants?” Jackson asked again. When the pastor didn’t respond, Jackson glanced back at me. “Hey, Xander. Do you remember that scene we cleaned up last year in Grady? The basement.”
Suddenly, images of the most gruesome murder I’d ever scene flashed through my head. There had been so much blood and the body had been completely mutilated, like whoever had done it had enjoyed himself.
“Oh, yeah,” I said, glancing toward the pastor. So, this was the monster that tore a young man apart, one of his punishments gone too far. I was glad to get Letty away from him.
“I think you are going to let Xander have what he wants,” Jackson said as he turned back to Dean.
The pastor scowled back at Jackson, but said, “Let her go, Sebastian.”
“What?” the kid said.
Dean turned to glare at Sebastian. “You heard me,” he barked.
But Sebastian only held her tighter. “No, I’m not settling for any other.”
Suddenly, there was a gunshot and Sebastian cried out, gripping his shoulder as he fell backward. I looked behind me to find Mac holding the gun. He gave me a big, cheeky smile before he put his weapon away.
I quickly walked over and kicked Sebastian in the face. I pulled Letty behind me, but kept my gun trained on his forehead, ready to pull the trigger.
“No, Xander, please,” Letty said, squeezing my arm. Her soft voice made my anger drop a few levels. “He’s not worth it.”
I glared down at Sebastian with my gun still pointed at his head. “You need to know that you are being spared because of her mercy, not mine. But understand, if you give me the smallest excuse in the coming years, you will be staring down the barrel of this gun again.” I finally lowered the weapon and walked over to my bike with Letty in tow.
“Hop on, babe.”
Before she could get on, her mother came running over.
The woman looked between us as if she didn’t know what to say. Finally, she looked at Letty. “I’m going to miss you.” She hugged Letty. “I love you so much. Please call.”
“I love you, too.” Letty said. “Tell Dad I love him.”
I glanced at her father who was still standing by the pastor. He was angry, but I could see the confusion and sadness in his gaze. I hoped he would take what he learned about the pastor and do some good with it.
I started my bike when I felt Letty climb on and wrap her arms around me.
“I’m ready,” she said, looking nervous but happy.
So am I, I thought and smiled back. We had some shit to talk about, but no matter what, she was mine now.
The End