CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Tank
Getting shot was not fun. Like at all. But recovery was sweet because Dya hadn’t left my side, literally. Granted it hadn’t even been a day, but she stayed tucked under my arm, her soft body pressed against mine, the whole time.
We talked. We shared stories. She listened as I went on about growing up in the club, about my dad, and how much my mom and sisters meant to me. She asked me to tell her about Logan, and as hard as it was to talk about him, I knew I needed to.
So I did. I shared some of my favorite memories with her and the hardship of what it was like being a single dad. I won’t say that it felt great to talk about him because honestly, it hurt like hell, but if I wanted to keep the memories of him alive in my mind then I figured it was best if I shared them.
An array of emotions ran through me as I relived them. Dya sat there calmly, listening to them all, taking in each one with an intense look in her eyes like she was hanging on to every word.
“Your phone keeps going off,” Axe said as he stepped into the room, he tossed a burner onto the bed next to Dya as she sat up. “Whoever keeps calling you don’t want to talk to me, but since they keep calling, I’m guessing they are worried about you. Figured you could take a few, you know, call them back.” He jerked his head to the door in a non-subtle way of telling her to get out for a bit.
“You answered my phone?” Her words came out sharp and angry.
“Don’t worry, killer, they hung up as soon as I answered, so I didn’t get into your shit,” Axe said raising a brow in challenge.
I knew what was coming next. The talk. Obviously, not the one about the birds and the bees. I was sure the brothers wanted an explanation and along with that, they wanted answers to what it all meant. I was sure they had shit to fill me in on with the club, too. It didn’t matter that I may not have wanted to hear it. Yeah, I was still on the fence about things. I was still angry about what had happened but I could feel that anger slowly slipping away. There was really only one person to blame for my son’s death, and as much as I wanted to put it on my shoulders and at times, my brothers’, I knew who had been behind it. Savage was the reason my son was gone and I wanted more than anything to be the one to end him.
Dya gave a short nod, understanding Axe’s meaning well. Her long legs untangled from mine as she slid off the bed and instantly I felt the loss of her warmth. Standing tall, she walked with unhurried steps out the door, looking back at me one last time before she rounded the corner.
Loch, Bocca, and Diesel walked into the room followed by Brass, the Gray Fort chapter’s president. Axe took a seat in the corner, arms crossed over his chest, eyes on me. I could tell he was a bit pissed and maybe not happy with whatever was about to be said. I steeled myself, waiting for words I had a feeling I might not like.
“She can’t stay here,” Loch said, cutting his eyes over to Brass. My body went rigid and it was all I could do to keep myself in that fucking bed. “Brass talked to his people, and they don't feel comfortable with her here. I get that you trust her, brother, but this is his place and his rules go on this one.”
“I’m sorry, Tank. I brought it to the table and put it to a vote,” Brass said and I could tell he didn’t wholeheartedly agree with the outcome. He may have been a hard looking man from the outside, but he had a big heart. “They just don’t trust her. The last thing we need is a mole and they don’t want to take the chance.”
“We’re makin’ moves and havin’ a few talks with some other clubs. We need to keep that as quiet as possible if we want to take Savage down,” Loch said and I understood.
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t fucking like it one bit, but I got that the reason was to keep the club safe. That was always the number one priority.
But where did that leave me? And her? I had a feeling I was going to be stuck for a few days at least due to this damn shit on my side.
“She is who she says she is,” Bocca started and I was only half listening, my mind too busy trying to think of what was going to happen now. “She’s good—really fucking good, there isn’t a lot that I could find on her, but she’s a legend from what I gather. Since I was having trouble finding shit, I called a buddy. She’s taken out a lot of bad guys, to be honest, it’s a bit of an impressive list. A few skin traders and a couple of pedophiles. My guy said she was flawless until a few months ago. Had a hit go bad—”
I cut him off with a held up hand.
“I don’t want to hear it. Don’t talk about her like she’s one of your enemies you’re trying to get the jump on,” I said in a surprisingly calm tone. I knew he didn’t mean anything by it, that was just him. That was what he did and I had no doubt he was going crazy not being able to follow her path in life at all. “If she wants me to know, she’ll tell me herself. All you need to know is that she told you the truth. She is who she says she is. What’s next?”
Bocca gave a tight nod and a sympathetic look. I was sure he understood a little of how I felt. The guy knew just about everything about each of our lives and it couldn’t have been easy for him to have to dig all that up and carry it around his head all the time.
“Frannie says you should be up and moving around in a day or so. Might hurt like a bitch, but should be safe to do. You are fuckin’ lucky, it was a deep graze, but a graze none the less, man,” Brass said taking a small step forward as he talked to me. “Cal was thinkin’ it might be a good idea for ya to stay here for a bit, got a meeting in a few days with a club from the next city over. Cal figured you could sit in then head back and report to him, and I agree with that.”
“Yeah, alright,” I said trying to wrap my head around everything.
I was to stay put in a place that the woman I had fucking feelings for wasn’t welcome. And to top it all off, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to dive right back into club shit. I was still pissed. But on the other hand, they were making moves to take down Savage and I wanted his blood on my hands. I was fucking torn.
“I’m gonna step out,” Bocca said breaking the silence. “I’ll check on…Nadya.” The way he said her name was weird, almost like he wasn’t sure what to call her.
Now that I’d learned her whole name, I had no idea what to call her. I’d been calling her Dya all along and it seemed to fit her. I liked it. It was different, just like her.
“Thanks,” I mumbled before he slipped out the door. “So, tell me what I’ve missed,” I said deciding to jump in head first.
I knew in my heart that I could never completely turn away from my club. I figured after I had all the info, I could make my next move and decide what I was going to do about Dya. I wasn’t ready to walk away from her, but it sounded like the club was about to get into deeper shit and that meant things would be even more dangerous. Not that I didn’t think she could handle it. She was strong and apparently a damn killer. I just worried about putting her in the middle of all the club shit and I didn’t want anything to ever happen to her.
While I was gone, Cal had a meeting with the Russians from down on the coast where Savage had taken up residence and another MC from South Carolina. He’d been stocking up on guns and was formulating a plan to take Savage down. The big problem was, we still knew nothing about where his compound was located or what it was like on the inside. We didn’t even have a head count of all the members. Word was, he’d been upping his men, taking in anyone who even seemed interested. That was good and bad. It showed he was desperate but also it meant more bodies to stand in the way of the bigger target.
Either way, the situation seriously sucked. This was one of the hardest things I’d seen the club go up against my entire life. I wondered how many of us would make it out alive and the shame set in that I wouldn’t be there alongside my brothers when the time came. Was I a coward because I was half ready to turn my back on the club? Was I an asshole for not being there for them when so many times they had proved that they’d be there for me for anything?
“You good?” Loch asked shaking me out of my thoughts and it was then that I realized they were all waiting for me to say something.
“Yeah,” I grunted. “Tell me what you need and I’ll be there. But let me make one thing clear, Dya stays. I get that I have no right to demand things in your chapter,” I said turning my attention to Brass and attempting to speak my peace as calmly and respectfully as possible. “She saved my damn life more than once and I can’t just fuckin’ send her on her way with nothing. She left everything back there to bring my ass here and I wouldn’t feel right to toss her out on hers. And let’s all fucking face it, I like the woman, and I don’t like many women.”
Diesel let out a low chuckle and Axe huffed out what could be considered a laugh from him.
“If she’s gotta go then I go too. I’ll come back when it’s time, but I won’t stay here without her.” I pressed my lips together having said all that I needed to say.
“Brother, you can barely get out of bed. Where the hell do you think you’re gonna go?” While Loch had a point, I didn’t care one bit at that moment. I’d make it work, one step at a time and probably cursing and hating it the whole time.
There was a knock on the door right before it swung open. There she stood with Bocca close behind. The fucker actually grinned at me when I threw him a hard look. Then my eyes shifted to Dya, and when her expression turned soft as I met her eyes, I knew I’d made the right decision. There was no way I could give her up. Not for anything.
Behind the softness in her eyes, I could sense a deep worry. I wanted to talk to her about things but I wanted to do it when we were alone. Not that I was trying to keep things hidden from my brothers, I just knew she would open up more if we didn’t have an audience.
Not to mention that I loved our private moments together, the minutes that were just ours. I would take as many of those as life would allow. Because it was those moments where we let go of our hard exteriors and let our souls shine for one another. Cheesy as fuck it sounds, I know, but that was the truth.