Warrant (Righteous Outlaws #1)

by Savannah Rylan

  “It’s good to see you too, William,” I said as he came inside, and I eased the door shut behind him. “My parents are having cocktails if you’d like to join them.” I turned on my heel and went to go back to my gin and tonic when William’s hand wrapped around my wrist, halting me.

  I spun toward him, and looked into his familiar brown eyes. “I want you to know this was your father’s idea. I didn’t want to come. I want to give you the space you asked for, but he is a very persuasive man.”

  “I appreciate that,” I said. “And I understand. It’s okay. Really, it is. Come on. Let’s go have a drink.”

  His hand slid down my wrist, and he laced his fingers with mine, staring down at our hands together before looking back up at me. “I miss you,” he said, and I could hear the raw emotions in his tone. See the longing in his eyes.

  He would always be my first everything: kiss, love, sexual partner. I was in love with him once, and I wondered if it was possible to be able to fall back in love.

  Maybe Dad was right. Maybe you could learn to be in love with the person you were with.

  William and I had grown up together, and had been there for each other through it all. I may not have been in love with him anymore, but that didn’t mean I didn’t love him because I did. He was my past and, because of that, he was a part of me and always would be. There was nothing I could do that would change that. And, before we were lovers, we were friends. I cherished that friendship and the fun we used to have.

  I squeezed his hand and smiled. “I miss you, too.”

  We walked into the family room, and Dad had a glass of scotch waiting for William. They greeted each other as if they hadn’t just seen each other this morning at the club. Then, Mom attacked with her two-cheek kiss nonsense.

  Dad and William discussed their round of golf, complimenting each other’s swings. The conversation eventually shifted to something Mom and I could contribute to.

  “It should be a beautiful weekend,” William said. “The past nine months seemed to have dragged. I’m looking forward to two consecutive days of sun.”

  Mom took a sip of her martini. “We’ll be attending the Hill Foundation’s Paws for a Cause in Black Hills. You should come,” Mom said, and I fixed my eyes on her. “Aubree will be there, and I doubt she wants to be hanging out with her parents the whole time. We’ll make a day of it, and have dinner at the club afterwards.”

  “That sounds great to me.” William swiveled in his seat and dropped his gaze to mine. “I mean, if that’s alright with you, of course.”

  There was no use fighting the inevitable. The more time passed, the more I realized that William and I were meant to be together. Cash was just an added bonus in between.

  “I’d like that,” I answered.

  “Great!” William exclaimed, just as Dad’s cell phone rang.

  Dad took it out of his pocket, and glanced down at the screen. A touch of annoyance streaked his face as he shoved his phone back into his pocket.

  “Who is that dear?” Mom asked.

  “Not important,” Dad responded. “Who would like another round?”

  Mom held out her martini glass, and Dad quickly carried it over to the drink cart. He mixed her a drink, and his phone rang again.

  “For something not important, they sure are calling a lot,” Mom said as he handed her the glass.

  “I guess I’d better take it. Excuse me.” Dad exited the room, and Mom continued to tell William about the charity event. I couldn’t help but laugh. She acted as if she cared about those dogs when, in reality, she was just doing it to look good to her friends, though it was on a much smaller scale than the events we were used to. Dad suggested it, and Mom jumped on it. In Mom’s eyes, the smaller the event the more it looked like she actually cared.

  Dad came back in the room with a look of disappointment and frustration. “I have to go,” he said.

  Mom halted her next sip. “What do you mean, ‘you have to go’? We’re about to have dinner.”

  “It was the hospital. Dr. Crayton is in surgery and the surgery is more invasive than he expected. He would like another neurosurgeon on hand.”

  Dad was the best neurosurgeon in the country, so it wasn’t uncommon for him to be called in for second opinions or to help in major surgeries.

  “When work calls,” William said and stood up. He held his hand out to Dad. “Mr. Harrington, I will see you Saturday.” Dad shook William’s hand, then leaned over and kissed Mom on the head.

  “Hopefully, I won’t be too late,” he said, before giving me a kiss on the cheek.

  “Take your time,” I said. “Somebody’s life is depending on you.

  Dad hurried out the door and Mom, William and I sat down to a very uncomfortable dinner.

  Cash

  “Where the fuck is the doctor?” Miles growled as I poured more Jack down his throat.

  “He’s on his way,” I assured him. I just hoped the doc took my threat seriously, and would get here sooner rather than later. Though, the minute I brought up filling his family in on our little secret, he jumped on it. He might have thought our deal was a one-time thing, but he couldn’t be more wrong. We would hold that shit over his head for the rest of his fucking life.

  Besides, it was good to have a surgeon on call, especially when our members had a bad habit of getting shot.

  “I wish he’d hurry the fuck up,” Miles spat, ripping the bottle out of my hand and downing it.

  “No one told your dumb ass to get shot,” I said.

  “Tell that to the fucking cops who shot me.”

  Hudson plopped down on a barstool, while Kade and I stayed by the couch with Miles. We were in the fucking clear; the explosion I created did exactly as we hoped. All the cops ran out, leaving behind a rookie to watch over things.

  It was easy for Kade to lure him out, but who knew that, when we bolted for it, the bastard would be gun happy? He got Miles right in the shoulder. From the look of it, it was clean, and went straight through, missing any arteries. Still, Miles had a fucking bullet hole in his shoulder and needed to be tended to.

  The excitement helped clear my mind of fucking Sunshine. Now that we had nothing to do but wait, she was back in my head. I worried about her, and how she was dealing with the fact she shot that motherfucker. She was an innocent, and shouldn’t have that shit in her head. The thing that screwed with my skull most was that I fucking couldn’t keep her safe. I sure as hell tried, but if she hadn’t shot that bastard, I don’t know what would have happened. We could have both been taken out. Thinking about that shit kept me up most nights and made me anxious as hell.

  I swore I’d stay away from her, but I wanted to see her just once. Sienna said she was doing well, but I wanted to see it with my own fucking eyes.

  The door pushed open and the doc walked in, carrying a black bag.

  “Over here, Doc,” Kade said, waving him over.

  He stormed over, rage in his eyes, and stopped right in front of me. “I told you the last time I saw you that we were through.”

  “If that was the case, then why the fuck are you here?” I asked, kicking my feet off the table. I stood up and walked toward him. I was a good four inches taller than him, and I could see he was intimidated by me in the way he rocked back on his heels as I approached him.

  “You threatened me. What else was I supposed to do?” he questioned as beads of sweat dripped down his face.

  “I guess we’re not through then until you don’t feel threatened anymore. But, since that will only happen if you come clean with your family, your colleagues, and the federal government, it looks like we’ll never be through. Might as well face it, Doc. You are a part of us, and that is not going to change any time soon.”

  “I never should have trusted you thugs. I should have known better.”

  “We prefer outlaws,” Kade interrupted.

  “You can call me whatever the fuck you want. Just get this fucking thing out of me,” Miles spat, the half a bo
ttle of Jack not even slurring his speech.

  “Please,” I said with a smile. The Doc gave me a dirty look, and, after a moment, went over to Miles. It was a doctor thing. He couldn’t ignore a person in need. The need to help was ingrained into his very being. Even if we didn’t have anything over him, I don’t think he’d be able to say no.

  “It looks like a clean shot,” he announced.

  “That’s what I said,” I mumbled, and the doctor shifted his attention to me. “Probably can just pull that sucker right out. Give it a good cleaning, and pump him up with antibiotics.”

  “Since when did you become a doctor?” he asked.

  “I’ve taken a bullet a few times myself. Didn’t always have a doc around to fix us up. I performed surgery on myself, my thigh, after doing research on the Internet.”

  Shock plastered across the doc’s face. “And you healed alright?” he questioned.

  “Not even any nerve damage. Just a scar, but the chicks dig that shit, so I’m okay with it.”

  He looked at me with either disgust or admiration, I couldn’t quite tell, but he quickly turned back to Miles. While the doc worked, Kade and I took our asses to the bar and had a beer. “I never thanked you for taking care of that situation at my house,” I said, tipping the bottle to my lips and taking a long sip. I smacked my pack of cigarettes on the bar and then slipped one out, before offering it to Kade.

  Kade took a stog, and lit it then passed me his lighter. “Don’t worry about it. Kind of worked out perfectly, you know? According to Nick, that Argentinian bitch thinks it was the Montamos and, because they have no proof to prove otherwise, the war is between them. Let those fucks kill each other.”

  I took a pull off my cigarette and leaned back in my chair. “I didn’t kill that guy,” I said. I thought about it the entire thirteen hour drive to and from fucking Montana. Kade and me didn’t do secrets. I could trust my life to him. The minute we stopped telling each other everything was the beginning of a slippery path that neither of us fucking needed.

  “What the fuck are you talking about? I cleaned up the body. He was fucking dead.”

  “I’m not saying he wasn’t. I’m saying I wasn’t the one who killed him.”

  The beer bottle in Kade’s hand stopped just shy of his lips. He stayed like that for a moment before leaning up and putting the bottle back on the bar. “If you didn’t kill him then…” Kade sat straight up on the stool his mouth parting in surprised amusement. “Oh fuck, dude. That prissy bitch killed him?”

  “Don’t call her that,” I spat. The words were out before I could even stop them.

  Kade held his hands up. “Sorry, thought she was just a fuck toy.”

  The words grated on me like fucking road burn. “It doesn’t matter what she was. It’s over anyway.”

  “She killed a guy for you, and you dumped her ass. That’s classic.” He tipped his beer to me, and I took another drag from my cigarette.

  “I didn’t dump her ass. She just realized that this world wasn’t cushy like the one she was used to.”

  I looked across the bar, remembering her words just before she got in Sienna’s car and disappeared from my life.

  “This life isn’t for the weak.”

  “That’s just it. She wasn’t weak. All the fucking girls that hang around here are. They aren’t strong enough to walk away.”

  “This girl got to your fucking head, didn’t she?” Kade asked.

  In more ways than I would ever admit. I wasn’t some pussy who talked about his feelings, though. I had already said too much. “Doesn’t matter,” I muttered. “It was over before it started.”

  A loud painful sounding scream came from the other side of the clubhouse. Me and Kade jumped to our feet, and headed over to Miles and the doc. Hudson was right behind us. “What’s going on?” I asked.

  The doc pulled out the bullet, or what was left of it, and dropped it into a cup. “Wasn’t as straight as we thought it was. There’s a few fragments, but it’s probably best if I leave them.”

  “Will it do any damage to leave them?” Kade asked.

  The doc shook his head. “I can actually cause more damage if I try to fish them out. It’s possible they can work their way to the surface on their own. Could be weeks, or even years. Once they surface, they can be removed with a local anesthetic, but, considering he just went through this with nothing more than a leather belt to bite down on, I doubt he would need an anesthetic.”

  “Let them fucking stay. Gives me more of an edge,” Miles joked, though I had no idea how he even had that in him. He looked like fucking hell. His eyes were so damn red I was waiting for blood to pour out of them.

  “You’ll need to keep it clean and dry.” The doc handed me a prescription. “He’ll need to take this antibiotic twice a day. Even if he starts feeling better, he needs to finish the damn bottle. Don’t want to risk an infection. It’s best if he doesn’t drink on them.”

  “Fuck that!” Miles called out as he brought the bottle of Jack to his mouth.

  Kade ripped it from his hand. “Too fucking bad. You’re no good to us dead.”

  “If he develops a fever, chills, feels faint, has shortness of breath, or severe chest or abdominal pain, or if the wound gets red and swollen or develops pus, he needs to go to the ER. It means he has an infection and, if not treated properly, it could kill him.”

  “Got it,” I said. I patted the doc on the back. “We appreciate your help tonight.”

  The doc looked at my hand like I was smearing shit all over his nice shirt. “After tonight, I’m done. I did more than my fair share. I’m done with you and this club. I am not risking everything I have built for a bunch of criminals. I have one last obligation to you, and I will fulfill it, but then I’m done.” He had determination in his stance and fire in his eyes. Too bad it didn’t mean shit.

  “I already told you, doc. As long as you want us to keep your secret, you’re shit out of luck. So, you better get real fucking comfortable with us criminals because we’re about to be lifelong friends.”

  “Friends?” he scoffed as he packed up his shit. He grabbed his bag, and looked me square in the eye. “Over my dead body.”

  I pulled out my Glock, and held it to his head. His body froze in fear, and I let him shake in his expensive shoes for a moment. Slowly, I lowered the gun. “Watch what you wish for, Doc, because I’ve been known to make dreams come true.”

  “You’re out of your goddamned mind,” he growled.

  “I’m just doing what I have to do… just like you.” I stepped toward him until we were eye to eye. “See, doc, me and you aren’t much different.”

  “I’m nothing like you,” he seethed.

  “You can think you’re better than me, but we both know that’s far from the truth. You might not be a criminal in the same sense as me, but that doesn’t change the fact that you have broken the law. And not just once. On numerous occasions. Either one of us gets caught for the crimes we’ve committed, we’d both be facing life behind bars. So, go ahead and act like I’m beneath you, because, when judgment day comes, we’re both fucked.”

  His jaw ticked with rage, but he didn’t say a fucking word because he knew I was right. He hiked his bag on his shoulder and pushed by me. “We’re through here.”

  “Guess we are,” I said and, as he stormed out into the night, I added, “I’ll see you in hell, doc.”

  Cash

  The Hill Foundation’s Paws for a Cause was a bi-yearly event the club ran to show the good citizens of Black Hills that we weren’t the bad guys. People fucking loved animals, and guys with dogs made woman melt. It was a perfect front for us.

  We invited a bunch of the rich folk in the area to give donations and raise money for the local animal shelter. It was a no-kill joint on the south side of town that rescued dogs from puppy mills and scumbag breeders. There was an abundance of pits, and the shelter was hoping to get a few adopted today.

  It was held in the parking lot of Tav
ern.

  Kade and I made our rounds, making sure nothing looked suspicious. We passed by Dice and Beast who were flirting up one of the shelter volunteers, a blonde that looked like she wasn’t even fucking legal yet. Those two fucks were going to get their asses thrown in jail for statutory rape if they kept it up.

  Kade smacked my chest and pointed across the way to Phil. He stood off to the side of his old lady, who was currently surrounded by dogs. Poor bastard swore up and down he wasn’t taking home another one. Every damn year, his old lady left with a dog like it was just another trip to the store. They were up to five fucking mutts at their house, and this would make six.

  “So much for it’s never going to happen!” I yelled out to Phil, and he gave me a death glare. He shook his head and lit a cigarette while his old lady picked up a yapper.

  “Ten bucks says he goes home with one,” Kade said, holding his hand out.

  “Make it twenty, and I say he goes home with not one but two.” We shook on it and watched Phil and his old lady for a few more minutes before moving on.

  “There’s the doc,” Kade said, nodding his head over to a booth where they were selling hotdogs and funnel cake, but my attention was drawn to the booth beside it. I almost didn’t believe my goddamned eyes.

  There, in white shorts and a yellow top, was my Sunshine. Fury spread through my veins as my eyes landed on that fucking prick I knocked out that first night we met. His hand rested on her lower back, and I wanted to fucking break it off.

  I might not have deserved her, but she sure as hell deserved better than some polo shirt wearing douche bag. Everything about him pissed me off from his overly starched pants to that fucking pussy ass haircut. I wanted to knock that fucking smirk of his face, and break a few of his overly white teeth in the process.

  He turned toward her, his other hand reaching up and taking a cup out from her grasp. He sipped out of her straw, and anger surged through my veins. She took the drink back, and he said something that made them both laugh.