by Sarah Osborn
“And I suppose I'm not to call him and let him know you're on your way.”
“That would help.” She touched Lottie's cheek. “Be good for Uncle Felix. I'll see you soon.”
~ oOo ~
Samson was expecting him. Tiny had known that this would be the case as he'd pushed open the workshop door, and seeing the Glock held loosely at his brother's side came as no surprise. “You planning on using that, brother?”
“You planning on using yours?” Samson nodded to the gun in his own hand.
“Chapter took a vote. You got two choices, come in with me, or die right here.” Tiny shrugged. “I'd rather you went with the first option.”
“There's always a third.” Samson leveled his gun at Tiny's head. “You want my patch? It's in the house. Take it, if you think that's what I deserve.”
“Ain't as simple as that. Vince thinks you're a rat, an' half the chapter believes him. He wants you dead.”
Samson raised an eyebrow. “A rat? I've never betrayed the club. Fuck, Tiny. You really think I'd do that?”
“You killed Moretti.”
“Yeah, I did.” Samson's gun didn't waver, and as Tiny brought his own gun up, he laughed. “C'mon then, brother. Pull the trigger, if you think by doing that I deserve to die. That piece of shit would've gotten the club into a war with the De Luca family, an' you know it.”
“You give up the coke runs to the Serpiente?”
“No.”
“So why did the kid that the nomads brought in give you up?”
“I don't know.” Samson's grip on his gun tightened. “Reckon I've been set up. Reckon you think that, too. I'd already be dead if you didn't. Put the gun down, brother. I killed Moretti, an' I knew I risked my patch by doing that. Take it an' walk away.”
He wanted to. All Tiny had to do was lower his gun and walk away. “I got my orders, Samson. Club took a vote.”
The door flew open and, momentarily, both men took their eyes from each other. Samson lowered his gun, just a fraction. “Fuck, Emma. Get out! Now!”
“No.” She took a step and pointed her own gun at Tiny.
“Emma! For fuck's sake, put the goddamned gun down.”
“I'll put it down when he does.” She walked forward until she was standing between them.
Tiny could see she was trembling so hard that, even at that close proximity, he doubted she'd hit him. “I can't do that, little one. I've gotta take him in.”
She sniffed and a single, fat tear rolled down her cheek. “If Deke goes back with you, he'll be killed. You know that. Please Tiny, I love you, but I swear to God, if you don't put that gun away I will kill you.”
Samson laid his Glock on the bench behind him, his eyes never leaving Tiny's “I'll come with you, brother. Just please put the gun away. You too, Emma. 'Fore someone gets hurt.”
“Not until he looks me in the eye and tells me you're going to walk away from this. I heard what he said. They think you're a rat.” She really did have the most remarkable blue eyes. “Deke's your friend. He brought Beth back to you. Please Tiny, I'm begging you. Just walk away.”
Shit, she was killing him. “Even if I did that, little one, someone else would come.”
“It's okay, baby. I'll have the chance to explain, it'll be okay. Just let Tiny do his job.”
Emma turned her head slightly as Samson carefully took a step towards her, and Tiny made a grab for her gun.
“Tiny! No!”
The gunshot was deafening and, as fire ripped through his belly, Tiny sank to his knees. “Oh God! Oh God, Tiny!” Emma sank down with him and tried to stem the blood that was spreading across his white tee shirt. “Oh God, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. What have I done?”
It should've hurt. Tiny knew that shots to the gut hurt like a motherfucker, but he couldn't feel anything. He tried to stand, but he couldn't feel his legs. “It's okay little one.... You did good, you protected your man..... You're a good ol' lady.” He tried to focus as Samson crouched down, but everything seemed so far away. “You need to get away, brother. Find.... Fox... he.” He slumped forward into Emma's arms. “It's okay, Emma, don't cry, I'm...” Cold... he was cold. And... scared.... Fuck. “Samson?”
“I'll make this right, Tiny.”
Was he crying? Fuck. Tiny closed his eyes. He wanted to say more, but he was tired now. Emma was begging him to open them, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. He'd just go to sleep for a while, then everything would be okay.
FIFTY-NINE
“Fuck!” Samson stood and ran his hands through his hair. He needed to.... Fuck... He slammed his fist into the wall and whirled back to where Emma was sitting, cradling Tiny in her arms. “You stupid, fucking bitch! Why couldn't you, for once in your fucking life, do what I told you? I can't fix this. I can't make this right. Do you have any idea what you've done?” He bent and, grabbing her arm, dragged her to her feet.
Tiny fell forward onto the floor and Emma sobbed. “I'm sorry. I...”
“You fucked everything up.” He shoved her towards the door. “Get to the house, clean yourself up, then get Lottie and get as far away from me as you can.”
“I...”
“Now!” He pushed her – hard.”Get away from me!” Emma fled, and he sank to his knees. “Shit, Tiny.” He pulled his brother's lifeless body into his arms. “Why didn't you just walk away?”
He had no idea how long he'd sat there; it could've been minutes or even hours. Taking a deep breath, Samson wiped his eyes with the heel of his hand and kissed Tiny's head. “What am I supposed to do now, brother?”
Emma's car was still parked outside the house as he limped across the yard. He let himself in the front door and headed straight for the bedroom, but there was no sign of her. “Emma?” He glanced out of the window; she was sitting on the fence at the bottom of the yard, staring out at the sea on the horizon. Not sure that he wanted to talk to her, he let his feet lead the way. “Thought I told you to leave.”
“I can't.”
“You ain't got a choice, baby girl.”
“Please, Deke. I...”
“Samson. Get your stuff, clean yourself up, and go.”
“I didn't...” She was shaking so hard he could hear her teeth chatter. “I just... What happens now?”
“What do you think happens, Emma?” He pulled a pack of smokes from his jeans pocket. “I take the fall for this, an' the club kills me.”
“No.” She turned to face him. “You can't do that.”
“What choice do I have?” He took a long drag on his cigarette and barked a humorless laugh. “Way to make things worse, baby girl.”
“He's really dead, isn't he?”
“Yeah.”
“And it's my fault.”
“Yeah, it is.” Emma swayed, and he pulled her from her perch, into his arms. “I can't make this right, Emma. I wish I could, but I can't.”
“Do you hate me?” She sounded so young... so scared.
“Right now? I dunno.” He could smell Tiny's blood in her hair. “I don't know anything, right now.” He closed his eyes. “Tiny is... was... my brother. I loved him.”
“It was an accident. I wouldn't have... ” She sobbed and buried her face in his chest. “I loved him too, Deke. I don't blame you for hating me. I hate myself.”
He didn't hate her. He loved her so much it was killing him. His beautiful, brave girl may have fucked up on a monumental scale, but she'd stood in front of a loaded gun to save him. She'd have never killed Tiny deliberately, but she had been prepared to die for him. Fuck. He lifted her chin and kissed her. “You have to go.”
“Not without you.”
“I'm a marked man, Emma. Even before...” He looked back at the garage and swallowed. “Before what happened, I was a dead man walking.”
“You didn't kill Tiny.” Emma's face was streaked with blood and tears. “I'll go to the police, turn myself in.”
“And tell them what, baby girl?” He took her arm and began leading her back to the ho
use. “You need to get cleaned up, then go to Felix's.”
He thought she was going to cooperate, but as they drew level with the garage, Emma pulled her arm away and started to run towards the door. “Shit! Emma, wait.”
Ignoring him, she pushed the door open and headed inside. Sinking to her knees next to Tiny's body, she lifted his head and gently laid it on her lap. She pushed his hair away from his face and looked up as Deke walked towards them. “Can you get a blanket? He's cold.” Gently she stroked Tiny's face. “I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you.” She bent and kissed him. “You're my friend and I love you.”
“Emma...”
“Please, Deke. Get a blanket. I need to make him comfortable. We can't just leave him on this cold floor.” She tried to pull his unyielding body closer “It's okay, I'll warm you up.” Deke grabbed the old blanket that served as the cats' bed from the corner or the garage and gently laid it across Tiny's body. Emma frowned. “That's kinda dirty, Tiny doesn't like cat hairs.”
“He won't mind, baby girl.” It was taking all of his self control not to freak out. “Come into the house.” Emma shook her head and continued stroking Tiny's hair and talking softly to him. “Please, Emma, I'm kinda losing my shit, here.”
“You go. We'll be fine.”
SIXTY
Samson knew it had been a risk calling Bugs, but, right now, he was completely lost. He leaned on the garage wall and watched as his former President dismounted and approached, looking as devastated as he felt. It was all he could do to keep from bursting into tears as Bugs pulled him into a hug. “I'm sorry to drag you into this, brother, but I dunno what I'm supposed to do here.”
Bugs swallowed and nodded. “Where's Emma?”
Samson nodded towards the garage door. “She's been in there for nearly three hours. I can't get her to leave him.”
Bugs nodded again, opened the door and walked over to where she was sitting, still cradling Tiny in her arms. He crouched down and gently touched her arm. “I think it's time you went into the house, sweetheart. Me an' Samson will take care of Tiny now.”
“I can't get him warm.”
“I know. We'll look after him.” Bugs carefully took Tiny's stiffening body from her and turned to Samson. “You need to get her in the warm, brother.”
“I'm staying with him.”
“No, Emma. We need to get Tiny out of here.” Bugs frowned. “Samson, she's shaking like a leaf.”
She let Deke pull her to her feet, but her eyes stayed firmly fixed on Tiny. “I didn't mean to hurt him.”
“I know, baby girl.” He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes.
“I'm gonna call the cops.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “You can't just dump him somewhere and leave him all alone. I.. I know you think it's a bad idea, but Beth needs to know what happened and you shouldn't be made to pay for what I've done. I'll call Felix. James is a good lawyer, and it was an accident.” She looked up at him. “You and Bugs should go. Let me make this right.”
Deke looked down at Bugs who gave the tiniest shake of his head. “You need to get warm first. Come into the house and get cleaned up, then you can call the cops.” Gently, he led her to the house and poured her a large Jack. “Here, drink this. It'll warm you up.”
~ oOo ~
Emma opened her eyes. Deke's side of the bed was empty and it was still dark. She blinked and tried to clear the nightmare from her head, then jumped out of bed and ran to the toilet to empty the contents of her stomach, as reality hit. She'd killed Tiny. The man who'd held her together when no one else could. She retched, but there was nothing left. She couldn't wake up from this. Tiny was dead, Beth was a widow and his kids, fatherless. And it was her fault.
Emma heard Deke walk into the bathroom and felt him hold her hair and rub her back, but she couldn't acknowledge him. Even as he pulled her to her feet and handed her a glass of water, it was impossible to raise her eyes and look at him, but she didn't resist as he pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest. She swallowed. “I have to call the cops.”
“No.” He stroked her hair. “I know you think it will help, but really it won't.” He pushed her away from him and cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. “We can't change what has happened, and I ain't prepared for you to be in the firing line. Even if a court ruled that what happened was an accident, the club won't see it that way.”
Her head felt fuzzy, and everything had an unreal quality to it. Emma took a gulp of the water. “What did you give me last night?”
“Rohypnol. I'm sorry, baby girl.” He sat her down on the toilet seat and turned on the shower. “Let's get you cleaned up, then we can talk about where we go from here.”
He looked terrible; his skin was sallow, there were dark shadows under his eyes and he was moving as though he were in pain. Emma stood and touched him. “Have you slept?”
“I'm okay.” He began to pull off his clothes. “Take those clothes off.”
The water was almost unbearably hot, but Emma felt like she'd never be warm again. Somewhere, deep inside her was a huge block of ice that she knew would never thaw. Deke wrapped his arms around her and held her as they both wept for their friend. Why hadn't she listened to him and stayed with Felix? She sobbed and buried her face in his chest. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”
Bugs was sitting at the kitchen table. It looked as though he, too, had had no sleep. He looked up as she and Deke walked in. “Hey, sweetheart. There's coffee in the pot. Grab yourself a cup and then come and sit down. We need to talk about how this is going to play out.”
Emma shook her head. “I need to let the girls and the goat out and call Felix. He'll be worried.”
“It's okay, baby girl.” Deke led her to the table and poured them both a coffee. “It's all taken care of. Sit down and listen to Bugs. This is real important.”
Bugs took her hand. “I know you didn't want us to do this, but we've left Tiny in Tacoma – don't worry, he'll be found – it's Dirty Rats territory, and hopefully it'll look like a club-related attack, or maybe a mugging gone wrong. The gun isn't registered, and it won't be found. It's really important that you never mention this to anyone, do you understand?” Emma nodded mutely. “Good girl. For now we go on as if nothing has happened. I suggest that once Tiny has been found and identified, you go away for a while. I'm pretty sure Samson can spin some story about you an' him having problems.”
“What about Beth?”
“Beth and the kids will be taken care of, but we can't risk you having an attack of conscience and spilling the beans.” Bugs squeezed her hand. “What happened was an accident, Emma, but someone set Samson up as a rat, and the finger of blame is going to be pointed at him. That isn't going to go away.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” She couldn't deal with all this. Her head was spinning, she felt sick and Tiny.... Oh fuck. Tiny was dead. She tried to breathe, but something was blocking her throat. Tiny was gone, and she was never going to see him again. She pushed her chair back, ran to the back door and threw up her coffee.
Bugs stood and led her back to the table. “The only other people who know about this are the Twins. They're heading this way as we speak.” He pushed her hair away from her face and sat back down. “They'll find out the truth and the person responsible will pay – with or without the sanction of the club – until then, you an' Samson need to sit tight. I've checked Tiny's calls and, no matter how loud Vince shouts, there's nothing to prove he was ever here.”
“Will he send someone else?”
“Maybe, but not immediately.” Bugs smiled and kissed her forehead. “I dunno if it makes you feel any better, but I guarantee, you saved your ol' man's life yesterday.”
“You really think Tiny would've killed him?”
Bugs shrugged. “I ain't gonna lie, sweetheart. Vince wants Samson dead, and I'm guessing he was hoping he wouldn't cooperate and that Tiny would do the deed here.”
Deke rubbed his forehead. “Y
ou heard what he said, Emma. Tiny's loyalty to the club comes – came – before everything else. Bugs is right. You saved my life, or saved me from having to kill him myself, cuz I sure as shit wasn't going back to Bay View with him.”
Bugs leaned back and rolled his shoulders. “Samson is going to go and get Lottie. I'll wait here with you, till he gets back.”
SIXTY-ONE
Even before the police had turned up on her doorstep, Beth had known.
Joe always called to check in when he was away, and after two days without hearing anything, she'd known. She'd hoped, of course. Told herself that maybe his cell was broken, or he'd been picked up by the cops and hadn't been able to get to a phone. Even that he was in a hospital somewhere. But she'd known she was kidding herself.
The young police woman had been kind and had asked her if she needed anyone to stay with her, but she'd told her that she was fine and that she'd be taken care of. And she had things to do. Sophia was in pieces, and the kids didn't understand what was going on.
It had been four days, now, and she still hadn't told the club. She'd tried to call Samson, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she'd called the authorities in Tacoma to find out when his body could be released, began to plan his funeral, and arranged, when the time came, for his ashes to be buried with Amy.
Sophia had begged her to slow down, but she couldn't. There was so much to do, and when she stopped, the pain threatened to swallow her whole. She needed to sell his share of the business, put the house in Bay View on the market, and move back to Seattle. Then there was insurance to organize and the kids' schools. She'd probably have to find a job and arrange for childcare, persuade Sophia to either come with them, or go into a home. She couldn't stay where she was.
For four days, she filled her every waking hour, and only slept when she could no longer keep her eyes open. She knew Sophia was getting concerned, but even when her hands were shaking from sheer exhaustion, she pushed on. The house gleamed. The kitchen cupboards were reorganized, and the kids had enough pies and cakes to last them for months, then she began packing their bags to move back to Bay View. The strain of having a house full of kids was taking its toll on Sophia, and there was no reason for them to stay now that Joe was... Beth stopped as the realization hit her like a truck. Joe was dead. He was never coming home. The only man she'd ever loved was gone, and she was alone.
