by A. M. Myers
I nod, raking my hand through my hair before meeting her gaze again. “Just take good care of her, ‘kay?”
“Of course,” she answers, her eyes softening, and I take one last look at Rowan before turning to go to the waiting area. It’s empty when I walk in and I hope that means no one else is here tonight so that Rowan has the best of the best working on her. Sinking into one of the chairs, my knee shakes like fucking crazy and I look down at my hands, my stomach rolling when I see Rowan’s blood all over them.
“Fuck.”
“Streak!”
I glance up as Tate and Kodiak run in, looking as fucking frazzled as I feel and I stand up, nodding to them.
“They rushed her back and said they’ll come find us when they know something.”
Kodiak nods, turning to stare out at the bays lined up across from us as he scrubs his jaw, his eyes fucking haunted as he turns back to me. “What the fuck happened out there?”
“Honestly,” I whisper, shaking my head. “I don’t even know. It was… insane and felt fucking rushed, unlike all of Evan’s other attacks.”
He nods, his brow furrowed, as his gaze falls to my hands and his face pales.
“Streak, maybe you should go find a bathroom and wash up,” Tate suggests and I shake my head. There is no way in hell I’m leaving my girl. Not happening. She places her hand on my shoulder. “I’ll come find you if there is news but you’re going to scare people looking like that.”
“Fine… but I want to know the fucking second something happens.”
She nods. “Of course.”
Reluctantly, I leave the waiting room and slip into the hallway, spotting a bathroom right across from us and I breathe a sigh of relief. If I have to be away from her, I don’t want to be too far. I stop at the first sink and grip the sides of it as I look up in the mirror and almost fall backward. It’s been a long fucking time since I’ve seen this look on my damn face and I can’t say that I missed it. Squeezing my eyes shut, I force those memories back and try to focus on Rowan as I turn on the water and shove my hands under it.
The water runs red and my stomach churns. My chest aches when I think about what could have happened if I hadn’t heard the stick banging against the tree, or if she hadn’t found the strength to lift it up. I picture her cold and alone as she died out there and it takes everything I have to not put my fist through the mirror.
What fucking game was Evan playing at this time?
What was his end game?
Once my hands are clean, I turn off the water and walk back out of the bathroom, eager to see how my girl is doing. Fuck. I don’t even care that there is still blood all over my shirt at this point. I’ve been gone too long and I need to get back to her. A doctor walks into the room from the other side at the same time I do and walks over to us as I stand next to Tate and Kodiak.
“You the family of Rowan Archer?”
We all nod and he sighs.
“Okay, good news and bad news - the wound to her stomach didn’t hit anything major and we have that stitched up already but the gunshot wound to her arm is bad. It broke the bone in three places and she’s lost a ton of blood so we are taking her up to surgery now to repair the break but as long as everything goes well during the operation, I expect her to make a full recovery.”
My knees give out and I grab the chair next to me to keep myself upright as I release a breath. Tate wraps an arm around my shoulders] and gives them a squeeze as the doctor instructs us to another waiting room where we can sit until Rowan is out of surgery. We watch him leave before Kodiak turns to me.
“I don’t know about you, brother, but now that we know she’s going to be okay,” he says, cracking his knuckles. “I can’t wait to get my hands on Evan.”
I arch a brow. “We caught him?”
“Yeah,” Tate answers, nodding her head as she smiles. “Someone managed to call Rodriguez and he showed up just as Evan was running out of the woods to his car. He grabbed him and Storm instructed him to take Evan to our cabin out by the lake. We’ve got an old barn on the property where they’re keeping him and it’s so secluded out there that no one will hear y’all.”
“What do you say? Want to go handle some business?” Kodiak asks and I glance over as they wheel Rowan into an elevator, fucking torn. I so badly would love a chance to get a hold of Evan and make him pay for the state of my girl right now but leaving her is like stabbing a hot poker in my chest. Tate nudges me and when I glance over at her, she nods.
“I’ll keep an eye on her and call you when there’s an update. Go make that son of a bitch regret ever coming after this club.”
I study her for a second before glancing back at the closed elevator with a sigh. As much as I want to be glued to Rowan’s fucking side, they won’t let me in the operating room and I’m not doing any good just sitting here so I turn back to Tate and nod.
“You call me if anything happens.”
She nods. “I’ve got her, Streak.”
Feeling a tiny fucking bit better about the situation, I turn and walk out of the waiting room with Kodiak, ready to tear into Evan for coming after what’s mine. This fucker is going to wish he’d never even thought of taking revenge on us and then I’ll get back here, ready to greet my girl when she wakes up from surgery ‘cause she and I have shit to work out and for the first time in my life, I’m ready to lay it all on the table for her.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Travis
“Hey,” Fuzz says, nodding to Kodiak and me as we join them outside of the barn on Kodiak’s property where Tate said they were hiding Evan and I stare at the door for a second, tempted to march in there and exact my revenge but instead, I look around the group.
“Where is Smith and Henn?”
Moose tips his head toward the barn. “Taking their frustrations out on Evan’s face. How’s Rowan?”
“In surgery but she should be okay,” Kodiak answers. “Evan didn’t hit anything vital when he stabbed her but her arm is broken and needs to be repaired.”
They all sigh in relief as Chance claps my shoulder, nodding. “Good to hear.”
“So, what are we going to do with this fucker?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest as I nod toward the barn. Storm sighs and scrubs his hand down his face before shaking his head.
“Not going to lie, but there is a very big part of me that wants to go in there and fucking break his face before I put a bullet in his skull.” He shakes his head again and clenches his fist. “He fucking shot at my wife and baby so it’s the least he fucking deserves.”
Kodiak nods. “I’m fucking with you, brother. I don’t even want to think about how close I was to losing my baby sister.”
Glancing around at all of them as they nod in agreement, I blow out a breath. I get it. I really fucking do and each time I think about finding Rowan under that tree, bleeding and on the verge of death, a red haze flashes across my vision. In those moments, all I want to do is grab a knife and make sure he knows how it feels to have it buried in his psychotic body. I want to rip him limb from limb but it isn’t us… isn’t who I am. The revelation slams into me full force and I shake my head, sucking in a breath.
“Should we really be discussing this in certain company?” Moose asks, tilting his head toward Rodriguez, who scoffs.
“No, y’all definitely should not be talking about this in front of me… except that I’m with you on this one. He killed my girl.”
“Hold up… this is not who we are. We don’t fucking kill people,” I say, my mind spinning as I try to keep up with the conversation. Are they really suggesting that we throw away all the work we’ve done to change this club and Blaze’s vision?
“Times change, Streak,” Chance says, glancing back at the barn. “Can we risk letting the justice system handle this? What if it all goes to trial and he’s found not guilty? Then he’s free to come after us again and this time, he might just succeed in destroying all of us.”
“Yeah, that’s not fu
cking happening,” Fuzz snaps, shaking his head as he clenches his jaw. Silence descends over us until Storm clears his throat and meets Rodriguez’s eye.
“What did the BOLO turn up? Is there anyone that is gonna come looking for this fucker?”
Rodriguez shakes his head. “No. He hasn’t checked in with his parole officer in weeks and all of his family is gone. I think everyone has just assumed that he ran off.”
“And what are we doing with Caleb and Jake?” Fuzz asks, fidgeting as he waits for an answer. The tension in the air is making me fucking antsy, too, and I just want to get this over with so I can get back to my girl.
“We found an apartment in their name after Zane revealed their involvement to us and we searched it earlier this evening. We found enough evidence of everything to charge them with the five murders and Veronica’s kidnapping so they will be arrested shortly.”
Fuzz arches a brow. “So, no one will care if Evan just disappears?”
“Hold the fuck up,” I seethe. “I can’t believe you fuckers are actually considering this. We don’t do shit like this and you know it.”
“We’ve never been in this spot before, Streak,” Storm says, flashing me a look of understanding before shaking his head. “I think the only thing we can do is put it to a vote.”
If this conversation is any indication, I know exactly how this vote will go and my stomach churns, memories that I’d rather keep buried flooding my mind.
“This is fucking insane,” I breathe, running my hand through my hair as Storm turns to the rest of the group and nods.
“If you’re in favor of ending this fucker here and now, say “yay” and if you want to hand him over to the authorities say “nay”.
“Nay,” I snap, still shocked that we’re even voting on this, as everyone else around me calls out “yay” and I shake my head. Even if Smith and Henn side with me, it won’t fucking matter because it will only be three to five. Looking at my brothers, I blow out a breath.
“I can’t fucking believe y’all.”
Storm claps my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Streak. It has to be done. You’re welcome to leave, though, if you want.”
“No,” I growl, shaking my head. “I don’t fucking agree with the decision one bit but the vote was fair and I’ll find a fucking way to live with it.”
I hate every second of it but I will deal with it.
Storm nods and turns to the barn, squaring his shoulders. “Let’s do this then.”
We follow him and step into the barn before closing the door behind us and when I glance up, Evan grins at me, blood dripping from his mouth.
“Ah, Travis. I was so hoping you’d be here.”
“Shut the fuck up, asshole,” Henn snarls, clocking him across the face. My desire to make Evan pay and my need to not become a murderer wars inside me as his head snaps to the side. He’s tied to a wooden chair in the middle of the room and it looks like Smith and Henn have worked him over pretty well already. One eye is almost swollen shut and his lip is cracked right down the center.
Laughing, Evan spits some blood on the ground before looking back up at us. “Hello, boys. Long time no see.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Fuzz growls, pulling the gun from his waistband but Evan just laughs again.
“What? No foreplay? Don’t y’all want to know about all of the awful things I did? I know it’s been driving you crazy,” he teases as enjoyment flashes in his eyes.
“Sure. Go on and tell us all about your revenge plan,” Storm says, planting his feet in front of Evan and crossing his arms over his chest. Evan laughs again and shakes his head.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“Son of a bitch,” Kodiak seethes, stepping forward and slamming his fist into his nose. The chair falls back, taking Evan with him and he hits the floor with a thud but he just keeps laughing. Storm turns back to all of us and shakes his head.
“Fucking demented,” he whispers and I nod. This isn’t news to me since I’ve been dealing with Evan for weeks now but this is a whole new level. He has nothing left to lose now and it shows every time he cackles with joy at our frustration.
“Look, if we’re going to end this, then let’s just fucking end it.”
“Oh, boys,” Evan calls and we all glance back at him as he lies on the floor, unable to move. “Maybe I’ll give you a little hint.”
Moose arches a brow. “Yeah? And what’s that?”
“I had a part in everything. For the last two years, everything that happened in your lives was controlled by me!” he yells followed by maniacal laughter and we all turn back to face each other with wide eyes.
“We think he’s telling the truth.”
I shrug. “Who knows? That’s the whole point. He’s playing a game and fucking loving every second of it. He’s never going to tell us the truth.”
A scuffle pulls my attention back to Evan and I glance up just in time to see him stand up, the arms of the chair still taped to his arms as he punches Henn, knocking him to the floor. Once Henn is down, he grabs his gun off of the floor and points it at Storm. I react before I even realize what I’m doing, whipping my gun out of the waistband of my jeans and leveling it at Evan, pulling the trigger. His gun goes off, too, as he falls backward, his body hitting the floor with a thud that makes my stomach churn as my breath rings in my ears. I look down at the pistol in my hand.
Oh, fuck.
What the hell did I do?
“Motherfucker,” Storm hisses and I glance over at him as he clutches his shoulder and my eyes widen when I see the blood oozing through his fingers. He grits his teeth. “Stupid asshole fucking shot me.”
“He’s dead,” Smith calls, kicking the gun from Evan’s hand as he turns and meets my eyes. There is a sour taste in my mouth as I try to swallow past the lump in my throat, my mind swimming. My hands tremble as crime scene photos I’ve never been able to erase from my memory flash through my mind and my chest aches.
Goddamn it.
I’ve spent years trying to make things right and make sure I never turned into that monster and I just threw it all away with one bullet and now, I’m just like him…
Kodiak steps up in front of me and grabs my shoulder, shaking me until I meet his eyes. “You had to do it, brother. He was going to kill Storm.”
“Yeah,” I whisper as I nod, my entire body numb and my mind blank.
“Get him out of here,” Storm says through clenched teeth. “And someone clean this shit up. We don’t need this coming back on us.”
Henn, Smith, Fuzz, and Chance nod in unison as Kodiak grabs my shoulder and leads me out of the barn with Storm and Moose on our heels.
“Someone want to take me to the fucking hospital?” he asks, looking a little pale as he holds his hand firm against his shoulder and Kodiak nods.
“Yeah, ride with us.” At the mention of the hospital, my attention shifts back to Rowan and I suck in a breath, every other thought fleeing from my mind as I hand my gun off to Moose. All of this shit, all of the baggage I clearly need to sort through can wait for later. The most important thing is getting back to my girl.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Rowan
“Hey, Princess,” a voice whispers, a voice that reaches into my very soul and pulls me from the darkness and I can’t help but smile. I don’t know how heaven has the man I love but my heart squeezes at the fact that he’s here with me. Someone grabs my hand and my eyes fly open, blinking up at the white ceiling tiles and bright florescent lights above me. My brow furrows and my mind spins.
Where am I?
Pressure on my hand pulls my attention to my left and I suck in a breath, unable to stop my smile as I meet Travis’s green eyes. I pull my hand from his and reach up, trailing my fingers over his cheek as he flashes me a relieved smile.
“There you are.”
“You’re here,” I whisper and he nods, grabbing my hand again before bringing it to his lips.
“Of course I’m here, baby. Where e
lse would I be?”
I glance at my hand and notice the tube snaking up my arm. I follow it up to an IV stand behind me and a monitor that shows the steady rhythm of my heartbeat. Turning back to him, I scowl. “Where am I?”
“In the hospital,” he answers with a grimace, kissing my hand again. “You lost a lot of blood and you needed surgery to fix your arm.”
“My arm?” I whisper, my scowl deepening before I glance down at the bed with a gasp. My eyes widen at the large cast wrapped around my entire arm, all the way to my shoulder and the memories come rushing back – the fire, the gunshots, running through the forest, Evan catching me, and Evan stabbing me. I gently touch my belly as I turn to Travis.
“Evan…”
He nods, running a hand through his hair as he presses his lips together into a thin line and reaches up to rub the back of his neck. I watch him, the hair on my arms standing on end as a wave of unease washes over me.
“What is going on?”
Sucking in a breath, he meets my gaze again. “Evan is dead.”
“How?” I whisper as a chill seeps into my bones and Travis sucks in a breath again, his knee bouncing like crazy.
“I killed him…”
I gasp.
“Rodriguez caught him after he left you in the forest and we took him to Kodiak’s property in the country. We were deciding on what to do with him when he got free and went after Storm. I didn’t have a choice…”
My mind drifts back to my time in the woods with Evan and I nod as I turn back to him. “Okay.”
“Are you upset?”
“Travis,” I scoff. “The man literally tortured me in the woods so no, I’m not upset… but are you okay?”
He sighs, telling me all I need to know and I pull on his hand, urging him to climb into the bed with me. Glancing up, he shakes his head.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You’re hurting me by being all the way over there,” I tell him and he studies me for a second before sighing and climbing into bed with me. He gently maneuvers around all of the wires and tubes all around me as he pulls me into his arms and buries his nose in my hair.
