Gemma pulled back from me and sighed, allowing her eyes to flutter open while her skin flushed with my touch. I cupped her cheek, running my thumb over her skin, and she smiled before she placed the smallest little kiss on the tip of my nose.
“Promise?” she asked.
“Promise,” I said. “You’ve always meant something to me, Gemma. None of that was a lie last night. I couldn’t go after you this morning because I needed to know what Calista knew. In order to keep this club safe. In order to keep you safe.”
“Talon, are you in trouble?” she asked.
But before I could answer her question, a loud bang came at the bathroom door.
“The fuck are you two doing in there?”
It was Snake, and while he wasn’t trying to take the door off the hinges, he didn’t sound happy either.
“Let me handle this,” Gemma said.
Then-- in all her sassy glory-- I watched her rip the door open, eye her brother, then take a step forward.
“Back the fuck up,” she said. “And sit the fuck down, Jace.”
Chapter 20
Gemma
I was tired of the antics, and I was tired of the secrecy. I understood why Talon couldn’t tell me any more than he could, but for now, what he’d said had settled my mind. I still wasn’t keen on Talon being the man that got information that way, but I figured that would come with explaining at a later date. But right now, I was focused on Jace. Jace and his temper. Yes, I’d come into the house with tears streaming down my face and yes, at the time I’d been heartbroken. But that didn’t give him permission to break Talon’s jaw any more than seeing that woman on his porch gave me permission to kick him in the nuts.
Though every single part of me wanted to.
Jace’s eyes were flaring, but as I kept approaching him, he kept backing up. His eyes were locked on Talon, who was probably still standing in the bathroom. But I didn’t care where he was. I didn’t care what he was about to do. The only thing I cared about was getting this situation under control and communicating with my brother that if this was something I wanted to do, then I was going to do it.
With or without his permission.
“This doesn’t involve you, Gemma,” he said.
“Oh, it’s got everything to do to me. And you’re going to sit down, so I know you’re listening,” I said.
His knees hit the back of a chair, and he sat down, then I pulled up a chair and sat down beside him. There was still a fire in his eyes while his gaze held Talon’s, and I looked back just in time to see the man I loved exiting the bathroom. He came and stood behind me while my brother’s face grew red again, but I grabbed his hands before he could make a move.
“Jace, I need you to calm down,” I said.
“He’s not good enough for you,” Jace said.
“He’s not daddy.”
Those three little words caused my brother’s attention to be locked right onto me. I knew this was what this was all about. This was about Talon being like Dad. Up until my father got hurt and drank down his pain pills with beer, my father was a quiet man. A smart man. A man with morals and a desperate need to protect his family. It was easy to equate the two even though they looked nothing alike, and I knew that’s what was going on with Jace.
Even if he didn’t realize it.
“Yes, Talon’s quiet like Dad was. And he’s intelligent like Dad was. And he’s even fiercely protective. Just like Dad was. But he’s not Dad. He’s nowhere near it,” I said.
I felt Jace’s grasp on my hands slowly loosen, then his eyes turned back to mine.
His focus was finally off Talon and back where it needed to be.
He looked down at my hands and saw the gauze wrapped around him. He saw the tape that donned my skin and felt the coolness radiating from my palms. Immediately, he brought the backs of my hands to his face and sighed, and I took the opportunity to cup his cheeks. I needed to get him to understand that he had no control over this. That he couldn’t just keep chasing people away, he didn’t like. I had to communicate to him that Jace couldn’t be everything I needed, just like Dad never could be everything he needed for Mom.
“I’m so sorry, Gemma,” he said.
“You need to be. You shoved me pretty hard. That’s how I know this isn’t about Talon and us being together last night.”
His hands gripped mine tightly, and I winced before I pulled my hands from his face.
“Okay, so it’s a little about that. But you know Talon’s not the only man I’ve slept with, right?” I asked.
“Gemma, don’t,” he said.
“You need to hear it, Jace. You need to hear that I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m a woman, with a degree and job prospects and needs. I’ve gotten drunk. I’ve had sex. I’ve gone to plenty of parties-”
“Can we please stop?” he asked.
“When it fucking registers, sure,” I said.
There was a chuckle that wafted across the room, and it tugged a grin upon my cheeks while Jace sat back and sighed.
“You came home and said you thought Talon loved you, but he didn’t. What the fuck was I supposed to do?”
“Go over to Talon’s fucking place and talk to him,” I said. “Not beat him to a bloody pulp in the middle of the mechanic’s shop after pushing your damn sister over. See the difference?”
I watched him rake his hands across his face, trying to process everything I was telling him. Jace had always been a hot-head, and his gut reactions had always been to fight. Telling a fighter not to fight was like telling a fish not to breathe underwater. I was questioning the whole of the way Jace had lived his life. I was questioning the entirety of the path he’d set himself on as a teenager.
But this had to sink in. Otherwise, it was going to rift us.
“Jace. I’m in love with Talon. I always have been.”
I looked up at the man I loved, and his eyes were fully trained on me.
“And I love your sister,” Talon said. “I have for years.”
I felt my heart soaring to heights as I heard those words tumble from his lips. I stood up from my seat and threw myself at him, my arms threading around his neck while I giggled into his skin. I couldn’t not touch him after an admission like that. I couldn’t not feel his skin against mine after hearing those words pour from his lips. I peppered kisses into the crook of his neck while he held me close.
But the groan that came from Jace pulled us from our moment.
“This is really happening, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Yep,” Mac said. “So suck it the fuck up.”
“It’s about time you got over this shit anyway,” Fox said. “Grow up a bit.”
“If you do, your sister could have what Syd and I have,” Hawk said. “Don’t you want that for her?”
My eyes panned around the garage before landing back onto Jace.
“I would never hurt Gemma,” Talon said.
“You did this morning,” he said.
“If you’d let me fucking finish, I’d explain that,” Talon said.
Jace sighed but didn’t make any sort of rebuttal.
“I will never hurt her, and I’ll always protect her, which is what happened this morning. I knew that I couldn’t explain to her what was going on because then she’d know too much. She’d become a target. But I couldn’t go after her because I needed to know what Calista knew. And I was fucking glad I made that choice because that’s why we’re actually here right now. Because we’re trying to figure out how to protect ourselves,” Talon said.
And for the first time since I’d gotten to the shop, there seemed to be an ounce of understanding that crossed Jace’s face.
“I will always love her, and I will always protect her. That’s all I was doing this morning,” Talon said.
His arm tightened around my waist as Jace stood from his chair. Instinctively, Talon stepped in front of me, and I knew what he was doing. He was trying to still make good on the promise he made me. He was stil
l trying to prove to me that he could be the man I’d always needed.
The man I always knew he was capable of becoming.
He was trying to shield me from Jace’s anger, just like he said he would.
The two of them stood toe-to-toe for quite some time. I backed up towards Hawk as he draped his arm around me, and for a split second, I thought they were going to fight again. I looked up into Hawk’s eyes, and he smiled, trying his best to comfort me while his grip slowly tightened. He was doing just what every other man would do in a situation like this.
He was poising himself in case he needed to quickly get me out of there.
But, before anyone could say anything, there was a loud scream outside.
No, not a scream. A shriek.
A blood-curdling shriek.
In an instant, Hawk had me turned around and was running for the back of the mechanic's shop. I felt my legs carrying me as fast as they could while the shrieking continued, but when I turned around Talon was standing there, too. I heard the roaring of motorcycles racing up the street while fear flooded my veins, and in a heartbeat, Talon’s lips were upon mine.
“Stay back here, and don’t move until I come get you,” Talon said.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but don’t move. No matter what you hear and no matter what happens. Do not. Come. Out.”
I nodded my head furiously before Talon led me into the back of the shop. There was a cot and a little fridge that was probably stuffed with snacks and drinks, but there wasn’t much else. It was almost like this room had been made for scenarios like this, and the thought shivered me to my bones.
But what brought tears to my eyes was watching Talon pull a gun from his back that I didn’t know he had… and cocking it before he shut the door and left.
Chapter 21
Talon
I looked back at the door one last time before I headed out with the guys. We could hear the motorcycles rumbling up the road, and we knew what it meant. There was only one club whose bikes made the high-pitched squeal theirs did. Every Devil fucking Saint wanted you to know when they were coming.
I pulled my gun from my back and cocked it before I even stepped out into the yard. I had precious cargo back in the back of the mechanic's shop, and I’d be damned if anyone was getting near us. Four bikes pulled up, each one gaudier and louder than the last, but there was a passenger I recognized.
A passenger crying for her life.
“Where the fuck’s my daughter!?” Beast yelled.
A monster of a man got off his bike before he ripped Calista from the back seat. Her hands were roped behind her back, and she was crying. She’d been beaten far worse than I’d seen before, with both her eyes swollen shut. Her lip was busted and bleeding, and a line of caked blood ran across her hairline.
But I knew exactly what had happened. Calista must have found her daughter and hid her. And now Beast was beating her to a pulp to find out where she was.
“Beast… stop,” Calista said.
But all the man did was kick her in her ribs.
“Where. The fuck. Is my daughter?” He roared.
“Beast!” Mac exclaimed. “What the fuck are you doin’!?”
I looked the man straight in the eye before my eyes dropped down to Calista. She was shivering and practically naked. She was bleeding from every inch of skin I could see. The woman was suffering in ways I couldn’t even imagine, and at that moment I wanted to slaughter every single one of these assholes. I didn’t give a shit about Calista, but she was a woman. A woman who’d brought life into this world. She was to be respected. Honored. Coveted.
Not pimped out and beaten for information when someone was at their wit’s end.
Tears were streaming down her face while her snot dripped into the sand. She was on her knees, murmuring something I couldn’t make out. Beast was hovering over her-- the President of the Devil Saints and her husband-- except he wasn’t protecting her.
He was about to kill her.
“Now… which one of you’s been fuckin’ my girl?” Beast asked.
“Thought you wanted to know where your daughter was?” I asked.
He kicked Calista again, and I listened to her howl in pain. She began throwing up blood onto the ground and immediately Hawk was at her side. He was trying to scoop her up while Beast did nothing but spit on her, but then I saw him raise his gun to Hawk.
And I positioned mine right between his eyes. Hawk stopped and backed away from Calista.
“You been fuckin’ my girl?” Beast asked.
“Don’t you pimp her out anyway?” Hawk asked. “Who gives a shit if I’m fuckin’ her.”
“I know she’s been feedin’ you guys information!” Beast said, roaring. “I wanna know who the fuck’s toyin’ with my woman!”
He moved his gun to the back of Calista’s head, and I put my hands in the air.
“Me,” I said.
“Talon shut the hell up,” Mac said.
“You?” Beast asked. “My wife’s been talkin’ with you?”
“Yes,” I said plainly.
“Shut up, Talon,” Fox said.
“What the hell’s she been tellin’ you?” Beast asked.
I stared at the man trembling in anger in front of me. His blackened eyes were wild, and his stature was tall. He was easily six-foot-four with two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle on him. He had me by four inches and at least fifty pounds, but I wasn’t about to let that scare me. This woman I’d promised to protect was laying on the ground halfway to dead, and I had no idea what the hell had happened to her daughter.
“I’m only gonna ask one more time,” Beast said as he pointed his gun at me.
“You take one more step, and you’re done,” Mac said.
He trained his gun onto the massive man in front of me, and in an instant, he moved. Beast’s gun whipped back down towards Calista and went off, and I heard Mac fire. Everyone started running while guns started discharging, but all I did was drop to the ground. I threw my body over the trembling woman, trying to cover up her naked body while she bled out into the ground.
Her coward little husband shot her right in the back, and I could feel her blood soaking into my shirt.
I looked into Hawk’s eyes and nodded to him. I needed to get her out of here. I’d made her a promise that I would protect her, and now I needed to apologize. The rest of the guys drew their weapons while they chased the cowardly fuckers off our property, their bikes buzzing away with that high-pitched squeal I’d forever committed to memory.
And there was Calista, sputtering blood up while cradled in my arms.
“I’m so sorry, Calista,” I said.
She shook her head ‘no,’ but she didn’t have the energy to formulate the words.
“I should’ve had someone protecting you,” I said. “I should’ve kept a closer eye on you. I should’ve forced you to run. Or kept you with me. This whole plan went to shit, and you’re the one who’s paying for it.”
She was shivering and shaking while my hand pressed into the wound in her back. There was no exit in her chest, but I could tell her lungs were filling with blood. She was trying to draw air, but all she could do was gurgle, and I tried my best to hold back tears while I watched the life drain from her eyes.
“River… Run…” she said, choking.
“What?” I asked. “Calista, what did you say?”
“River… Ru-... -un. No one…knows.”
“River Run?” Hawk asked.
I looked up at him and shook my head. I had no idea what ‘River Run’ was. I had no idea if she was hallucinating or if her brain was shutting down. I gathered her closer and sat on the ground, cradling her in my lap while the men stood around us. They were keeping watch, their guns in the air just in case anyone came to disturb us.
They were shielding a naked woman’s death from the world so she could die in peace.
“It’s… okay…” she said.
“No. No, it’s not okay. I made you a promise. You and your daughter,” I said. “And I didn’t keep that promise, Calista. I didn’t keep it.”
“Thank you… for… caring,” she said. “He… he never did.”
I leaned my lips down to her forehead and pressed a kiss to her skin. She knew our time didn’t mean anything to me. She knew that what we did was nothing more than an informational exchange while we passed the time. But I tried my best to treat her with respect and honor while she was with me. I tried my best to make her feel as welcome as I could without dampening the existence of my own life.
And it brought my heart some sort of solace that she felt cared for when she was with me.
“You never hit,” Calista said.
“And I never will,” I said.
Her shaking was uncontrollable, and I held her into my chest to try and get her to stop. There was so much blood, and there were so many tears. I had no idea whose tears they were or whose blood was pouring from whose body. There was so much of it, I had a hard time believing it was coming from this shriveled up woman in my arms.
But when I looked up to see if anyone else was wounded, she spoke those two works again.
“River… Run…” she said, whispering.
“I don’t know what that is,” I said. “I don’t… what is that, Calista?”
“It’s only the beginning,” she said. “Find her. She’s safe for now, but find her.”
And with that, I watched the life flee from her eyes while her body went limp in my arms.
I couldn’t think. In that very moment, with the cars whizzing by and the desert wind kicking up a sandstorm, all I could do was shake. I stood to my feet while her blood continued to trickle down my legs, and it was all I could do to take my eyes off her. The guys turned around and looked at me, their eyes dripping with sorrow while my eyes slowly panned over to Mac.
“Did you hear her?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“‘It’s only the beginning,’” I said.
“I was more focused on the ‘find her,’” Mac said. “I think she’s talkin’ about her daughter.”
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