Shadowing Me (Breakneck Series, Book Three)

by Crystal Spears

  She taps her foot until he drops his gun into the trashcan. “This is why, back in the day, y’all had the no gun rule in church.” The entire room sits in shock, including me. No one has seen this side of Tatiana. She is furious, demanding, and not at all acting as a child. You could hear a pin drop at the silence in the room when she is not speaking. She commands the room as if it is her own personal bitch. “Oh, stop looking at me like that. You’ve all had me trapped here too many times for me not to see EV-REE little thing.” To stress her point, she nudges Sniper with the trashcan. “The one in your right boot, as well.”

  Sniper tilts his head to the side. “How in the fuck?”

  “Again.” Tatiana sighs. “You’ve trapped me here, oh, how many times? And Godfather, I want both of yours too, as well as your knife.” She shakes the trashcan behind Sniper’s back. “In fact, all of you, very slowly, take all your guns out and lay them on the table.”

  Again, no one moves, but me. She has a point. This shit has gotten so far out of control, there will be no coming back from it if she doesn’t do this.

  “Why aren’t you taking Winter’s gun,” Prez grumbles as he puts his pieces and knife into the trash.

  “Oh, I dunno, maybe because she’s pregnant, and you ordered your brother to shoot her in the foot? By the way, you better watch yourself, or you might find that you’re brushing your teeth with a dirty toothbrush.” Tea’s voice cracks with her words, her heart spilling out with each sentence. Sadness drips with each syllable. She raises her hand to swipe the tears streaming down her face. “I’ll be damned if I’ll lose another family member because you fucknuts are angry and taking it out on one another. You’re lucky Grandma Berry is at her house with Mace right now. She’d shoot all of you for acting like this.”

  It takes a good five minutes for her to collect all the guns, and once she does a mental rundown in her head, she speaks again. “Winter, yours now.” Tatiana holds the can out to her. “The other one, as well. Seriously? I know most of your deepest secrets, so stop trying to pull one over on me.” Tatiana says, exasperated, one hand going to her hip in aggravation. “Dad, stop smirking. I know your brass knuckles are hidden behind your wallet, and so help me god, Rap, if you even think about reaching under your cushion for the knife that I call a sword, I will roll your ass off a cliff.”

  Once she is satisfied she has all the main weapons, she gets down to business.

  “Winter, go nest somewhere,” she orders. When Winter doesn’t move, Tatiana snaps at her. “GO!”

  “I’m going.” Winter throws her hands in the air as she walks out of the room.

  “You both need to go, as well.” She glares at Piper and Storm. “I’m sorry, but I’ve been in this family for almost nineteen years, and it’s time I start speaking up. If they want to share with you, they can, but for now, leave.” She points to the door. “And shut what’s left of that door behind you.”

  When the door closes behind the women, Tea sets the trashcan down and crosses her arms.

  “Well, I can honestly say I have never once been ashamed of my family, until this moment. Yeah, sometimes it sucks being a part of it, but I have never, and I mean never, been so let down in all my life.” Sadness drizzles from her tone.

  “Here is how this is going to go. Braxxon, and yes, I called you Braxxon, not Godfather. You will have to earn that title back because you sure as hell don’t deserve it right now. You can be pissed at your wife all you want, but you cannot, and I can’t stress this enough, you cannot order your brother to shoot her! What in the hell were you thinking?” She stares at Braxxon, waiting for his response, but he lowers his gaze to the floor in shame, and doesn’t speak.

  “That’s right. You’re ashamed of yourself too, now, aren’t ya? Well, you should be.” She takes a deep breath before continuing. “You will let yourself cool down, and when you can rationally talk to your wife again, you may leave this room, and not a moment sooner than that. I’ll be watching you.”

  She turns to Sniper and hits his shoulder. “And don’t even get me started on you, Sniper. Yeah, you lost the uncle shit, too. You were actually going to shoot her! I have half a mind to tell Grandma Berry, so she can poison you for a month straight! You think Pop is proud, looking down on the lot of you right now?” A look of disgust covers her face. “He’s probably looking down with pity and shame that his sons would even think about shooting a woman, let alone a woman carrying his grandchild!”

  “Y’all may be grown ass men, but that shit that just happened,” she gestures around the room, “is childish behavior, and since y’all want to act like children, I am going to treat y’all like that. Timeout until your shit is cooled.”

  Tatiana sighs now that she’s finished chastising the adults for their wrong behavior. It is ironic how I kept calling her a child, and now, she is the only reasonable adult in the room. And fuck if she doesn’t look stunning in my eyes.

  “I am tired, so damn tired of the drama and the violence. I get that you’re in an MC. I do. But don’t ever turn your back on family again. This isn’t how we function. Take all this hate and direct it towards the people who deserve it, not on the people who love you more than life itself.” She shakes her head back and forth a few times before turning her attention to me.

  Oh, shit. I didn’t do anything!

  “Shadow, if you want to get off my shit list, you can sit outside those doors and hand the guns back when people leave this room, calm—”

  I don’t even let her finish before my ass is out of the chair and over to the door, grabbing the trashcan filled with guns on my way. This is my easy out and I’m not stupid. My brain is screaming, “take the offer,” before she even finishes issuing it.

  She looks around the room one more time and shakes her head in disgust before opening the door to leave. When it shuts behind her, I swear I can hear crickets in the silence that lingers.

  “Did we fucking get smacked down by my daughter,” ZZ asks in disbelief, his voice echoing in the quiet room.

  “The Chinese didn’t even bust my balls like that,” Prez says as he walks over and kicks the shattered pieces of his chair. “What in the fuck?”

  They can talk all they want about what happened, but I will not be a part of it. I came dangerously close to ripping off my patch when this shit started. Shooting a woman? The Prez has a lot of respect to earn back from a few of us. I say nothing as I let myself out the door.

  “Tatiana gave me strict orders, and she was in fucking tears when she went flying out of here.” Piper looks up as she rolls a chair over to me. “You guys fucked with her head so hard with that shit.”

  Pain slices through my chest as I try to imagine everything Tea has to be feeling. Not only did we get into it, but she also lashed out at her entire family. With good reason, of course, but shit, she has to be drained. “Go to her. Please, Piper. I won’t move from this chair until everything is good. I swear to god.”

  Piper studies me and considers my answer before she gives me hers. “I’ll go to her, but if even a drop of blood is spilled while I’m gone…”

  I nod. She doesn’t have to finish.

  “Okay, Storm and Winter are cleaning out the office if anyone asks. Make sure they’re calm enough, though, before you tell them where they are.”

  Again, I nod.

  What a fucking day. I have not only spoken down to Tatiana by pure accident, but I have lost almost all the respect I had for my President. Today is one of those days I wish I could take back and do over, so I could stop to fix things before they escalate.

  ***

  Chapter Nine

  Shadow

  After about two hours, I have given weapons back to everyone, so I step outside to get some fresh air. As I light up my smoke, I see items flying out of the office doorway. Winter’s curses travel through the open window, and Storm leans against the building, shaking her head. I’m no pregnancy expert, but I am almost positive Winter shouldn’t be lifting all that stuff. I mouth,
“what the fuck,” to Storm, and her head continues to shake back and forth in a “don’t bother” manner.

  “This place is a mess. How in the hell did they ever keep track of their work!” Winter huffs as she tosses an empty filing cabinet out of the office.

  Everyone has finally cooled off, but if Prez sees her lifting and throwing office furniture, all hell will break loose. I groan, sidestepping the cast out items, and make my way to the door.

  “Winter. I don’t think you’re supposed to be doing that. Prez would probably get pissed.”

  I duck as a folding chair soars above my head, narrowly missing me. “Christ! You could’ve knocked me out!”

  Piper comes from across the courtyard, and when she sees the look on my face, she mouths that Tatiana is sleeping, and I nod a thank you as another item flies over my head. I point my finger towards the clubhouse, and Piper takes the hint that I want some help with this.

  What the hell is going on with this damn club? This has to be the weirdest damn day of my life. Something has to be in the water. Everyone is losing it.

  The bell on the gate rings. Winter and Storm ignore it, and I don’t see a prospect in sight. This place is falling the fuck apart. If I wanted to play the part of a greeter, my ass would be working at a department store. Storm’s cackles fill the air while I grumble and walk up to the gate.

  I should have gone nomad, that’s what I should have done, instead of coming to a place where the women secretly run this shit. The others might not see it, but I do. The women here have invisible crowns and snicker behind our backs every chance they get.

  When I peer through the peephole, my head shakes at the ghost standing before me. This can’t be right. This can’t be. I look again, and my eyes do not deceive me. What in the—

  I scramble to hit the switch for the gate to open, and then take a step back. When a woman with long, jet-black hair looks up from the envelope in her hand, my heart stops. All that comes to my mind is Lana…

  Of all days for this to happen, it would be today. I gesture her in, and take her rollaway bag before shutting the gate.

  “Hi, I’m—”

  I shake my head. “I know who you look like, so I’m going to assume you’re Lana’s sister?”

  “Yes, my name is Akela. This was my sister’s last known address,” she says quietly as she peers down at the envelope. “I haven’t heard from her in months.”

  All of it starts to make sense because we never could locate Lana’s cell phone after everything happened.

  “May I?” I ask, and she hands over the envelope. I can’t believe what I am seeing. Lana wrote her sister from this address not long before she was killed. And Akela doesn’t even know her sister is dead. Oh, fuck.

  “Shadow, who was at the—,” Winter’s voice cuts off as she comes around the corner and gets her first look at Lana’s sister. Tears fill her eyes as her trembling hand comes to her mouth. Winter shakes her head back and forth in disbelief. “I… I… I don’t understand,” she cries through her fingers. I step back as Winter walks up to this woman who could, for all intents and purposes, be Lana’s twin. I don’t want to even imagine how it will make Winter feel to tell this beautiful woman her sister has been dead for months. When Akela turns her body to face Winter, my biggest fear for this entire situation walks up fast behind me.

  “Lana,” he croaks.

  I reach out to stop him, but my movements are too slow. He grabs her elbow and spins her around towards him. With his first full look at her, he steps back quickly, shocked to silence. His eyebrows pull together and pain spreads across his face as his eyes bounce over features that bear an uncanny resemblance to his beloved Lana.

  “What is going...,” Storm’s interruption fades at the sight of Akela, and she stumbles backwards from shock.

  “You guys, Braxxon wants to know who was the woman at the gate that he saw on the clubhouse mon–” Piper cuts herself off. “No, no way,” she gasps.

  As she takes in all the expressions, Akela squeaks a nervous laugh. She has no clue what the tears, looks of disbelief, and the mere shock of her presence means to the people around her. My gaze moves back to Pyro. His shades now cover his eyes, no doubt to hide his pain.

  “Shadow… take Pyro into the club, uh, into the clubhouse for a drink,” Winter orders in a pain laced tone. I don’t argue with her. I can’t. I won’t. This is too much for everyone. I get that.

  “You got it, First Lady.” I place one arm around Pyro’s shoulders and drag Akela’s rollaway bag beside us.

  “Wait!” Akela’s voice stops us. “You’re Pyro? You’re my sister’s lover?”

  How in the fuck? My eyes drop to the letter as Pyro groans in agony. FUCK!

  “Pyro, go,” Winter pleads as tears pour from her eyes.

  “C’mon, you don’t want to be here for this, man. You don’t,” I say in a voice low enough that only he can hear.

  “I… I… fuck, brother,” he croaks.

  I pat him hard on the back as we walk into the clubhouse. Our president looks pissed off until he gets a load of the agony laced across the almighty Pyro’s face. “What the fuck happened?”

  As I push Pyro towards a barstool, I tell him. “Lana had a sister and she’s here.”

  I don’t bother to say anything else. The Prez gets it. Hell, we all get it. This is going to fuck a lot of people up.

  “Are you fucking serious?”

  Pyro takes the shot I pour him, gulps it, and his hand quivers as he holds the glass up for another. As I fix him another, I answer my Prez. “As a heart attack.”

  Pyro takes the bottle from my hands, lifts it to his mouth, and gulps the whiskey. When it dribbles out the side of his mouth, he stops and wipes his face on his sleeve. “She looks like her,” he hisses as he tilts his head back for more firewater.

  “Your wife is telling her now…” I let the sentence drag, hoping Prez catches my meaning.

  “Oh hell, she is going to be a mess.”

  The sound of glass hitting the bar echoes, drawing our attention to a fuming Pyro.

  “You fuckin’ think?” he growls as he reaches over the countertop for more whiskey.

  Jesus, he’s going to kill himself.

  I look over at our Prez for an answer as to what the fuck we’re supposed to do about this? He gives me no answer as he moves his attention to the monitor above the bar. My eyes follow. I crave pain but not this kind. This kind of pain is emotional and far more disturbing than the pain that I enjoy lashing out.

  “I’m the biggest fuckin’ prick there is,” Prez groans while rubbing his temples.

  I say nothing, because he doesn’t want to hear what I have to say. In all honesty, I am so damn disappointed in this club, and we all have enough shit to deal with, without me saying Prez was in the wrong. I will let this one slide for now, even though I don’t condone what he did.

  The door to the clubhouse opens. Sniffles fill the air as the door shuts behind them. Winter, Storm, and Piper escort a distraught Akela towards the cabinet that holds all of the fallen. Pyro’s head turns slowly, his eyes trailing her, watching, as if, at any moment, she’ll magically become Lana. He turns back towards the bar and lifts the bottle to his lips.

  Prez removes the keys chained at his side, walks to the cabinet, and unlocks it. The room goes silent when he takes Lana’s remains out and hands them to Akela. Her sobs echo as she squeezes the urn tightly to her chest. Her entire body trembles as she mourns the loss of her sister. She shifts, cranes her neck, and looks at Pyro’s back. Firming her grip on the last piece she will ever hold of her sister, she moves slowly, cautiously towards him, Lana’s last words to her rustling against the urn. Tears streaming down her solemn face, she nudges herself onto a bar stool, sets Lana’s ashes down, and slides the envelope towards Pyro. His light puffs of breath as he turns to face her are the only sounds filtering through the air.

  “I don’t…,” she sniffles, “I don’t know the extent of what you…,” she clears h
er throat to gain control of her cracked voice, while wiping the salty diamonds cascading down her face, “of what you had with my sister, but I think you should read this.”

  Every eye in the room follows his shaky hand as it slides across the bar towards the envelope. He stops and pulls back a few times before finally resting his fingers on top of it.

  Piper moves behind the bar, wets a rag, and hands it to Akela. Her ‘thank you’ is barely audible as she wipes the tears off her face. “You can keep that letter, Pyro. I…,” she huffs out a sigh and wipes her cheeks again, “I think you’re going to want to keep it.” She takes a deep breath. “No, you should keep it.”

  The air is tense. No one moves. Hell, no one is even breathing right now as we wait for his response. They stare at one another before he slowly slides the envelope towards him. “Thank you,” he croaks. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  She closes her eyes before she whispers, “You, too.”

  Pyro picks the letter up, stands, and after taking one last look at her, he moves towards the hall leading to the apartments.

  “Piper, can you show Akela to a room, please?” Winter says, her voice choked with tears.

  When Akela hears her name, the devastating look on her face strikes my heart. “Can I please stay where my sister was when she wrote me?”

  We look back and forth at each other as we try to figure out where Lana would have been at the time she wrote the letter to her mystery sister. Since none of us has a clue, I hope that Akela knows.

  “She called it…,” she chuckles softly while wiping her nose, “she called it the slam room in her letter.”

  The room erupts in easy laughter as she smiles at all of us.

  “You can stay anywhere you want to, darlin’,” Prez says as he wraps Winter in his arms.