“Did you keep my sister’s belongings? Her lei is needed. It’s the light blue and pink one she wore at our parents’ funeral,” Akela asks, hope shining in her eyes.
Winter answers, “Yes, I know the one. I’ll get it for you,” and takes off down the hall and out of the clubhouse.
Akela stands. “I wish to say a prayer.”
Why didn’t we think to do this? Our faces read the same thing. We knew Lana was Hawaiian and her culture was significant to her. I think it was one of those things that attracted Pyro to her in the first place.
“It’s more of a Hawaiian goodbye,” she whispers in a quiet voice.
A few moments later, Winter returns with the bag that holds the lei. Akela takes it from her, opens it, and gently spreads the garland of dried flowers. After sliding the wreath of plumerias and orchids over her head, she picks up Lana’s urn and turns to Winter. “Please, don’t throw away that bag.”
I take a closer look at the bag and see dried flowers and greenery inside of it.
Storm walks over to Akela and laces their arms together. “I’ll take you to the roof of one of the buildings. You’ll have your privacy.”
Akela looks at her, smiles, and then thanks everyone for their kindness before they trail out of the building.
“Braxx, can you take me to our room so I can process all of this,” Winter says quietly.
Prez says nothing as he guides her towards the exit, and as they walk out, I follow. My lungs lust for fresh air. Sadness has suffocated the inside of that room.
***
Chapter Ten
Shadow
Berry and Mace return while I’m outside smoking and watching Akela as she prepares for Lana’s ceremony on top of the live-in building. They are walking towards me when Pyro comes out of the clubhouse and immediately hones in on Akela. As Berry gets closer, she looks to see what has caught Pyro’s attention. Her loud gasp echoes around the courtyard when she sees Lana’s look alike.
“Unbelievable,” she whispers.
Mace must sense the importance of what is happening, because he says nothing, and the four of us appreciate the beauty of the entire ceremony. We can’t hear the words she sings, but the melody rings clear in our ears. Akela continues her mournful song for a little while longer, and when she is finished, she opens the urn, tilts it, and lets the wind carry the ashes. Moments pass, but no one speaks as we watch Lana’s remains floating free on the breeze. I look back towards my brother to see him lift his shades and swipe at his eyes before allowing them to once again cover his anguish and grief.
“That was beautiful. I assume she’s a relative?”
With Berry’s question, my attention snaps back to Lana’s grieving sister. Her body slumped in a defeated stance, and her shoulders hiccupping with each breath in and out, is one of the saddest things I have ever witnessed. People assume pain like this isn’t visible, but it is. One look at Akela and her pain is clearly written all over her.
I force my sight off Akela to look at Berry. “Her sister.”
“Oh, dear,” Berry whispers as her shaky hands grip the purse at her side. When she looks at me, her broken expression reveals the pain the club has felt and the pain Akela is experiencing. So much of our misery is stacked in her gaze that my chest burns.
“I only came by to drop Mace off…” she trails off as if she needs to offer an excuse.
When I don’t say anything in return, her gaze seeks out Akela once again, a hiccup escaping her throat as she finds her.
Of all the things that have happened today, this one occasion has shocked us all to the core. Lana may have only been here for a short time, but she made an impact on the lives of everyone she touched. Even though I didn’t know her well, the times we did talk let me know she was a genuine person with a kind heart. It was a tragic event, and most won’t ever heal from it.
As Akela leaves the roof of the live-in, everything stops while we wait for her to enter the courtyard. Moments later, she comes out the door, looks around, and once her eyes land on him, she heads straight for Pyro. Her movements are delicate and beautiful for someone feeling so much pain. When she stops in front of him, she places one hand on his cheek and hands him the urn while speaking to him in a gentle, soothing voice. Even though her words are too quiet for us to hear, we can see their faces, and his expression contorts into the purest agony I have ever seen in my life. She brings her hand down, and he gestures for her to follow him. He must be showing her the slam room, or they might be going somewhere to talk. I hope that everyone leaves them alone. Pyro needs this time with someone from Lana’s family in order to gain some sort of peace from losing her.
“Without getting into their business, can someone please tell me a little of what just happened?”
Shit. Poor Mace. I completely forgot he wasn’t even here when all this went down. The look on his face is one of pure confusion, so I dig out a smoke, light it, and explain. “You’ve heard us talk about the run-in with the Russians, and the people who were murdered, right? And the woman that Pyro was, or rather, still is in love with, was one of them.” I tug my hair as the image of Akela releasing Lana’s ashes plays through my mind. “Well, that’s Lana’s sister, Akela. We had no fucking clue there was a sister, so when she came to the gate with this fucking letter that Lana wrote, it fucking rocked the club. She didn’t even know Lana was dead. Man, this shit is fucked up,” I convey with lungs full of smoke.
Mace nods his head, understanding the awkwardness a little better.
“I think I will grill a big dinner for the family tonight. Mace, will you help me?” Berry interrupts us, and Mace smiles at his grandmother, wraps his arm around her shoulder, and tells her to lead the way.
My shoulders slump forward as the events of the day wear on my body. I trudge across the compound parking lot and into the live-in building. Each step up the stairs feels like ten as I climb the stairs to the floor where my room is. Once I reach my door and unlock it, I walk in and flop face down on my bed. The soft, pillow top mattress soothes my aching body upon impact, and I groan in relief. When my sunglasses dig into my face, I lift my head enough to tear them off and toss them on my nightstand. As my head hits the bed again, I notice my door standing wide open, which is unlike me. I like my privacy and it wins out, so I drag myself back up to close it. Once it clicks shut, I kick off my boots and shrug out of my cut. My shirt follows and my jeans last. I flip the switch that turns on my ceiling fan. I move to my bed and sit on the edge while I burrow my face into my hands and rub them back and forth to lessen some of the tension from my pounding migraine.
After it subsides enough for me to lay down, I flop back and sink down onto my comforter, close my eyes, and drift off to sleep, vowing not to wake until the following day.
***
Chapter Eleven
Tatiana
When I wake to the smell of bacon, I look over at my clock and realize I have slept for fourteen hours. That showdown must have done a number on me if I was asleep that long. I throw back my sheet, sit up, and reach for the clip attached to the post of my bed. I twist my hair and pin it up out of my face while I walk towards the bathroom to brush my teeth.
When I finish scrubbing them clean, I swish a little mouthwash, spit it out, and let the water rinse it down the drain. I stare at my reflection in the mirror. Although it looks as if I’m well rested, it doesn’t feel that way to me. My eyes look bluer, my skin appears clearer, but peering into my own soul, I know my reflection is a false image.
I toe on my slippers and walk downstairs towards the aroma that woke me. With all the noise I hear, I know that my grandma Berry is cooking breakfast for the entire family before I’m even in view of the cluttered tables.
“There’s the sleepyhead,” Grandma Berry chirps. “You missed one heck of a dinner last night, kiddo.”
I stretch, and when I go to sit, my eyes deceive me. I do a double take, turn, and look at Winter before she motions for me to lean down to her.
> “It’s Lana’s sister. She knows what happened, and we’re welcoming her,” she whispers. “So, wipe that surprised look off your face.”
I take my seat as my grandma hands me a plate stacked high with eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast. My stomach growls with joy at the amount of food on my plate. Sleeping that long has really unbalanced me, but as I dig into my food, my eyes wander back to the beautiful Lana look alike. It’s strange but also calming. It almost feels as if she’s back here with us.
When Shadow takes his plate to the sink and kisses my grandma on the forehead to thank her for a delicious breakfast, my heart pitter-patters. He can be so sweet at times and yet, such a dick too, but when I see him interacting with my grandmother like this, it makes the feelings I’ve developed that much stronger. Shadow makes me weak without him even realizing he’s doing it. He holds so much power over me, and no matter how angry I am at him, he still makes me tremble in the knees every single time I lay eyes on him. It is the most aggravating thing I have ever felt.
“You guys… I’m taking a wild guess here, but based on my sister’s letter, I’m assuming this extra quiet behavior is unusual.” Akela laughs nervously as she draws my attention from Shadow.
The bacon stops midway to my mouth at her statement. It is a bold one, that is certain, but it is also a true statement.
“We’re letting the guys practice hospitality.”
I laugh out loud at Winter, and the rest of the room follows.
“Would you guys like to hear a story about her?” She takes a deep breath. “It’s one of my favorites.”
When she asks that, Pyro tenses up. With a sad smile, I look over at my uncle. To know he lost her, right around the same time he fell in love with her, is enough to make me weep for him.
“I’d like to hear it,” he mumbles after a few quiet moments.
Akela places her orange juice down on the table and inhales deeply again before taking us on a Lana filled journey.
“The sun was shining so bright this day. You couldn’t even look up and see the beautiful clouds in the sky, because when you tried, the sun’s beams would blind you. Lana was about fifteen or so. My parents were rather strict when it came to letting Lana go to the beach. She was four, almost five years younger than me. So whenever she wanted to go, she would call me up.” Akela’s lips tilt up to form a smile as she laughs at the memory.
“This day was different than our other trips. Something about the atmosphere, I guess, or maybe because it was one of the many surf seasons, and the beach was extra packed, but whatever. Something made me watch her like a hawk. It felt completely off.” She stops, picks up her glass of orange juice, takes a sip to wet her throat, and then sets it back down on the table.
“Not even an hour after we got there, all hell broke loose. Sharks had invaded the surf. There must have been at least a dozen of them. With all the people in the water, it drew so much attention to the surfers who were out in the deep, waiting to catch some waves.” Her head shakes back and forth like she still can’t believe it. “My stomach was in knots. I paced this little patch of sand back and forth, trying to keep track of her in the crystal blue waters. Every single time I would spot her, she would disappear again. It was nerve racking. When one of the sharks attacked—” she cuts herself off and then starts again, “well crap, this isn’t a story to share while people are eating. I apologize.”
Smiles light up the room as Godfather speaks. “You do realize you’re in an MC, right? Go on, darlin’. You aren’t offending anyone.”
She smiles back and nods at him. “The first attack happened so fast. I decided to swim out to find Lana, because the screams were so loud, there’s no way she could hear me calling for her. My body was shaking, and I was panicking so bad that I’m surprised I didn’t drown myself. When I finally laid eyes on her, she was paddling this guy in on his surfboard. That’s when my heart stopped, right then and there.” Her hand flies to her heart, and her fingernails dig into her shirt as if she can still feel the pain in her chest.
“This guy’s leg was gone below the knee. It had been bitten off by one of the sharks. The water around them was filled with blood. It was so thick, all I could think was the next attack would be on my sister. By the time I reached them, she was screaming for me to paddle him in, and right beside us, a shark attacked another surfer who was trying to catch a wave to get to shore. She pushed the guy on the surfboard to me and yelled for me to get him help, and then she swam back out,” she says while wrapping her arms around her chest to comfort herself. I’m surprised she is still speaking, let alone telling a story of her sister. The memory has to hurt.
“My fifteen-year-old sister was risking her own damn life for complete strangers. I couldn’t dwell on that, at the time. Later on, I would be proud of her, but at that moment, I was anything but. It is amazing what you feel when your own flesh and blood puts themselves in harm’s way for complete strangers. I was so damn angry, and I’m not proud of the fact that I wanted to leave the guy to fend for his own life, so I could drag my sister to shore.” She shakes her head back and forth as if she is completely disgusted with herself over the thought.
“I finally broke through all the bodies to get this guy onto the beach, and the lifeguards took over while I started searching the water for my sister again. This time, I got the scare of my life. When I finally found her helping another surfer, I saw a fin swimming around them. At first, I couldn’t tell if the guy was missing a limb, but I could see he was gushing blood everywhere, and as the shark moved around them, its circle got smaller and smaller. It felt like someone had taken that one moment out of a movie and inserted it into my real life.” Her body shudders. “You hear people say they were frozen in one spot. Well, I was rooted to the sand. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t scream. All I could do was stand there in shock, scared for my sister’s life.” Her arms move from around her body, and one hand swipes at the lone tear escaping her left eye.
“She didn’t let that fin deter her, not one little bit. She kept on kicking that surfer in as that shark circled. Every time it was to her side and then behind her, she would kick. When it was in front of her, she would stop and watch, waiting for it to pass before kicking again. It was like she was playing a game with it. A game of smarts, if you will, and it was almost as if the shark was trying to figure her out. To this day, it was the most terrifying experience I have ever had. It continued back and forth like that until she was on shore. Someone even videoed it. You can probably still find it online. Anyways, she got him up to the sand and collapsed to catch her breath. She was covered in blood from head to toe, and the paramedics checked her body to make sure she wasn’t injured.” She stops and looks around at everyone.
“I guess the point that I’m trying to make with this story is this. Even then, she risked her life for others, and when Winter told me what probably went down when she died, it doesn’t shock me in the least. Lana has always been the self-sacrificing type, and she went down exactly how she was supposed to. Defending others, because she always said, “What makes their life more important than mine?” Even though I’m so heartbroken she isn’t here anymore, I know there wasn’t a better way for her to be taken from me, from us. She went out in a selfless battle, defending the people she cared about.”
Tears cascade down my face when she stops talking. I think I understand Lana a lot better from hearing this one story, and my heart hurts knowing she was always that selfless. That kind. That real.
“Thank you, Akela.” Pyro stands and leaves the room without even bothering to put his plate in the sink. That is how I know Akela’s story hurt him very deeply. No one ever fails to clean up after themselves when my grandmother cooks. I grab his plate and take it over to the sink with mine, before slipping back upstairs and crying like the human her story reminded me that I was.
***
Chapter Twelve
Shadow
This morning at breakfast was the first time I’ve
ever seen my brothers quiet all at once. The story Lana’s sister told was life changing. It made me think I should never take life for granted, and others are as important as I am. I’ve never been that big of an asshole, but I can honestly say, I wouldn’t have taken a bullet for someone I care about, much less a stranger. If Lana could swim in shark infested waters and risk her life to save a stranger’s, why the hell can’t I take a bullet for a loved one or maybe a woman or child?
Even though she’s gone, her legacy affects those of us still here, and that means she lives on in us. It’s made me realize I haven’t done one single thing to fucking make my presence in the world worth anything yet. Do I deserve to be breathing, and do I take life for granted?
I scrub my face as I wait for our Prez to smack the gavel down. I’m sure he’s going to tell me that it’s time to set a meeting with Alec now that the Chinese are dealt with.
“Y’all know why we’re here.” He sits and smacks the gavel down on the table. “Now, let’s get this shit over with. My wife is a fuckin’ mess from that story earlier.”
Pyro makes a sound that isn’t quite human.
Fuck!
“Shadow, here is how I want this to play out. Go to your dude’s club, do your thing, and act natural. When you’re finished with your routine, be all casual and shit, and say my Prez wants a meetin’ with you. If he asks why, shrug your shoulders,” Prez orders.
“Easy enough.”
“Set the meeting for the day after tomorrow, at two, at Club Sated. It won’t be open, so we’ll have control over everything, without bringing it back here to the compound.” He adds.
“Done.”
Prez looks down and then back up at us. “Winter is talkin’ with Akela. She isn’t to leave this compound without at least two patched members or two prospects. She’s asked me if she could stay awhile. What the fuck was I supposed to say? No? We delivered a hard blow to her, and I ain’t that fuckin’ cold.”
Shadowing Me (Breakneck Series, Book Three) Page 7
