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York returned Aaron’s pistol to me. He also handed me a spare cell phone and told me the code to access it.
“This vendetta needs to end now, or else my mom will never meet my new boyfriend.”
Ignoring his joke, I gripped his jacket sleeve. The urge to stop him was almost unbearable. Begging words nearly spilled from my mouth.
Before giving in to my panic, I remembered my club training and stayed focused.
York was smart. The enemy was weak. He would return to me, and I would dress like a dude to meet his mom. Nothing would distract me from that goal.
YORK
My intense feelings for Goldie distracted me from the smarter move. Though I ought to remain hidden, I didn’t trust myself to stay sharp with her soft body in my arms.
The image of a stray bullet finding its way to Goldie forced my ass to get up. I offered her a quick kiss before leaving her safely hidden.
Using a sweeping technique, I moved slowly and steadily through the rough brush, across the ditch, and up the embankment toward the vehicle. I heard voices. One of them was pained like a man with his heart ripped out.
“Where’s the bitch?” hollered Vinny’s brother, Joey.
Their father, Bud, snarled like a fucking dog, “She can’t be far.”
Joey raged, “She didn’t do all this shit!”
The sobbing continued. I moved to my right before rising high enough up the embankment to spot Greg’s dad holding his boy. Hal had dragged him off the now-dead Vinny and cradled him as the other men argued.
“What the fuck do we do?” Joey hollered.
“We’ll find the bitch and end her. Hal, get your ass up and help us search.”
“This shouldn’t have happened,” Hal mumbled through his sobs. “My boy shouldn’t be dead.”
Bud muttered coldly, “Well, he’s as dead as mine, and I’m looking to get revenge.”
Joey barked at Hal, “Are you going to let that bitch get away with what she did?”
“Why did they take her?” Hal asked while rocking his son’s body. “What was the point? Why did any of this happen?”
“It is what it is,” Bud said coldly. “My son is dead, and I’m killing the bitch who took him away from his mama.”
Through my scope, I saw Bud and Joey checking their weapons. I fired my shots without hesitation. Joey dropped first. Bud had a second or two to realize he’d lost another son. Then, he collapsed next to Joey.
I moved up the embankment with my rifle aimed at Hal. He had frozen when the men dropped. Hal gently rested Greg on the ground and lifted his hands. His gaze scanned the night before finding me moving toward him.
Zodiac would have taken the shot already. In his mind, anyone who wasn’t an ally was the enemy. But I didn’t pull the trigger.
“This ends tonight,” I told Hal, who had once worn the Black Rainbow patch. “If your people make another run at us, there’ll be no mercy from Zodiac or Clint Reed.”
“Why would you show me any mercy now?”
“The woman these fuckers took is mine. I rode here without knowing if she was dead or alive. Hell, these boys might have taken turns with her. My mind saw every kind of horror.”
Shaking off my rage, I sighed, “But finding her alive has made me feel merciful. Besides, you showed grief while these fuckers only cared about revenge. Mercy from me would never have been appreciated by them. But I think you want to bury your boy and spend time with your surviving family. Am I right?”
“You are.”
“So, here’s the deal. Greg’s body needs to stay here. In a few days, the law will release him to your family. Before the cops arrive here, you should get in your vehicle and leave.”
Hal gently rested Greg on the ground. Standing, he stepped back with his hands still where I could see them. “I’m sorry about your woman. None of us wanted this.”
