We hurried to our vehicles, with me riding behind her car. Along the way, neither of us encountered any trouble. I didn’t even see another motorcycle, let alone a Fallen Saint, who might cause trouble. But I didn’t care. All it would have taken was a single wayward pedestrian, working for the Saints, to mention that Rose was driving home alone before some assholes would be waiting for her.
When we got to her complex, though, I never turned off my bike. She looked at me like she wanted me to come, but I shook my head. Whatever reconciliation, whatever conversation, whatever... whatever we had to do would have to wait until after tomorrow night. We had to take care of the Saints first.
I did wait until Rose got to her apartment door. I waved to her, she smiled back, and then she disappeared into her apartment. With that, I blazed down to the Black Reapers clubhouse.
It was going to be awkward having to speak to Butch again after everything that had happened. It was going to be awkward having to confront Lane after whatever damage he had taken trying to break us up. But part of moving forward, as Rose had said, was putting aside grudges for the greater good.
And that’s when I figured out how we’d win the battle.
* * *
I pulled into the lot and sprinted to the back. Inside, Butch was sipping on some whiskey while practicing some pool. Both of us froze when we saw the other.
“Butch,” I said.
“Axle,” he said.
Both of us gulped.
“Sorry.”
Somehow, we both said it simultaneously. I snorted in amusement. Butch did the same.
“Let’s talk later,” I said. “Where’s Lane?”
“In church, alone.”
That was all I needed to hear. We might have only said less than ten words to each other, but I didn’t much care. We’d have time to sit down and hash shit out over drinks later. For now, we had something far more urgent to take care of.
I burst into the room, finding Lane doing some paperwork. A quick glance showed that it was the legitimate side of our business and not something for his eyes only.
“Axle,” he said, surprised.
When he looked up at me, I could see the black eye we had left him was pretty gnarly. It would take some time for it to heal, but as long as he could see, it was just another scar for us to joke about in the future.
“We got a problem,” I said as I shut the door behind me. “The Fallen Saints are planning a major operation tomorrow against us. I don’t know details, but I am certain it’s going to happen.”
“Shit, you’re sure?”
“Rose found out from a couple of ‘em who tried to attack her,” I said. “It’s real.”
Lane smacked his lips, muttering a few curses along the way.
“And Lane,” I said. “We can repel them, but I really think they’re going to come in full force. We need to be prepared to take them out in greater numbers.”
“So call the Hovas,” Lane said. “They owe us.”
I shook my head.
“Jerome and I aren’t friends right now.”
“Axle?” Lane said, fear in his voice.
“And frankly, even if we were, that’s not what I meant,” I said, ignoring Lane’s rising concern. “You’re going to have to reach out to someone for help. It’s going to suck, but it’s like I learned recently. Fights are part of relationships. You can either let the relationship die, or you can look past it and make amends after helping each other.”
I put my hands on the table.
“You know what you have to do.”
