I stare at the closed door as if it’s my worst enemy. Then I shake it off and survey the apartment. Slowly, I wipe the tears from my cheeks. There’s nothing to do but get comfortable with Kyler’s stuff. Everything feels strange and intimidating; I find myself sitting on the edge of my chair.
A picture frame next to the TV catches my eye and I carefully walk toward it. The closer I get, the faster my heart beats.
There, on the television cabinet, in a black wooden frame, is a picture of a seventeen-year-old me with a wide grin on her face. Next to her is a seventeen-year-old Kyler, pressing a kiss to my temple. A sharp pain pierces my heart, and I sink to the floor infront of the cupboard. After a few moments, my shoulders start to shake.
Ten
I’malittleearly,so I grab my helmet from the saddle and take a seat. My only thoughts are about how her body was pressed against mine during the night. When I put my helmet between my legs and grab my cigarettes, my little brother startles me.
“Dad’s pissed.” Pax takes a seat on his own Indian next to me.
I shrug as I put my hands on the handlebars. “Dad’s always pissed when we do anything else but execute an order,” I tell him. “He knows I’m right.”
“Bullshit. Since when does Dad tell you you’re right when it’s concerning Layne, huh?” He looks at me from his peripheral, puts his feet on the supports.
I throw him a bored look. “I played the Elias card.”
“Shit.” He pauses briefly, then resumes speaking. “What did he say?” Pax puts a hand through his long hair and leans forward onto the tank.
“'Elias is dead and no longer a member.' I told him he would turn in his grave if he knew Dad would turn his back on Layne. That pretty much gave me a free pass.”
“A free pass?”
I nod.
With his eyebrows raised he asks: “He literally told you, you could do anything?I call bullshit.”
“No, he didn’t, but he didn’t argue anymore.” I put my helmet on and start the engine.
“Where are you going?” With a groan, my brother’s leaning backward.
I push my Indian backward with my feet. “I gotta meet Brooks.”
“To do what?” He narrows his eyes on me and grabs his helmet.
“None of your fucking business; stay here. If you pull those stitches, we’ve got a problem.” In the meantime, I turn my bike. I quickly accelerate, lift my feet, and speed off before Pax can start his bike. It’s for the best if he stays out of this. For as long as possible.
I meet Brooks at a warehouse, two blocks from where the Knights of Mayhem are hiding out.
“What’s the plan?” Those ice-blue eyes of his take me in before he lights his cig and hands me his lighter.
I do the same. After I inhale the smoke and exhale circles, I shrug. “I wanna know who orchestrated Connor’s murder and why.”
“And ya think they’re gonna spill? With no resistance?” One skeptical brow lifts as he taps off the ashes of his cigarette with his thumb. Brooks is leaning forward on the fuel tank of his bike in the same way Pax did earlier.
“Nope. Probably not, but if I don’t poke the bear…”
“Dude, if we don’t watch it, we end up somewhere in an unmarked grave as well.” Brooks laughs a fake laugh.
I rub my face with both hands, then let my hands drop to my sides. “I know.”
“Maybe we should put the bar just a bit lower?” His smoke ends up on the ground and Brooks puts the heel of his boot on it.
“How low exactly?” I inhale one last time and put the stub out as I exhale the last smoke.
Brooks puts his helmet back on. “Make sure Layne and Rebel are safe and left alone.”
I nod, start the engine and nod my head toward the warehouse. Slowly, we drive toward it.
