We jump out of our vehicles and rush his car.
Brennan, realizing he’s not going to spin his way out of the ditch, scrambles out of the car and tries to make a quick getaway. I take great pleasure in running him the fuck down. He doesn’t get more than about fifteen feet before I grab him by the back of his shirt and slam him face-first down into the dirt. He fights like a cornered animal, twisting, kicking, clawing for space. Onequick fist to the face is all it takes to knock the fight right out of him.
Slate’s there now, grabbing his left arm. Mica comes up as I reach for his right arm, so we can immobilize and zip tie his mangy ass. I don’t see the knife flashing in Brennan’s hand until a moment too late, but I feel a sharp pain when it stabs into my arm.
I jerk my arm back and slam my fist into his face again because apparently, he didn’t get the message the first time. It takes a few more punches before he gets the message. Brennan is that special kind of stubborn. He spits blood as the knife drops from his hand onto the soft ground.
When Brennan lunges at me again, Slate slaps him down. “Enough, we’ve had about all of your assholery that we can stand for one night.”
Brennan keeps struggling until the bite of the zip ties Mica tightens into place starts to bite into his wrists. That’s when he finally understands the futility of fighting us. He’s out of breath, covered in mud, and his eyes dart around like he’s still looking for a way out.
I step back and press my hand over the wound on my arm. I can feel the warm blood oozing against my fingers. It hurts, but it’s shallow. I can’t believe the stupid fucker stabbed me, but I’ve had worse.
Mica’s nearby and already on the phone with Jasper. “We’ve got him. Call Morgan and tell him we got a present for him.”
We leave Brennan lying right there in the mud with his hands tied behind his back and blood seeping from his nose and mouth. We talk amongst ourselves as the adrenaline drains out of our systems and the sirens in the distance start to get closer.
Morgan arrives first, lights flashing and his siren going off. Uniformed officers are right behind him. He takes in the scene with one long look, then nods.
“You did good work. Time to fuck off and let the uniformed officers take over the scene.” My eyes narrow on him because Detective Morgan isn’t usually quite this dismissive of our efforts.
Mica gets it first and answers smoothly, “Sorry about this unfortunate auto accident. It was low visibility because of the rain, and he came out of nowhere.”
I honestly don’t see how he’s going to pretend like we were never involved when God and the community saw us at the aunt’s house, and I don’t know how many passersby saw the car chase. Then again, I can’t say I really care either. The cold, hard fact is that if Cedar Falls PD doesn’t arrest us, then the prosecutor can’t press charges. Less red tape for everyone involved, and all the attention is going to be focused on Morgan getting his man.
We hustle back to our vehicles and pull out because no one has to ask me twice. As far as I’m concerned, this situation is good and done. I don’t care who gets the glory for taking Brennan down, as long as they manage to keep him behind bars this time.
Once we’re on the road, Mica looks over at me. “You’re bleeding all over my nice new SUV.”
“Fuck all the way off with that shit,” I tell him, feeling something between irritation and humor.
He grins at me and then his expression gets serious. “Bro, you do need stitches and that’s no joke.”
“Good thing we’ve got an outstanding club medic,” I respond, gripping the wound tighter.
I can hear Rivera on his cell phone quietly talking with Jasper about making sure Stitch is there when we arrive. I relax back into my seat and enjoy the moment. The asshole is back behind bars with enough evidence to make sure he never seesthe light of day again, all courtesy of me and my club. This is definitely a feel-good moment worth savoring.
Chapter 23
Emily
It’s been an anxious last few days for various reasons. Onyx wouldn’t tell me much, only that they’d found the bodies of Brennan’s missing girlfriend and another woman. Brennan was still in the wind, but this morning all the brothers left early, clearly on some sort of mission. I realize with surprise that I’m already fitting into the lifestyle. I trust my man will take care of himself, and I trust that he will tell me what I need to know.
There’s something that he needs to know, too, but I keep that to myself. I’ll tell him when he returns. I don’t know if he’s going to like it or not, but I think he will. We’d been told to stay in the clubhouse, another day of lockdown. Not that I had plans, as I was still cataloging all the club records.
Late in the afternoon my concentration is broken by the sound of approaching bikes. I run outside along with the other old ladies. Our men look tired but they’re all present and accounted for and riding their motorcycles, so that’s a win.
At first, I’m all smiles. “You found him?” I call out.
“Damn straight,” he says with a sexy smile. “We found him, I gave him a little punch-up, and we handed him over to Detective Morgan.”
Relief washes over me so profound that my knees almost buckle. I walk straight into his open arms, and he wraps me up in a crushing hug. He lifts me from my feet and spins me around in a circle. When he sets me down, he cups my face in his hands and kisses me. That kiss is everything in this moment. It feels deep, sure, and true. This is a victory kiss if ever there was one.My whole body tingles with arousal for this man who risked his life to protect me.
Onyx chuckles. I love the deep masculine tone of his laugh. His joy is my joy and vice versa. Suddenly I’m being tossed over his shoulder and he playfully smacks me on the ass. I make a startled sound in the back of my throat, half laughing, half indignant, as he stalks into the clubhouse with me, like he’s been dreaming of doing this forever. He drops me onto the bar and straddles a bar stool, framing me with his legs. For one perfect second, I look into his eyes, and everything feels perfect.
Then I look down and see blood on his arm.
“You’re bleeding!” I exclaim, my heart pounding in my chest.
