CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Brick
As promised, Ideliver Starlet to the clubhouse at ten o’clock the next morning. We both fell asleep on the couch together, too exhausted to make love again. My betrayal is complete as I direct her to the dining area where she can grab some coffee and breakfast. There’s several old ladies sitting at the table. A couple look up at her with pity. Word must have spread about our situation once we left for Shorty’s cabin. There’s no room in the Iron Norsemen for a runaway from a rival MC. No tolerance for a rebellious old lady who broke the rules.
I give her hand a last squeeze before I let her go and head to Eagle’s office, feeling lower than I ever have.
I’m surprised to find the door open, Eagle and Shorty inside. Eagle glances at the wall clock and then waves me in.
“You made it.”
I blow out a frustrated breath and slam myself into one of the guest chairs, wearing my fucking emotions on my cut for anyone to see.
Eagle gives me a knowing look. “Got a call from Silver early this morning. I expect he’ll roll in here in a few hours to pick Starlet up.”
“What does he know?” I ask.
“What he needs to. We protected her until we found out who she belongs to.”
I slam my fist on his desk.
“Easy, brother.” Shorty pats my shoulder. “I think it’s time,” he says to Eagle.
“Time for what?” I ask.
Eagle leans back in his leather chair and steeples his fingers under his chin. “There’s no reason for you to be here when the Devil’s Crusaders arrive. I want you to take a long ride with Shorty.”
The temperature in the office just shot up by thirty degrees. I swallow hard. “No,” I refuse. “I started this shit. It’s my responsibility to see her off safely.” My eyes dart over his head, scanning the back wall of the office where there’s dozens of framed pictures of my brothers and their families. This is what I live for, swore to protect.
“It’s not a request, Brick,” Eagle says. “This is a direct order—to protect you and the charter.”
“I don’t need protection,” I ground out, sounding too bitter.
“Yeah, you do.”
Shorty stands and taps my shoulder. “Time to go.”
I shake my head.
“Get up, Brick,” Eagle commands.
Hands fisted on my lap, I gaze at his president patch, wondering what would happen if I challenged his authority—told him to go fuck himself. Our eyes meet—Eagle has never done anything to hurt me. If anything, he’s given me more than one chance to prove myself.
“You’re thinking with your dick,” he observes. “The sooner there’s distance between you and the girl, the sooner you can get your head straight. Until then, Shorty is your shadow.”
If I needed rehabilitation, I’d check myself into a psych ward. Not that they’d be able to figure out the crazy shit that goes on in my head. No one can. I stand. “I want to say goodbye to her.”
Eagle shakes his head. “You had all night to do it. Take the back door so she doesn’t see you leave. There’s a loaner bike ready to go.”
Shorty moves to the door, gesturing to the right, the opposite direction of the kitchen. “Ready, brother?”
Talk about cornered with no place to go…
I stomp out of the office and follow Shorty outside.
“Did you get to tell her everything you needed to?” he asks.
I’m half a foot taller than the old timer, but he’s as tough as nails and worthy of my respect. “No.”
