“Let’s do this.”
He pulled open the heavy door, and I turned to V one last time.
“Please.”
She shook her head, cuddling Nixie close.
“I’m definitely needed. I mean, you guys punch each other to offer comfort.”
She smiled at me, as I held the door open for her, because for some reason I was still taking her with me, despite my attempts to keep her away from this.
“Stay back, stay quiet, and don’t let Nixie loose.”
“Duh.”
I pushed the door closed, watching my brother striding toward the bizarre tableau of men surrounding what had to be two suited cunts about to die. He looked strong and ready for this, but I knew on the inside he was anything but.
“You know, if I was feeling mean, which I never am,” V said, following me in their direction, “I’d point out that even Caroline hits harder than you.”
Despite everything, I barked out a surprised laugh, turning to shake my head at her.
Men turned, almost in a wave, as they faced their brother as he headed toward his own fucking retribution, and that’s when we saw the two men they’d brought here. Clearly they’d already been smacked a little by someone, and they were tied to two wooden chairs, and glaring silently at us as we approached, tape brutally covering their mouths.
“Why’s she here?” Torch asked, and that’s when all eyes fell on us, or more truthfully, and frustratingly, on V. Why did I hate that so much?
“V, you shouldn’t be here, darlin’,” Harley said, shooting a surprised look at Micro as he strode in our direction.
“I tried, man.”
V kicked the back of my leg, and I bit back a hiss of pain. Fuck’s sake.
“I think I should be here,” she said, lifting her chin to glare at Harley. Hell, she was tall like us, not at all backing down from the mass of men from two entire chapters of a club. There must have been about forty guys in this room, and if those two cunts in the chairs thought this wasn’t the end of the road for them, they were insane. Or dreaming. Maybe both.
“It’s going to get violent, V. Do you understand this is club justice? This is the shit we don’t want-”
“The little women to see? I’m not going to do anything. I just didn’t want Has-Been coming in without our backup.”
Fuck me.
Harley turned to look at Micro, who, in turn, looked at Reacher, and that guy? He cursed, rubbing his hand over his pierced brow, before he turned to murmur something to Stitch.
And this whole time? Has-Been stood tall, strong, among his family. His brothers. The men who had his fucking back, and were proving it yet again for him.
He was glaring right at the two cunts in the chairs, and I felt so proud of him, because only I’d seen the mess he’d been in before he walked in here, but they had no idea. To them he just looked ready to fucking destroy them.
“She can stay, but stay back, love. It’s going to get messy. No shame if you decide to wait outside with your little dog.”
“She’s got a little dog?”
“Let me see.”
“Can we please focus?”
“Besides, she’s mine,” I said loudly enough for them to hear, and silence fell once more as they all turned to look at V.
“He’s got himself an old lady at last?” Dodger asked, pushing his way past Micro to stare at her, and fuck me that wasn’t what I meant, but his eyes on her? Not fucking happening.
“Can we focus on what’s happening here, dipshit?” I snapped, stepping between them to put the attention back where it belonged. On Has-Been, and his fucking revenge.
