Finn walks over to him, taking his hand into Cedric’s. “They didn’t hear you.”
Finn encourages him to speak again. “Please, just let me turn myself in. I’ve put too many people in danger, and y’all have done enough for me.”
He wants to give up. My heart sinks. So much damage has been done to him, he’s losing hope. I want him to be stronger. I want him to lead, but in the end, he has been a hero, whether he believes it or not.
He tried to say no, until he couldn’t.
He tried to keep the kids safe, and out of this mess.
He tried to take on a powerful force that only led to him suffering.
“We ain’t gonna do that kid,” Coda says from the back. “You’re staying here or if we can get one of our friend chapters to help, they’ll help.”
Cedric tries to interrupt, but Rawlings interjects, “Cedric, what do you think is going to happen? You walk into their bar, arms up in surrender and they'll hand over an “all is forgiven”?”
Cedric stands straighter, “It would end everything, the final piece of that negotiation.”
Tessa steps in, “Sweetie, you have people here that care about you.”
“Only because Lottie says I do. I have no one else, after mom left for Texas, I was on my own and I started my own life. I have no one else here,” he snaps.
Finn shrinks a little, “You have me,” his strong, calming voice pulls Cedric’s attention.
“You’re right, but look where my trouble has gotten folks. Lottie almost died after an explosion, you’re here instead of your own bed, and the kids that I got roped into this,” he drones on, and it's maddening that he doesn’t see what we see.
“You have a family here,” Jackson says, “and as long as your family, a branch of the club, we’ll protect you. If that requires us to set aside differences with another club and owe a favor, we’ll do that.”
“So, enough about a mess that you’ve made, you think these members, these brothers,” Rawlings starts, Topaz clears her throat, “and sister, hasn’t made mistakes we had to clean up and help get out of. And look, they're still here. So, enough. We’ll get through this like we have before.” he leans forward, giving him a nod.
“Which brotherhood are we calling?” Joaquin asks.
The brothers fall short of an answer, some of them rubbing the back of their necks.
“Seriously, have y’all pissed off that many people?” Tessa jokes.
Jackson shakes his head, “No, just..”
“Who can we trust enough to not screw us over,” Memphis finishes.
“What about the Sons of Neptune?” Topaz throws out.
“Maybe, but they're in South Carolina, the coast.” D.R tosses around the idea.
“Worth a shot, D.R, make the call,” Rawlings orders out.
“How much can we trust them?” I ask.
“Enough that we can owe them a favor, as long as it doesn’t involve Sturgis.” Coda says, as his body shivers at the thought. Must be an inside story.
Keola stands behind me, draping his hands over my shoulders, tilting my chin up to him. The crooked smile offers a light of hope that we can get through this. Cedric leaves, possibly getting some fresh air. He battles himself everyday and I wish I could help more with these internal fights.
“We’ll get him out of here, where they can’t find him. And then we’ll bring him back home.” Keola promises. It’s a simple promise, but worth its weight in gold.
“So what are we going to do about the rest? Do we trust enough that they’ll put the running somewhere else? We should have done more at that bar,” Greer chimes in. He hasn’t said much since we left the bar.
“Is that revenge in your voice, prospect?” Rawlings growls out.
“And what if it is, Prez?” he responds back in return.
