Butch continued to laugh by my side, but his laugh had turned bitter and hungry for violence and more of Hardy’s blood. With every kick Dom gave to Hardy, Butch watched with satisfaction. His gaze never leaving Dom as he stared in adoration at his long-term friend and lover.
Dom finally stopped, his chest heaving, and Casa once again dragged Hardy up to his knees.
“He’s right,” I said, looking down at Hardy. “You did this. Not me. And now I’m done being your scapegoat.”
“It was supposed to be you that went, not him. Though I can’t say I was overly disappointed anyway. Your brother turned out to be just as big a disappointment as you in the end.” Hardy spoke with so much rage that I could practically feel his anger vibrating in the air between us. “Fucking weak, all of you!”
“A disappointment? He couldn’t have been a better man if he’d tried.”
“I blame your mom. Something bad in her genes that she passed on to all of you boys. Every one of you had something wrong. Billy died before his first breath, Butch liked to take it in the ass, and you were the bastard son of a crack whore.” Hardy saw the look on my face and he smiled. The blood on his teeth was bright as he spoke. “Yeah, that’s right. You’re a bastard. Never knew who your fucking daddy was, but it sure as shit weren’t me.”
My breath caught in my throat, his words burning a hole in my chest.
I felt Butch’s hand on my shoulder. ‘Now,’ Butch whispered in my ear. ‘It’s time now.’ He squeezed my shoulder and then aimed his own gun at Hardy’s head.
“Yeah, now, brother,” I replied before squeezing the trigger and catching Hardy between the eyes. I saw the flash of confusion in his eyes right before the life went out of them, and then he fell backwards, his body slamming onto the dusty ground, and I let go of the breath I had been holding since Butch’s death.
We all stared in silence as his blood pooled and mingled with Pipes’, and none of us felt a damn thing about it. Gone were the hate and the anger, the pain and the suffering.
It all died with Hardy.
It all ended now.
Butch patted me on the shoulder and when I turned to look he smiled at me. ‘You did good,’ he said. ‘You did real good, brother.’
I stared at my brother in silence. Wanting to say a million things, but not having the words for any of them.
“What now?” Rider asked.
I turned away from Hardy’s body and looked toward our VP. “That’s up to you. You’re the president now. We follow you.”
Rider smiled and dragged a hand through his silver hair. “We need to make some calls. Get some men up here to help clear this mess up, and then we need to go to church. Shit needs to be spoken about. Too many secrets and too much being left unsaid. Brothers need to know what’s going on.”
“No doubt,” Dom agreed. “You think they’ll understand?”
Rider held his arm tightly, the blood seeping slowly through his fingers. “Fucking hope so, or we’re all dead men walking.”
“It’s gonna’ be alright,” I said and all three men turned to look at me.
“Yeah? And what makes you so fucking positive all of a sudden?” Casa mocked me.
I looked back to where Butch had been, but he was gone. “I just know it,” I replied.
