My stomach twists in knots as I slink across the parking lot of Donovan’s Auto Repair. I watch for shadows. For enemies. Leather-clad men. Skull and crossbones. A snake-wrapped skull. The flash of a blade.
I’m alone. And since I’ve been watching the place for over an hour, I know for certain there’s only one man inside.
Pulse racing, I push through the door. Other than the dim light coming from Axe’s office, the shop is dark. I pull a gun from the back of my jeans.
My brother glances up just as I aim the barrel at his head.
He stares at me a beat and leans back in his chair, his signature scowl locking in place. “Come here to kill me?”
There isn’t an ounce of fear on Axe’s face. No emotion. Just that angry look permanently carved into his features. He probably learned it from Jimmy. It’s the Donovan mantra. Don’t let anyone see it—the panic, the adrenaline spike.Never let ’em see you sweat.Or maybe Axe doesn’t feel anything at all.
Ignoring the moisture gathering on my palms, I rest my finger on the trigger. “I came here to talk.”
“I said all I needed to say.” He pushes to his feet, and I take a step back. “I’m expecting company. Club business. So I’ll need you to leave. Now.”
I keep my weapon trained ahead as I will my feet to stay firmly planted. Despite the way every cell in my body screams at me to run. Warning me that I’ve disobeyed an order from a man who not twelve hours ago was ready to fill me with bullets.
“I’m not leaving until you hear me out,” I say, steadying the shake in my hand.
He smiles. “Better not miss, Gracie. You take a shot at a man like me, you gotta make it count.” Slowly, he advances, his hand subtly reaching towards the half-open top drawer to his left. “Last chance to walk out of here alive.”
The threat rolls off his tongue a little too easily. He’s never seen me as his sister. I accepted that a long time ago. But for him to imply he could so easily end my life? Regardless of what I am to him, I’m still his blood. That should mean something.
I take a fortifying breath and reposition my finger on the trigger. “I don’t want to shoot you, okay? Please don’t make me. I don’t want to have to explain to Jimmy why I killed his son.”
“No, I guess you wouldn’t. Because then you’d have to explain how we got here. What you did.”
I’m not sure what would be worse for Jimmy. His son’s death or his daughter’s betrayal. Either way, I kill Axe, my father loses both his kids.
His hand moves again. Inching closer to that drawer.
“If you’d have killed me this morning,” I say, “how would you have explained it to him?”
He pauses a beat, his hand stalling while mine tightens on the grip of my gun. “I’d have told him what he needed to hear. That you left. That I don’t know where you went. And when youdidn’t turn up, I’d let him think you were done with this life. That you ran off and didn’t look back.”
I scoff, an ache blooming in my chest. “That’s cruel, Axe.”
“It’s kindness. I will take no responsibility for breaking my old man’s heart. That’s all on you. You betrayed the patch.”
“You’ll never forgive me, will you?”
“They’re the enemy. You were dead to me the second you crossed that line.” He slips his hand into the drawer.
Before he can draw his own weapon, I surrender mine. Surprise flashes across his face as I press my gun into his hand.
“Not for that,” I clarify. “For everything that came before this. I’m the reason he left, right? Jimmy abandoned his Sinners, his club. Andyou.”
The muscles in his shoulders flex, his glare hardening. He raises his weapon, pressing the barrel to my forehead, hand steady. If I give him a little too much time, he’ll pull that trigger without a second thought.
“You don’t just blame me,” I continue. “He chose me over you in all the ways that mattered. You hate me for it. For the choice he made. That’s what this is about, isn’t it?”
“This is about the choiceyoumade. About you coming after what I’ve built here,” he sneers. “Taking Jimmy’s legacy and spitting all over it. Fuck. Our old man were here right now, he wouldn’t even be able to look at you.”
“I’m not coming after anything,” I grit. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I didn’t mean to bring them here. I came home because I thought you could help. Because I thought you could look past all the shit between us. I’m… I’m your sister, Axe.” A shaky breath escapes me. “But I knew the second I rolled into town that I made a mistake. You talk a big game. All the shit you’re always spouting about protecting what belongs to the club, protecting your family? All bullshit when it comes to me. It always has been.”
“Youbetrayedus.”
“This is what you’ve always done.” I stand a little straighter. “Someone hurts you, you hurt them back. But I’m not the one who did the hurting. Jimmy did. I didn’ttakehim from you. Hechoseto leave.” I inch closer, pressing against the barrel of his gun.Never let ’em see you sweat.“Hurting me might be easier than hurting him, but it’s fucked up, and you know it.”
