“No,” I tell her, and I mean it. “They don’t get it and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s a lack of a decent upbringing or education. Sometimes, I think they don’t get it because they don’t want to. If they don’t make an effort to understand, they don’t have to feel guilty about all the depraved shit they do.”
“Yeah, I get the feeling you might be right about that,” she replies thoughtfully.
I wrap my arm around her and begin guiding her towards the elevator. “You know something, sweetness? It really doesn’t matter. Stripe, Brave, Spark, and all the other brothers are your past. They’re no longer allowed to be within a hundred miles of you.”
Her face lights up and it’s nice to see her grow more relaxed as we get closer to the parking lot. This is the best possible outcome that we could have arranged for her.
Chapter 20
Nora
Since the Sons cleared out all the Hyenas from Cedar Falls, I don’t have to worry about them rolling up on me like they did the day Jinx rescued me. The relief I feel is immense. We even stopped by the hospital so I could make it perfectly clear to Stripe that just because he paid my father money for me, didn’t make me his. Truth be told, I just wanted to say the words and gauge for myself if he was gonna continue to be a problem. His final words convinced me he wasn’t.
The first thing we both wanted to do was sleep at Jinx’s house. It felt like coming home, even though we’ve spent most of our time together at the clubhouse. I like his place. Sure, it could use a woman’s touch to warm the place up, but he’d done a wonderful job renovating it.
This morning, I rolled over to say goodbye at what Jinx calls zero dark thirty. His hand drifted down to my belly, and he bent down to talk to my belly, telling our little one that he wouldn’t be gone long and would bring them a treat when he came home. I can’t wait to see what he considers a treat for our unborn child.
He gave me a long, lingering kiss that made me remember how attentive he was to my needs last night. He whispered, “Church won’t take long, sweetness. Sleep in. You’ve earned it.” Then he left, and the sound of his bike faded away ashe rode away. I rolled back over and slept like the dead, feeling safe for the first time in years.
Giving myself permission to sleep in feels like a luxury, mostly because Jinx’s bed is so comfortable. It’s so nice that I have to make myself crawl out of it so I can get on with my day a couple of hours later. I’m looking forward to a few hours of solitude while Jinx attends his club meeting.
I slip on a fresh pair of jeans and a clean T-shirt and pad downstairs barefoot around ten. I’m thinking about making some eggs and toast and how much I need the decaf Jinx picked up especially for me.
I get three steps into the living room before I come to a stop, thoroughly shocked by what I’m seeing. The couch has a long knife slash down the back and slashes across every cushion. The stuffing is pulled out and strewn around the room, draped on the mantel like Halloween decorations. The curtains are slashed as well. Jinx’s recliner has been targeted the most.
I gasp when I see the walls have been spray-painted with blood red paint, the Hyenas’ signature color. The words are large, ugly and in all capital letters. Somebody has written WHORE, RAGER TRASH, and on the opposite wall, YOU DID THIS.
As I stand there staring, I can still smell the odor of spray paint in the air. Whoever did this was quiet. That’s the piece that horrifies me. Someone snuck into our house, vandalized it, and slipped away while I was sleeping upstairs. I’m a light sleeper and didn’t hear anything.
I reach for my phone in my back pocket and freeze when I hear light footsteps in the kitchen and the slow hiss of paintbeing sprayed. That’s when I realize that whoever this is, didn’t vandalize the house and slip away like I thought. He’s still here.
I back away quietly, while I pull out my phone, only to find it dead. I forgot to put it on the charger last night. My charger is upstairs, along with my shoes and car keys.
I know this can’t be Stripe. It’s not his style and he’s too injured to be up and about. That leaves Brave or one of his minions. I don’t even think Spark would do something this out of pocket. I try to make it out the front door but Brave strolls out of the kitchen with a hunting knife in his hand.
“Mornin’, Sis. You didn’t think that I would forget about our little talk, did you?”
My brother looks terrible, like death warmed over. He’s got dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, and he hasn’t showered in days. I can tell because his hair is greasy and I can smell his body odor from across the room. He’s looking at me with that dead-eyed stare that always scared the shit out of me.
“Brave, what are you doing here?”
He lets out a forced, dry little laugh. “Can’t a man come and visit his little sister every now and then?”
“You’re not allowed to be here. Spark signed a pact saying every member of the Hyenas would stay a hundred miles away from Cedar Falls. You’re violating that agreement. It could trigger another club war. Spark is going to lose his mind.”
“I don’t give a good goddamn what our brother wants. He didn’t even help bury our old man.”
My fingers suddenly feel ice cold. “Did you do it, Brave? Like, all by yourself?”
“You know I did. He was my old man. I ain’t lettin’ nobody touch his cold, dead body.”
I stammer, “Brave, you’re not making any sense.”
His anger flares and he growls. “Don’t fuckin’ talk to me about makin’ sense after you ran off with a damn Rager for no reason in the world.” He points his knife in my direction. “If you hadn’t run off, our old man would still be alive. This is your fuckin’ fault, Nora.”
“Just calm down, Brave,” I say trying to remain calm.
“You asked why I came, Sis,” he says menacingly. “It’s because you betrayed our club and your own fuckin’ family, all because you wanted one biker instead of another. You killed our old man, as if you pulled the trigger yourself. If you think for one damn minute that I’m gonna let your dumb ass play house with the man who did, you’re the crazy one.”
