Instead, I curl up on the bed, fully clothed, and for the first time in two years, I fall asleep without fear.
Chapter 3 - Phoenix
I stand at the bar long after Judge takes Ivy upstairs, staring at the glass of whiskey I poured but haven't touched. The ice has melted, watering it down, making it useless. Like me, apparently.
I should have killed Demon three years ago.
The thought circles my brain like a vulture, relentless and hungry. Every woman he's hurt since then, every victim his club has created, that's on me. On the choice I made to walk away instead of putting a bullet into his skull and burning the whole thing to the ground.
Ivy Mason is just the latest casualty of my mercy.
Those bruises on her jaw, her wrists. The fear in her green eyes even as she forced herself to be brave. The trembling in her hands when she talked about Cole, about the Vipers, about spending two years in a nightmare with no way out…
Fuck.
"You're doing it again." Judge's voice comes from the stairs. I didn't hear him come down, which means I'm more rattled than I thought.
"Doing what?"
"Blaming yourself for everything Demon's done since you left." He crosses to the bar, picks up the bottle, pours himself a fresh glass. "You can't save everyone, Phoenix. You couldn't then, you can't now."
"I could have ended it." The words come out harsh, scraped raw. "Three years ago, I could have killed him. Killed all of them. Burned the Vipers to ash and scattered them to the wind."
"And become exactly what he is." Judge meets my eyes steadily. "A murderer. A monster. Everything your parents fought against."
He's right. I know he's right. That's the only reason I'm still standing here instead of loading up the brothers and riding for Viper territory right now. Because killing Demon would have made me into him, and everything my parents died believing in would have meant nothing.
But God, it's hard to remember that when I look at Ivy's bruises.
"Cole will come for her," I say. "Demon will make sure of it. They can't let someone run from the Vipers without punishment. It sets a precedent, makes them look weak."
"I know." Judge doesn't sound concerned. "You really willing to go to war with them over this? Over her?"
The question should be harder to answer than it is.
"Yes."
Judge nods slowly, like he expected that response. "This isn't just about her, is it?"
"No." I turn to face him fully. "It's about every person they've hurt. Every woman they've trafficked, every victim they've created, every good man they've killed for refusing to go along with Demon's corruption. It's about the club my parents believed in and the club Demon destroyed. It's about unfinished business that's been eating at me for three years."
I pour myself a fresh glass of whiskey, this one without ice. Knock it back in one swallow, feeling the burn.
"I never believed in destiny," I continue. "Never thought the universe had some grand plan or that things happen for a reason. But maybe this is it. Maybe I was always destined to endup in a war with the Vipers. Maybe Ivy knocking on that door at four in the morning was just the excuse I've been waiting for."
"Or maybe," Judge says, "she's a woman who needs help and you're a man who can't walk away from people who need protecting. Maybe it's that simple."
"Nothing about the Vipers is simple."
"No," he agrees. "But our response is. She asked for help. We help. The Vipers come for her, we stop them. It escalates to war, we fight. Same as we'd do for any of our own."
Our own. The words settle over me like a brand. Ivy's been here less than an hour and we're already claiming her, already drawing her into the circle of protection we extend to our brothers.
It should feel too fast. Reckless, even.
It feels right.
"It's going to be bloody," I warn. "Demon won't back down. He'll see this as a challenge, an insult. He'll throw everything he has at us."
