Page 22 of My Reckless Biker

"Ray's at County General. Beaten. Head trauma. Not conscious."

His jaw tightens and I can see him processing, see him making the same connections I'm making. "Marrow."

"Yeah."

"You going to the hospital?"

"After."

"After what?"

"After I find whoever did this and put them down."

I'm already moving toward my bike when Clint's voice cuts across the yard, sharp and commanding. "Diesel. Stop."

I don't stop. I swing my leg over the bike and reach for the ignition.

"We don't know who did it yet," Clint says, and he's walking toward me now, deliberately, the way you approach something dangerous. "We don't know if it was Dutch or someone else or how many of them there were. You go off alone right now and you're going to get yourself killed."

"I know who did it. Dutch. Marrow enforcer. Same guy who put Perry in the hospital last year, same guy who's been Crane's muscle since before we started watching them. And I'm going to find him and I'm going to break every bone in his fucking body for putting his hands on Ray."

"Not alone you're not."

I start the bike and the engine roars to life, vibration running through me, and I'm about to pull out when Tate comes through the front door of the clubhouse moving fast, phone still in his hand.

"Don't," he says, and his voice is hard. "Don't do it, Diesel."

"Get out of my way."

"No." He positions himself between me and the exit, and behind him Holt's coming out of the clubhouse now too, and Knox is crossing the yard, and I can see what's happening. They're going to stop me. Physically if necessary.

"Ray's at County General in critical condition," I say, and my voice is getting louder, the control starting to crack. "Dutch beat him, probably with a pipe or a bat based on what Tom said about the blood, and he did it because I made Sienna visible. Because the photos worked. Because Crane saw his daughter with a Vigil brother and decided to send a message. And that message is Ray in the hospital with head trauma. So I'm going to find Dutch and I'm going to kill him, and you can either get out of my way or you can try to stop me, but either way I'm leaving."

"You're not thinking straight," Tate says.

"I'm thinking perfectly fucking straight. Dutch hurt Ray. I hurt Dutch. That's how this works."

"Not alone. Not like this. Not when you're so pissed off you can barely see."

I kill the engine and I'm off the bike before I've consciously decided to move, and I'm in Tate's face close enough to see his pupils contract. "Don't tell me I can't see. I can see fine. I can see Ray in a hospital bed because I made a strategic decision that worked exactly like it was supposed to. I can see Dutch walking around thinking he sent his message and got away with it. I can see Crane sitting in his clubhouse waiting for us to react. And I'm going to give him exactly what he's waiting for."

"Yeah, and you're going to do it with backup or you're not going to do it at all." Tate doesn't step back, doesn't flinch. "You go alone, you die. You die, Ray doesn't get justice and Vigil's down a brother and Crane wins. You want that?"

"I want Dutch dead."

"You'll get that. But you'll get it smart or you won't get it at all."

I shove him, hard, both hands to his chest, and he staggers back a step but doesn't go down. The rage is demanding release, demanding action, and he's standing between me and that action, and I can feel my hands curling into fists.

"Don't," Clint says, voice sharp. "Don't do it, Diesel. You swing on Tate, you're swinging on your brother, and that's a line."

I'm breathing hard, fists clenched, staring at Tate who's standing there solid and calm like he's been here before, like he knows exactly how close I am to crossing that line and he's prepared to let me if that's what it takes to stop me from doing something stupider.

"He beat Ray," I say, and my voice comes out raw. "Put him in the hospital. Because of me. Because I made her visible."

"I know." Tate's voice is quieter now but no less firm. "And we're going to handle it. But we're going to handle it right. We're going to find out where Dutch is, we're going to coordinate, and we're going to take him down with enough brothers that he doesn't have a chance. You get your shot at him. But you get it smart."

"I don't want to be smart. I want him bleeding."