We left Mr. Kramer and went back outside to our bikes. Slade was wiping the blood off his fists and Isaac couldn't stop laughing about the piss. In the corner of my eye, I spotted one of Mr. Kramer's friends. He had a gun pointed right at Isaac. I yelled for him to get out of the way but it was too late. The gun fired sending two bullets into Isaac's left chest and shoulder. I watched as Isaac fell to the ground, his mouth opened in shock
I lifted my gun and returned fire—the safety was still on. I cursed and flicked the switch. The shooter turned towards me but I let him have it. I emptied my entire clip into him as I walked forward, screaming at the top of my lungs. The man's head exploded like a watermelon, spraying massive amounts of blood everywhere. I pulled the trigger a few more times but the gun was empty.
I ran over to Isaac and Caleb was already by his side, holding his hand. Blood spat out of his mouth as he tried to talk.
“I couldn't warn you in time,” I told him, bending down on my knees. The rest of the MC members surrounded us.
“We need to get him to the hospital,” Caleb shouted.
Isaac shook his head and coughed hard. He tried to speak but nothing came out. I put my hands on his chest to apply pressure and tried to stop the bleeding. But with the way things looked, Isaac was in bad shape.
All I could think about was that the only one who could save him was Grace. I gathered Isaac's body in my arms and lifted him to the van. But it was too late. He went limp and when I laid him down in the van, he was already gone.
“No dammit!” I yelled at him. I slammed my hands on his chest, hoping to bring him back.
Caleb pried me off him. “He's gone, Tanner.”
I turned towards Mason, my eyes tearing up. “If only I had seen him a second sooner.”
Mason began to cry and hugged me. “It's not your fault, Tanner. There's nothing you could have done.”
Caleb went back into the coffee shop and shot off two rounds. Mr. Kramer was dead now too.
“We need to get out of here,” Slade said. “The cops will be swarming around here any minute.”
Mason nodded and released me from the hug. “We'll take his body to the clubhouse. Everyone meet back there.”
I stumbled back to my bike in shock. I couldn't believe it. Isaac was gone. Over something so stupid.
Chapter Sixteen
Grace
I arrived at the apartment and the smell of chicken and potatoes were in the air.
“I'm home,” I announced, throwing my purse on the floor next to the door.
“I'm in the kitchen,” Rachel replied.
I wandered in to a mess of pots, pans, and a lot of smoke. “Did you try and cook dinner?”
“Only the potatoes are burnt. The chicken came out really nice,” Rachel gave me a half-smile.
“You've never cooked dinner before,” I stated.
“I thought it would be nice after the hell you went through last night. And because I wanted to celebrate.”
“Celebrate?”
Rachel fixed the plates and set them at the small dinner table. I sat down with her and the smell of the food was a lot better than it looked. I took my first bite of chicken and it melted on my tongue. How could she make something so good?
Rachel took a bite of potatoes and spat them out. “So I went out today...and found a job!”
“What?” I dropped my fork on the plate. “You finally got a job?”
Rachel nodded. “Photographer's assistant at a studio.”
“I didn't even know you were into photography.” I took a bite of the burnt potatoes and spat them back out too. At least the chicken was good.
“I didn't know either. I saw a help wanted sign on the way to the grocery store. I popped my head in and they hired me on the spot.”
I wiped my mouth with the napkin. “We really do need to celebrate.” I went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine that was half-full.
Rachel clapped her hands in delight. I poured our glasses and returned to the table.
“What's wrong, Grace? You seem happy but I can tell something's bothering you. Still thinking about Tanner?”
I was hoping I could hide my feelings. But Rachel knew me too well. “He came by the hospital today.”
Rachel slammed her glass down. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “He wanted to apologize.”
She rolled her eyes and took a sip of wine. “Of course he did.”
I sighed, trying not to stress out too much. “I didn't even really listen to him and walked away.”
Rachel smiled and returned to her food. “Good girl. Better to give him no satisfaction. Maybe he won't try the same thing twice with the next woman.”