"He's her father," I muttered.
"Oh fuck," Kade said. "Talk about fucking irony, huh?"
"What about we don't talk about shit?" He got the gist of it, and I was done, ready to move on. The desire to rip Aubree from that prick's arms was a fleeting memory, and lost to the red-hot anger coursing through me again.
She made her fucking choice, and I was done being second rate. If she wanted me the way I wanted her, she would have fucking stayed. Instead, she chose security and familiarity, and I guess I couldn't fucking blame her. Why would she want me when she could have Daddy take care of her?
Funny, if she only knew the truth. Knew what type of man her father really was. Knew that if it wasn't for the club, the house that she grew up in would have been seized, and everything she loved inside would have been auctioned off to pay his debts.
I protected her when I didn't even know her. Helped preserve her pureness, and that familiarity she was heading back to now. I took care of her when her father couldn't.
I could go run after her and blow up the doc's spot. Give him exactly what he had coming to him for years, but fuck it. I was done. Girls were complications, and there was a reason I never let them get too close. I fucked up when I let Sunshine get to me, and it was a fuck up I wouldn't do again. I was done. Through with the bullshit.
"Let's get the fuck out of here," I growled as I flung the door open. Kade followed behind me to the parking lot. The crowd had thinned, and the booths were wrapping it up. Looked like everyone was ready to call it a day.
The guys met us by our bikes as I pushed my sunglasses on. My eyes spotted Aubree getting into the back of her daddy's Range Rover, and that fucking prick sliding in beside her. I imagined for a second what my life would have been like if I wasn't born into the club. If the doc would have accepted me as he did that preppy douchebag. If Aubree and I would have gone on actual dates where someone didn't wind up shot dead with a bullet hole to the head. Then, my sanity kicked back in. Why the fuck would I ever want that life? I may have been born into this life, but it was my decision to stay. I was an outlaw through and through, and nothing not even a sweet pussy like Sunshine's could change that.
The Range Rover drove away, and I snapped my attention back to my brothers.
"Pretty successful day," Nick said, grabbing his helmet from his handlebars. "Now, why don't we all go have a drink back at the clubhouse? Well, except for Phil. He has some new family members to bring home." He nodded across the way, and we all turned to see Phil and his old lady put two puppies into the backseat of her car.
"You owe me money, brother," I said, pointing to Kade.
"Pussywhipped, bastard," Kade muttered, as he slapped a twenty into my hand.
I shoved the money into my pocket and straddled my bike. I revved the engine before pulling out into formation, and leaving Aubree behind me where she belonged. Unfortunately, she was still in my fucking head, torturing me.
I could still taste her sweetness on my lips, so, at the next traffic light, I lit a cigarette. I took a long hard drag, letting the nicotine spread through me, but it did nothing for my rattled nerves. If anything, the rage inside of me was building with each passing second.
I was so over this day. The faster I got to the clubhouse, and had some Jack, the happier I would be. We continued on down a back road that didn't get much use. The sky was overcast, and I suspected it to rain at any second. Halfway down the road, a line of bikes blocked the path in front of us.
Nick slowed his bike down, and raised his hand for us to do the same. I squinted, trying to focus on their cuts. It didn't take me long to realize it was the Montamos. What the fuck did they want? My guess was they figured out we framed them for Anthony's death.
Before any of us could dismount our bikes to ask questions, gunshots rang out. Bikes swerved and cut to the side of the road, and we took cover where we could. I dove behind my bike, using it as a shield, as I grabbed for my Glock.
A bullet whizzed by my head, and I ducked down. Son of a bitch. Nobody shot at my club and me, and got away with it. I was sick and tired of people thinking they were better than me. That I would just sit back and let them take the reins. That wasn't who I was, and I was done acting like it.
I got to my feet, a fury inside of me taking over, and causing my surroundings to go dark. A stupid fuck pointed his gun at me, but, before he could make the shot, I took him out with a bullet to the goddamned head.
I walked out from behind my bike and just started shooting. I didn't care about the bullets coming at me, or the fucking bastards who were shooting them. All I cared about was proving my worth. Showing these pieces of shit that I was unstoppable. That I wasn't some pussy who would lie down while they shot at my brothers and me.
If they wanted a war, I was ready to bring one, and I wasn't going to stop until every one of these fucks were dead.
"Cash! What the fuck are you doing?" I heard Kade yell out behind me, but I ignored him and kept walking. Kept shooting. "Fuck! Cover him!" Kade's voice drifted past me in the wind. After that, I didn't hear anything except for the whizzing of bullets and the blood rushing through my ears.
Blood burst from heads, as each one of my targets collapsed to the ground. I lost count as body after body disappeared from my view. Rain began to fall, but it didn't stop any of us.
As I got closer, I realized it was only the beginning. They had called in reinforcements, and they had other charters here. Good. It was about time every last one of them knew that the Righteous Outlaws weren't to be messed with. That, if they came on our territory, they would fucking die or I would die protecting my own.
I wasn't scared of death. It was inevitable. We were all ticking time bombs; it was just a matter of when. At this point, I had nothing to lose. If it was my time to leave this world, then I was ready to do it. Going down in a blaze of glory for my club seemed like the best way to go.
Pain exploded in my arm, and my body jerked at the force, just as I was tackled to the ground. The fog in my head dissipated, and the scene in front of us cleared. Kade was on top of me.
"How many times is that now?" Kade asked. "Two, three?" he asked, as he took a few shots and then dragged me back behind his bike. "I think I'm going to have to start charging to save your life. I can make a fucking fortune."
"I'll give you the twenty you gave me earlier, and we'll call it even," I joked, but then winced at the sharp twinge shooting through my arm.
Kade jumped up and took a few more shots. "You okay?" he asked, as he came back down next to me.
"Fucking peachy," I answered as the twinge turned into raw excruciating pain. "Fuck me." I rested my head against the cool metal of the bike.
"Let's end this," I heard Dice yell out, just as a flaming bottle of booze flew through the air. "Take cover!" Kade and I stayed put, ducking down and watching the bottle soar through the air. It hit one of the Montamos' bikes, igniting it like the fucking Fourth of July. Screams echoed through the late afternoon as bodies dove out of the way.
Flames spread up one of the Montamos, and he ran around in circles as the fire grew. Stupid motherfucker. Hadn't he ever heard of stop drop and roll?
"Let's get the fuck out of here," Nick yelled, and all the guys hopped on their bikes and took off.
The rain picked up, turning from a light drizzle to a steady stream. The fire would die down soon, and we needed to be as far away as possible for when it did. "You okay to ride, man?" Kade asked.
"Rain or shine, we ride," I said, forcing a smile through the pain.
"Nowhere in there does it say with a bullet hole," he pointed out.
"I should be fine." I pulled a bandana from my pocket, and, with my teeth, made a tourniquet. "Ride by my side just in case."
"You got it, brother," Kade said, mounting his bike and waiting for me to lead the way.
It was a fucking bitch trying to steer with one goddamned arm, but somehow I managed. I got the bike back on the road, and we burned rubber, leaving the burning mess in our wake. The rain had slowed, but that didn't matter. The ground was slick and making it even harder for me to keep it straight.
My place was the closest, and I just needed to get there. Once I did, I could take care of my arm. Get the fucking bullet out, clean it up, and be as good as new again.