Ford walked back to me and grabbed my hand. He dragged me back to his bike. “Ford,” I said.
“It’s fine,” he grunted. “We’ll be fine.”
We got onto his bike and hit the road, heading back to the clubhouse.
As we rode, I could barely believe what I had just seen. I could barely believe I had watched men fire rifles at each other, the violence, the terror. I knew that had been a possibility, especially when Ford had told me that Larkin’s plan was basically to ambush Jetter if anything happened. But it all went down so fast, I barely had any time to think.
And the whole time, Ford kept me close. I never really believed I was in any actual danger, despite the bullets flying. It was insane, the most intense thing I had ever seen in my life.
Soon we arrived back at the clubhouse. Ford parked the bike and we went inside. We went right up to the bar, and Ford poured us two drinks.
“To surviving,” he said, clinking my glass.
“That was insane,” I said to him.
“That was war.”
I nodded, not sure what else to say. Everything was happening so fast, I could barely keep up. The only thing I had to hold on to was Ford, and yet I was just waiting for him to disappear.
I was living on shifting sand, trying to hold on.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Ford
I knocked back my whisky and poured another.
I couldn’t believe how angry I was. Larkin letting Jetter go was complete bullshit, the worst kind of cowardice. I couldn’t tell if Larkin wanted this war or if he wanted to be a pussy-ass bitch and suck the dick of our enemies.
Caralee was quiet, but I was too pissed off to do anything about it. She had just been through something not a lot of guys witnessed, a real fucking shootout and a motorcycle chase. That we weren’t all arrested and rotting in prison was a fucking miracle.
Actually, it was because we had bribed the police big time.
But still, the whole fucking thing was madness.
And as I knocked back my second whisky, my phone began to vibrate. I grabbed it, assuming it was Larkin.
“Yeah?” I said, walking away from Caralee.
“Hi there, Ford.”
I stopped in my tracks. “Jetter?”
“The one and only. How’s our girl?”
“You’re lucky to be alive, you motherfucker,” I growled.
“Calm down, Ford,” he said. “No need for that.”
“Where are you?”
“Safe and sound, no thanks to you bastards. I had to ditch the drugs just to get away.”
“I know, you fuck. What do you want?”
“Just one thing, and then I’ll be gone.”
“Talk,” I growled at him.
“Is she worth all this? Is this girl worth getting your brothers killed?”
“Go fuck yourself.”
“Give her to me, Ford. Half a million dollars and my everlasting gratitude.”
“Why do you want her?”
“I’ll give her to the Snakes, obviously, make all this blow over.”
I shook my head. “You’re a disgusting fuck. If I ever see you again, I will kill you.”
I hung up the phone.
Caralee was staring at me. “Who was that?”
“Jetter.”
“What did he want?”
I shook my head. “Come on.” I walked over and grabbed her hand.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Just come on.” I tugged her along behind me, not thinking.
I just needed to get the fuck out of there. I didn’t know where I was going to go or why; I just needed to ride. We got onto my bike and I pulled out into traffic, cruising at a comfortable speed. I hit the highway and just kept going.
I felt Caralee holding on tight. I loved feeling her on the back of my bike, touching my body, breathing as the wind whipped her hair.
But she was a damn liability. She was pushing our club into war, all because I had insisted on making her my old lady. All because I’d do anything to keep her safe.
After a half hour of driving, I pulled off the main road and headed down a dirt path into a wooded area. I knew where I was going, though I didn’t know why. After another few minutes of riding down the muddy track, I pulled the bike over and killed the engine in a small clearing.
“Where are we?” Caralee asked.
We climbed off the bike. “State park just outside the city limits.”
“It’s pretty.”
“Come on. I want to show you something.”
We walked a few feet ahead. We stopped, and I heard her breathe deeply as we looked out at a gorge that cut across the park, an incredible view spread out in front of us. The park had put up a short wall that we walked toward and leaned against, looking out over the forest canopy below.
“It’s beautiful out here,” she said.
“Good spot to come after you see something like earlier.”
She nodded, biting her lip.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her.
“I just keep asking myself,” she said slowly, “how all this happened, how I brought all this down on you guys.”