“I accepted his case, knowing he was guilty,” Rhys argued.
“Yes, you did. It is in your human law to provide a defense against all crimes, even the Gods are allowed to argue for themselves in much the same way. The only crime you have committed is what you have done to yourself since then. Your wife and children would not want to see you this way.”
“Shut up. I don’t want to talk about it any more.”
“I didn’t think you would; you’ve been running from it for years.” Broni couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice.
“You had kids?” Broni couldn’t believe the insensitive comment from Layla. Every time the woman opened her mouth, she wanted to strangle her.
“Two sons. She was pregnant with my daughter.” He didn’t look up from his glass as he lifted the bottle to refill it.
“Jesus,” Adam said.
“According to Broni, you should say Mother,” Rhys said sarcastically.
“Rhys, be careful. You don’t want to piss her off,” Broni warned.
“How could she possibly fuck my life up more than it already is?” She had to admit, he had a point.
“So how do we kill these Drearien?” Adam asked.
“Just like any man. They aren’t immortal; they can’t come back to life.”
“Maybe this is a government conspiracy, or some toxic shit that’s killed everyone and they’ve come back to life,” another biker threw his opinion into the mix.
“This isn’t fucking zombies we’re dealing with. The people turning don’t have to be dead. You saw it on the television like I did. They’re sane one minute, the next they’re trying to kill you with anything they can get their hands on,” Rhys informed him.
“It’s spread by a virus then. How do we know the last one out of the gate didn’t catch it, giving it to us?”
Broni wanted to laugh at Rhys’s expression, then noticed several of the other men’s eyes were trained on Dee. Broni moved to stand closer to her.
“It’s not spread by a virus,” Broni assured the men.
“Then it’s Voodoo.” Broni couldn’t understand why these men found Voodoo more plausible than what she was trying to tell them.
“It’s not Voodoo. They are being influenced by a God.”
Broni regretted her choice of words a second later.
“They’re possessed by the Devil,” Rucker said, turning to Adam. “You got a Bible?”
“Do I look like I have a fucking Bible?” Adam sneered then looked at Broni. “So if I put a bullet in their brain or heart, it will kill them?”
“Yes.”
“That works for me because the next motherfucker who says shit about zombies, voodoo or even Drearien, I’m going to start taking practice shots.”
Chapter 10
Broni was coming back into the clubroom from checking on the still unconscious woman in the bedroom when Jace came running in the back door.
“Tank and the others are at the gate wanting in.”
“Why didn’t you call on the cell phone?” Adam demanded.
“Because it’s not fucking working! Do you want me to open the gate?”
“Hell no, let those Drearien things take care of him. It’ll save me the trouble of putting a bullet through his brain.” Adam gave a malicious grin.
“They would mean extra men fighting off those fuckers,” Fin suggested.
“Or he could turn into one of them,” Broni retorted.
Fin shut up. No one wanted to deal with Tank as he was, much less if his body was taken over and turned on them.
“Jace, get your ass back to the roof. Take Mason with you; he can run messages back and forth.” Before they could leave, the noise from outside drew their attention.
Broni heard the escalating yells coming from outside as the rioting grew closer. Nervously, she went to the window to look out.
A huge crowd was building outside the gate, trying to get in. Tank and his friends were attempting to breach the locked gate without success as the Drearien moved closer. This was going to be bad. Broni didn’t see how they could hold back a crowd of that size.
“What are we going to do?” Jace asked, looking out from over her shoulder. They turned to Adam who was staring grimly outside.
“Jace, go to the gun room. You and Mason take what you need to start getting rid of this crowd.” His meaning was obvious.
Jace nodded then ran out of the room with Mason on his heels. Broni ached for the people outside the gate that were about to die, but she knew of no other recourse. There was going to be a great many casualties before this battle ended.
Broni’s hands gripped the counter when she heard the first shots while the men in the clubroom spread out across the room, barring the door and taking positions at the windows. The women stood grouped together behind the large wooden bar. Dee gripped her hand tightly while Layla held the knife in her hand, appearing ready to freak out at any moment.
When the gunfire stopped after several minutes, no one talked, listening to see if the gunfire would resume. Instead, Skid came in from the back door.
“They’re falling back. They’re just standing around like they’re waiting for someone.”
Adam nodded his head. “Split up in groups. The first group, get some sleep. The rest, keep watch.”
Broni wondered at Rhys’s seemingly unconcerned state. He stood relaxed at the bar, listening to the radio and observing their reactions.
She decided to get some sleep while she could, going to Rhys’s room where she lay down on the bed, glad for once the room didn’t have windows. She prayed for Mother to keep them safe, dozing off quickly after her sleepless night.
Sometime later, she felt herself being jerked awake. The light was on and Rhys’s hands were pressed against her throat.
“I want you to tell me the truth. What in the fuck is going on and don’t tell me that bullshit you’ve made up.”
“I’m telling you the truth!” Broni tried to struggle against his grip, only succeeding in making him tighten his grip against her throat.
“Why aren’t they attacking? Most of the men in the other room want to throw you out to them, so you better give me one fucking reason not to let them.”
“You have to protect me; you owe me!”
“I don’t owe you shit.”
“Get off me!” As Broni hit at him with her fists, Rhys’s hands released their grip on her throat.
“They aren’t attacking because I used another old Earth spell my mother taught me when I was a child. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know if it would work. There must be a dead body buried on the clubhouse property. Their spirit is keeping the Drearien away.”
Rhys moved away from her, leaning back against the headboard of the bed. When he began laughing, Broni finally understood his earlier calm behavior. He hadn’t believed a word she had told him, thinking the riots would be stopped. He had only lost his cool when her life had been threatened.
“It’s the truth, but it won’t last long. An immortal can break the spell, and then there won’t be anything to hold them back,” Broni explained. “Are you going to let them throw me out to the Drearien?”
“Dammit.”
She knew Rhys did not want to be responsible for her; he barely took care of himself, so he had no reason to believe himself capable of keeping her safe. He hadn’t been able to protect his family from one man. Would he even want to protect her from men he had grown close to the last three years?
It had to be a difficult decision to make. Rhys had already put himself on the line for her when he had bought her during the auction, and it would be made even worse if the others kept demanding he get rid of her.
When he got off the bed, going to the door, Broni knew he had made his decision, and it wasn’t good.
She scooted to the end of the bed. “If you’ve made up your mind to give me to them, I won’t stop you.” She got to her feet, going to stand behind him at the door. “Before you do, though, I
want one last time with you. You can just say it’s a going away present if it makes you feel better.”