“Steel said it was part of the plan.”
Lord shot him in the leg, and he dropped down to one knee, letting out sounds that were a mix of whimpering and laughing.
“Now that your new leader is dead, I’m hoping that’s the end of this. You fuckers are like cockroaches.”
Their prez held the muzzle of his gun to the man’s temple. The biker only chuckled. “Oh, he’s alive and well. The Skull Nation will live on no matter what you do to me.”
Brick stepped forward. “Where is he? At your new compound?”
The prick smiled and shrugged. “You’ll kill me anyway. I know your game.”
“End the fucker,” Brick said, walking away. He wouldn’t talk anymore. It was in his eyes. The acceptance of his fate. Once a man knew there was no hope, they were dangerous.
Lord pulled the trigger, the body slumping to the ground. Their victory felt tainted. The new leader of this Skull Nation revival was still out there, plotting and planning. Or was this prospect just blowing smoke up their asses? There was no way to know right now.
He walked over to Righteous and reached out a hand, helping him to his feet.
“Where you hit?”
“Right shoulder and leg, I think,” Righteous said.
Brick pulled the other man’s bike up and tested it out to see if it was functional, doing a couple of circles. “You okay to ride, or do you wanna ride behind me like a bitch?”
Righteous just raised a brow.
At least they’d sent a message loud and clear, Brick was alive, and soon he’d be returning to his woman.
The next day, he slept in until past noon, which wasn’t the norm for him. Even before he opened his eyes, he felt the softness of Callie’s body cuddling up next to his. She’d been asleep when he returned late last night. He hated to wake her but knew she’d be worrying. Brick had slipped into bed next to her after showering. She’d whispered she loved him before falling back to sleep. It was only then that Brick realized she’d been the first person to claim to love him.
Today, he was going to start making things right for Callie. He’d erased her old life, so he owed her a new one. A better one.
When he finally opened his eyes, Callie was staring at him. “You’re sleepy today,” she said.
“Long night. Way too long.”
“Is it all over now?” she asked.
He didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth. Brick nodded.
“We can’t stay in bed all day. Get dressed, baby. I have to do something with you in town today,” he said. “And don’t ask. It’s a surprise.”
She scowled but did as he said, taking a quick shower and dressing. Today she wore a floral sundress, and she looked fucking adorable. That lush body of hers was his in every way now.
“We’re going on my bike. You going to straddle me with that little dress on?”
Callie shrugged. The thought of her pussy pressed against him from behind already made him hard. He pushed the ideas out of his head so he could stay focused on his task.
They headed downstairs and mounted his bike. She wrapped her arms around him before they rode off toward town. After his surprise, he wanted to take her to the river like he’d promised a while ago. He was still debating if he’d actually go through with it or not. Oversharing made his skin crawl, but he wanted to show Callie she meant more to him than sex. She was his everything. His joy. His strength.
He parked on the public lot shared by a government building, library, and local college.
“What are we doing here? Is everything okay, Brick?”
“Come on.”
He took her by the hand and led her up the wide concrete steps. As they walked up, he leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I’m registering you in college.”
****
Callie kept turning back to make sure Brick was there. She was in line to register—for college. This was all too surreal because it was a dream she never expected to see come to fruition. She wished her grandmother was still alive to tell her, to make her proud.
She took a deep breath. Breaking apart now wasn’t a good idea. Without Brick, she wasn’t sure she’d ever have been able to go through with this. The time, money, and knowhow were things she didn’t have. Brick said she could apply as a mature student. He’d done all the legwork before bringing her here.
The college was bustling because it was registration week. It took a couple of hours to get everything completed, but she was officially enrolled in their business program. Maybe she could help out the club. She wanted to pull her own weight and not only rely on Brick and the Straight to Hell MC for everything.
When she was waiting for her student card to be laminated, a guy shifted closer to her.