Page 36 of Thunder

As she raised her drink to toast, she noticed she hadn’t washed her hands. The sight of Thunder’s blood caused her to tremble. Her shot glass shattered on the bar and she finally broke down. Knowing it was coming didn’t prepare her for the impact of it.

17

THUNDER

“Fuck, man. You’re about as gentle as an IED. Don’t be so heavy-handed,” Thunder grumbled at Whiskey, causing his brother to swipe at his skin even harder.

“For a pilot, you’re a fucking baby. It’s basically a flesh wound. I’ve injured myself worse shaving, but hey, what did I expect from an Air Force pussy.”

“When I’m at a hundred percent, I’m gonna kick your Marine ass for that slander, jarhead.”

“You’re welcome to try, chair force, welcome to try.” It felt good to laugh a bit. After some blood and a few IV’s, Thunder felt a hell of a lot better. Still tired as shit, but better.

“So, why the hell did I bleed so much frombasically a flesh wound?”

“All those fucking herbal supplements and workout shit you take. It can thin the blood. It was just a perfect storm of fucked-up events. I will say, you’re lucky our shooter had the skills of one of your enlisted instead of one of mine, or with that bleeding, you wouldn’t be lying here complaining I don’t have a girly touch.”

As the only Marine and Air Force vet among them, they often traded barbs. It was kind of their thing.

“Whatever. I got a decent shot off too, you know. Shot that bastard in the leg as I was plummeting to the ground.”

“Plummeting, really? You know we could see you on the security camera, right? As soon as the motion sensor went off.” Whiskey held up his phone. “We accessed the feed to see what was up.”

Thunder went still at the thought. Was it the inside motion or the outside that caused them to watch the feed? Yeah, his brothers had seen his woman more than he cared to remember at that point, but it didn’t sit well if they seen him inside her. Witnessed her face when she was experiencing carnal bliss. That was just for him.

“Relax, asshole. Yes, your brief detour to the garage set off the cameras, but I ignored it when I realized what had tripped the motion sensor. It wasn’t until the inside motion sensor went off that we accessed the feed.”

“Did you get a clear pic of the bastard? Either of them?”

“Nope, ski masks, but one, the one you shot, appeared to be female. We’re thinking Petty and one of her minions.”

Thunder’s gut sank. Did he do such a shit job at protecting his club and flipping Bob that he’d helped that cunt go after them? “Rainbow?”

“Nope, wasn’t built like him.” Whiskey turned to throw the wipes away and remove his gloves. “Besides, no way in hell he would cross us. Not thinking you’ll go after his mom.”

Some things would never sit right with Thunder. Involving civilians was one. His club would never go after someone’s family, but Bob didn’t need to know that.

They both turned when the door bounced off the wall before slamming shut again and Granite stalked over to the bed Thunder lay in. “You need to tell that woman out there what she is now. I don’t give two shits why you claimed her or even if you really wanted to, but you did. That’s that. She deserves to know that she is a part of this family now until they put her six feet under, no matter what your sorry ass decides.”

Their Prez had smoke rolling out of his nostrils. Thunder thought it would be smartest not to say anything just yet. He knew Granite was still steamed from the way he’d treated her at the party. Thunder thought he wasn’t ready to settle down, but more than once since their brief locker room encounter, he thought he could with her.

She’d gotten under his skin and no woman could compare to a memory he thought could never be reality. Now, he’d gone and claimed her. He didn’t need to bring it to the table formally, he’d brought it to the table right there in Tails.

“I get that you let jealousy take over. But I warned you what it would mean if you got out of your goddamned seat. You did it anyway. You made that choice, not just for yourself but for her, too. You need to man the fuck up and deal with it. No matter what happens between the two of you, she’s got our protection. You made that public fucking knowledge when you snatched her off the stage. Now, she’s in danger from any of our enemies, even if she’s smart enough not to stick it out with your sorry ass. Which is highly likely because no woman wants to be with a man because he made a knee jerk reaction to seeing her tits out.”

“It wasn’t just a knee jerk reaction.” Thunder surprised himself with that admission. Maybe a brave, hopeful part of him—a part he didn’t know he had—did what his wounded, cynical self wasn’t brave enough to do.

“No? Then what was it then?”

Thunder didn’t have the answer his Prez was demanding.

“Was it because you pined away over a one-night stand for three years? Someone you built up to an impossible height who you never thought you could have, and now you can? Because I can tell you that won’t end well. No one can live up to an impossible status they’ve been built up to in someone’s mind. Over time, we either glorify the good and forget the bad or the potential for bad, or we do the opposite. But that’s in our head, brother.”

Thunder felt the accusation in Granite’s tone. He also heard the self-incrimination. Thunder always had an issue of speaking or acting first and thinking later. Caused him trouble in the military and it was still causing him trouble today.

He tried hard as fuck to not let the words that popped into his head come out of his mouth, but he’d spoken them before he could stop. “We talking about Andy or Theresa?”

Granite looked like he’d been the one shot. Thunder hadn’t posed the question to hurt his Prez, actually the opposite, but it wounded his brother all the same. Intent be damned.

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