Page 83 of A Brother At My Back

“Not without me, you ain’t,” Rush declared.

“Check in with Dragon before you do anything,” Trig called. Archer waved over his shoulder as he, Rush, and Nox trudged back down through the snow toward the back of the main clubhouse.

Tiffany starred off in the direction of the target she’d been shooting at and asked, “Do you really think they’ll find him?”

“Yep,” Trig said, loading a fresh magazine. “If Dragon and Reaver haven’t already, or Data.”

“What will they do when they find him? Just kill him? Just like that?”

“That’s not for you to know, Sweetheart,” Trig said.

Ghost went to Shelly, kissed her gently and said, “Come on,” putting an arm around her bundled form and leading her back to the club.

“I have to see him,” Tiffany said. “I need to confront him.” She sounded almost desperate like the thought hadn’t even occurred to her that this would just be done without any involvement on her part.

“I don’t make the rules, Baby. I just enforce ‘em,” Trig said and sighed.

“Well, who does make the rules?” she demanded.

“Dragon,” I told her. “Or rather, he proposes them and the club puts it to a vote. We make our own rules.”

“What Zeb said,” Trig agreed.

She looked upset but she was thinking, calculating, and finally let out an explosive breath.

“Do you know when he’ll be back?” she asked bleakly.

“No, I do not,” Trig said and handed her the gun. “One more time and then you need to go inside and warm up.”

She sniffed, her nose running from the cold and nodded; she wasn’t about to pass up any sort of practice when it came to anything that would keep her from being victimized again, but at the same time, I knew that look. The conversation about her participation wasn’t done and I wasn’t looking forward to being at odds with her on this.

I wanted her safe, but I also understood it was hard for her to trust. The fact that I had gained her trust as quickly as I had felt like a bit of a miracle, but at the same time I understood it. She was a lone canoe, cast adrift in a raging storm and she was being swallowed by a sea of emotions. Still, she was fighting to stay afloat harder than I’d seen anyone fight before and I admired her for that.

Her struggle was real, and I didn’t want to be yet another thing she felt like she had to struggle against. Fuck me and the position I felt like I was in. My loyalties were being torn between my club and this fierce, wounded woman.

I watched her carefully take aim and really work on her aim and was proud of her. She finished the clip and squinted downrange.

Trigger nodded slowly and said, “Much better. All you need is focus. We’ll work on some more tomorrow. Right now you need to take a rest and get warm. People don’t realize that shooting takes a lot out of you. You’ve had about as much recoil as you should take for one day.”

“Thank you,” she said, and I could tell she was emotional by her tone.

“You’re welcome, and I wouldn’t worry about him anymore. Have a little faith. You got more people in your corner than you know.”

“I’m realizing that,” she said gently. “And I can’t tell you how grateful I am for it.”

“I get you,” he said with a nod and then with a smile said, “Go get something warm to drink. Like to be freezing my balls off out here.”

She smiled and confessed, “Can’t really feel my fingers or toes anymore.”

I was with her on that one. “Hot shower then?”

“Mm, maybe,” she replied and took my hand. I let her lead me back towards the outbuilding that housed my room and even with the bone-deep cold, my dick started to get hard just thinking about her in my bed.

Once inside my bedroom, Max jumped off the bed and slunk under it. Tiff looked slightly hurt, but I lifted her coat off her shoulders and hung it up on the back of the door for her. I hung my jacket and cut up beside her coat and took her thick gray scarf. She rubbed her hands together and huddled in on herself slightly, and I sighed.

“Come here.”

She came to me and I folded her into my arms, against my chest.

---