Page 123 of Wicked Ends
I broke off my staring contest with Gage and took my phone out of my pocket, quickly navigating to the tracking app.
“He crossed into Canada a little bit ago, still heading north.”
Cole nodded, rubbing his bottom lip with his knuckle, his stress tell.
“Well, what’s the plan?” I asked.
Cole shook his head. “For you, there’s no plan. You’re staying here and helping your girl recover.”
“Like fuck I am. Her brother will pay for what he did, and I’ll be the one who makes him.”
Cole narrowed his eyes at me. “So, what, you’re a Hound now? You want to throw away all the shit you’ve insisted you cared about for years?”
“Some things are more important. He needs to answer for what he’s done. I’m coming with you, and you can’t stop me.”
Cole studied me and then nodded. “Fine.”
“You shouldn’t be going anywhere yourself.” Maddox laid a hand on Cole’s shoulder. “No riding, no action. I’m not ready to be pres.”
“Does that mean it skips to me?” Gage asked and got a dirty look from Maddox for his efforts.
“They’re right. You can’t come. I’ll go instead,” I told Cole.
He opened his mouth to protest, and I shook my head.
“Nothing you say will change my mind. We can handle one abusive dickhead. To suggest any less would be an insult to me, and your crew,” I pointed out to Cole.
He sighed. He hated not to be in the thick of Hounds’ business, but this time, even he had to know we had a point.
“Fine, but I want to know what’s happening; don’t lose contact.”
“We won’t.” I stood, anger and anticipation surging through me. I was going to hunt down Ari’s brother and make him bleed. I couldn’t fucking wait.
“Let’s take your girl to my sister’s place. Sally will watch her until she’s awake and then get her injuries checked out,” Gage said.
I nodded, immediately agreeing. Ari needed safety and rest while I went out and evened the score.
You think that’ll make her forgive you for the presentation stunt?the voice in my head cruelly mocked.
I didn’t expect her to forgive me. I’d been on a mission to push her away, to hurt her like she’d hurt me, and I’d fucked up. But I could save worrying about that for later.
Right now, there was a man out there who had committed the unforgivable crime of hurting the woman I loved.
Now, he’d pay for it.
Arianna
I wokeup as Sally placed a glass of water on the little table beside me. I reached out and touched her wrist.
“Crap! You gave me a heart attack,” she gasped and stepped back, shaking water off her hand. “You’re up? I thought you’d sleep all night at least.”
“I’m up,” I muttered and sat up. My body felt heavy, like I’d been sleeping for a long time. Not only that, but my ribs twinged, reminding me that I should really go and get everything checked out sometime soon. Having Dale firebomb my life had set that simple task off schedule.
He’d taken the money in the bag, and now the Hounds knew about it. Memories seeped in: Going into the bar with my biker escorts, the sight of Cole Bailey and that bandage on his head, the sound of Marcus’ voice somewhere in the distance.
“I know all about everything, in case you feel like you need to catch me up. And for the record, I’m going to put laxatives in the chili at The Clutch for a few weeks to get them back for druggingyou. Unacceptable.” Sally folded her arms and shook her head, a pissed-off expression on her face.
I nodded. I had the impression that the MC guys didn’t worry too much about breaking the rules.
