Page 42 of Blackbeard
“That’s different,” Kingpin replied in a chilly voice.
Because Leigh belongs to the Forsaken.
His unspoken words lingered in the air with an uneasy silence, damning and impossible to ignore. Had I miscalculated? Should I have left Leigh at home?
I never thought I would be in this position, with Leigh on one side of me, and my club on the other. Running interference.Defendingher.
Leigh pushed her plate into my hands, marched over to the broom Crash had abandoned, and picked it up.
“If it’s all the same to you,” she said. “I’ll skip breakfast and make myself useful instead.”
That seemed to thaw the temperature by a marginal amount. I watched Leigh as she began sweeping up the glass into a neat pile. She was back to her old self again, with glossy curls and makeup—no freckles in sight. I knew her well enough by now to recognize that she could have continued causing trouble until tempers exploded.
Voluntarily picking up that broom and bypassing breakfast was an intentional way to humble herself.
Just as I turned to the buffet table, a blur of movement drew my attention to the garage.
Crash emerged. Lifted his pistol. And fired—once, twice, three times.
Leigh lurched and fell to the ground, clutching her side. Her face screwed up in pain as blood streamed through her fingers.
My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach.
Before I realized what I was doing, I lunged across the parking lot and grabbed Crash’s wrist, angling the gun toward the sky. My momentum sent us toppling to the ground in a heap of tangled limbs.
I slammed Crash’s hand against the pavement, again and again, until his grip loosened. The gun skittered across theground. From the corner of my eye, I saw Gatling smoothly glide by as he snatched it up.
“She deserves to die!” Crash spat. “Can’t you see that?”
“She’s my fucking wife,” I bellowed back.
A firm pair of large hands clamped onto my shoulders. Vlad yanked me off Crash, holding me at a safe distance, keeping his body between us. Big G and Kingpin hauled Crash to his feet, hustling him behind the garage and out of sight.
Baby Doll crouched over Leigh, pressing a towel to the wound in an attempt to slow the bleeding. I felt sick to my stomach.
How did I not see this coming? Crash had been pissed about this whole arrangement since the start. I should have known he would want revenge on the Forsaken. I should have known he would try to take Leigh out.
My chest heaved as I fought to regulate my breathing, clear my head of the haze that clouded my thoughts.
“Are you good, brother?” Vlad rumbled with his clipped Russian accent.
As our Enforcer, he was no stranger to breaking up fights and putting himself in the middle of sketchy situations. He eyed me warily now, gauging whether or not he needed to use more force to subdue me.
I nodded and held up my hands.
“I’m fine,” I said, hoarse and quiet.
Gatling stood off to the side, staring at me with an unblinking, icy blue gaze like I’d completely lost my mind. Crash’s pistol was securely held in his grip, but I couldn’t bear to look at that dark, hulking piece of metal.
As the adrenaline began to fade from my system, the reality of what just happened started to sink in.
I attacked Crash—our Prospect, a brother. He needed to be disarmed before he hurt someone, I reasoned. He was dangerous and I had to stop him.
But that wasn’t the heart of the truth.
Not when those words were still seared red-hot like a brand on my tongue.
She’s my fucking wife.
