Page 50 of Doc
Agent Brooks handed me her card, and I slipped it into my pocket, knowing the days ahead would bring statements, evidence reviews, and trial preparations that might stretch on for months, maybe years.The weight of it all should have overwhelmed me, yet a profound sense of rightness settled instead.This was what my mother had wanted -- the truth uncovered, the evidence secured, justice finally in motion.
I crossed the concrete floor toward Doc, my steps uneven as I favored my injured ankle.His gaze followed me, brightening despite the pain etched at the corners of his mouth.Without speaking, he extended his good arm, and I stepped into it, fitting against his side as if that space had always been meant for me.
“Hospital next,” I said, not a question but a statement.
He nodded, his chin brushing the top of my head.“For both of us.That ankle needs X-rays.It might have been a sprain before, but after all this…”
“Your shoulder needs more than X-rays,” I countered.
A ghost of a smile touched his lips.“His and hers wounds.The things we do to bond.”
Despite everything -- the exhaustion, the pain, the gravity of what we’d uncovered -- I found myself laughing, a small, unexpected sound that felt foreign in my throat.How long had it been since I’d truly laughed?Since before my parents died, surely.Before my world had narrowed to evidence and vengeance and survival.
“Come on.”Doc guided me toward the exit where vehicles waited.“Let’s get out of here.”
We moved together, supporting each other as we navigated around busy officials and evidence markers.Outside, the sun had risen fully, bathing the industrial compound in harsh morning light that revealed every bloodstain, every bullet hole, every reminder of the night’s violence.Club members were loading into vans and onto motorcycles, their faces lined with fatigue but bearing the unmistakable look of men who had fought for something righteous and won.
Doc led me to the van at the edge of the convoy, opening the rear panel door with his good arm.“Your chariot awaits.”
“I’ll drive.”Tank slid into the driver’s seat.“You two look like you’re about to fall over.”
Doc didn’t argue, sliding into the backseat beside me instead of taking the front passenger seat.As Tank started the engine, I felt Doc’s fingers intertwine with mine, a simple connection that somehow meant more than any of the frantic touches we’d shared in moments of fear or passion.
“It’s over.”The van pulled away from the warehouse, following the line of motorcycles down the access road.“They can’t hurt anyone else.”
Doc squeezed my hand, his thumb tracing circles on my skin.“Your parents would be proud.Bats too.”
I leaned into him, careful of his injuries, and rested my head against his uninjured shoulder.Through the window, the warehouse shrank with distance until it looked like just another industrial building in the rearview mirror.What had happened inside, though, had changed lives.We had uncovered the truth.And something between Doc and me solidified -- a bond forged in fire and blood, stronger than either of us expected.
“What happens now?”I asked, not lifting my head from his shoulder.
I felt rather than saw his smile.“Now?Hospital.Rest.Recovery.”His fingers tightened on mine.“After that… whatever we want, I guess.”
The simplicity of his answer warmed something deep inside me.For so long, my future had been defined by a single purpose -- justice for my parents, completing my mother’s investigation.I’d never allowed myself to think beyond that goal, afraid to hope for anything more.But now, possibilities unfurled before me like roads leading in a dozen different directions.
“Whatever we want,” I repeated, testing the words.
I closed my eyes, letting the motion of the van and Doc’s steady presence lull me toward much-needed rest.Whatever came next -- trials, testimony, rebuilding a life beyond my parents’ case -- I wouldn’t face it alone.That knowledge settled over me like a blanket, warm and secure.
Justice had been served, not in the cold, abstract way of courtrooms and legal proceedings that would come later, but in the raw, immediate vindication of truth exposed to light.My parents’ killers would face consequences, we’d dismantled the human trafficking ring, and I had found something I hadn’t been looking for -- a man who had risked everything for me, a family forged in leather and loyalty, and a place to belong when my mission was complete.
As sleep finally claimed me, my hand still entwined with Doc’s, I knew my parents would indeed be proud.Not just of the justice secured, but of the woman I’d become in pursuing it.
Chapter Fourteen
Nova
Two Weeks Later
“You’re miles away.”Doc’s voice pulled me back to the present.I’d been daydreaming more than usual and reliving the past.“Where’d you go?”
“Just thinking about my mom.”
Doc caught my hand when I started to pull away, his fingers wrapping around mine.He tugged gently, drawing me closer until I stood between his knees where he sat on the side of an exam table in his medical room at the clubhouse.His other hand came up to brush a strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear.“You did good.”
The tears I’d been fighting spilled over then, hot trails down my cheeks that I couldn’t stop.I’d been holding back my tears since coming to the Dixie Reapers, or I’d tried -- through the raid, through the federal agents’ questions, through watching Wallace being led away in handcuffs.I’d only allowed myself to cry after their deaths, at least until I’d discovered my mother’s notebook.Now, in the quiet of this room with Doc’s warm hand holding mine, the dam finally broke.“We got them.We really got them.”
Doc’s thumb brushed away a tear.“We did.And you were the heart of it all.The reason we didn’t stop, even when it seemed impossible.”
