Page 42 of Pushing Styxx
I nod and lean in, kissing her softly. “Love you, Hope. I’ll join you soon as we finish.”
“I love you too,” Hope says, her eyes full of emotion. The bandage on her neck is stark white against her skin. “Be careful.”
I give her one more kiss before nodding to Promise, who’s still standing protectively by her sister. “Look after her for me.”
Promise nods, her eyes still wet but determined. “I will. Always.”
I glance at Angel in time to see him give Stella one hell of a kiss before following him out of the room.
“You good, brother?” Angel asks when we step outside and start for the woods.
“Yeah, this will be over for both of them soon enough. Neither of them will have to deal with the stress of being torn apart again.” I’d see to it.
“Hope is one hell of a woman. Brave what she did. Stupid, but I give her props for how much she loves that girl.”
“She’d die for her sister,” I tell him, nodding.
“She proved that today,” Angel grunts. “But she was smart enough to let you know, even if it was after she was already on her way to meet him. She was smart about it. Told you exactly where without lying to him. She knew you’d have her back.”
I always will.
We make it to the clearing where we have created the motocross course for the women and stop in the middle. Tombstone is perched up in the seat of the excavator, a hole already dug deep into the earth.
The two men are on their knees in front of us, hands bound behind their backs. The rest of my brothers are standing around them in a circle, faces grim with anticipation. This isn’t the first time we’ve had to handle something like this, and it won’t be the last.
Ronald’s face is pale from blood loss, but his eyes still hold defiance. Atkins looks like he’s about to shit himself, which gives me a small measure of satisfaction.
“You have no idea what you’re doing,” Ronald spits out, blood dribbling from his split lip. “You think this ends with me? Pratt will?—”
I cut him off with a swift kick to the chest that sends him sprawling backward. “I’m really fucking tired of hearing about Pratt,” I snarl, standing over him. “Let me make something clearto both of you. After tonight, Pratt will not give either of you another thought.”
I draw my gun and point it at Ronald’s head. “You know, I’ve been thinking about this moment ever since I found out what kind of man you really are. The kind who’d sell his own niece. The kind who’d put a knife to my woman’s throat.”
Ronald’s eyes widen, fear finally breaking through his defiance. “Wait?—”
“No more waiting,” I cut him off, my voice deadly calm. “No more chances. You had plenty of those.”
I glance at Reaper, who gives me a nod. This is my call, and everyone here knows it. These men threatened what’s mine. They made Hope bleed. They tried to take Promise.
“Please,” Atkins suddenly sobs, breaking his silence. “I was just following orders. I didn’t know?—”
“Shut the fuck up,” Scythe growls, kicking him in the back, sending him forward in the dirt.
I don’t wait for Atkins to finish whatever pathetic plea he was about to make.
“You know what your biggest mistake was?” I ask, my voice eerily calm even to my own ears. “You thought you could take what’s mine and live to tell about it. Thought you could kill my woman and I wouldn’t come for her.”
“Please,” Ronald whimpers, all his bravado gone now. “I’m family. I’m her uncle?—”
“Family?” I bark out a laugh that holds no humor. “You don’t know the meaning of the word. Family protects. Family loves. You’re nothing but a predator who happens to share some DNA. That’s it.”
I step closer, pressing the barrel of my gun against his forehead. “Hope and Promise are my family now. Mine and this club’s. And unlike you, I protect what’s mine.”
I pull the trigger, watching as the back of his head rips open and he falls at my feet.
Atkins starts to scream, but Reaper slams the butt of his gun into his jaw, silencing him.
“Your turn, asshole,” I say, turning my full attention to the man who was just as much responsible for today’s events. “You think you’re getting out of this because you were ‘just following orders’?”
