Page 92 of Road to Absolution

I lit another cigarette. “That’s freaking me out.”

“You, uh, actually believe me?”

I blew out a lung full of smoke. “Fuck yeah. My dad taught me a man’s gut needs to be listened to. Did the guy Diesel killed look like Seth?”

It was clear Art had spent a lot of time thinking about all this. “It had been years since I had seen him, and he wore a bandana from nose down, but something about his eyes… Never could put my finger on it.”

“Alright, so, if this Seth dude is still alive, what’s the personal part? Why that revenge?”

The way Art suddenly looked epically drained, I knew there was a history that could take anyone with a heart to his knees. His head fell back as if he needed the sun to rejuvenate him. “That would be because of… Justice.”

The gun. Boom! Her body flew backward—

I jerked, realizing I was on the dirt road.

My mouth fell open when I noticed Art and I were both grabbing our chests. For the same woman, yet different reasons. His due to memories from during and after their kidnapping. My reasons were due to this woman almost dying while trying to help save my life.

It is truly remarkable how people’s lives, even complete strangers, can intertwine on such a level. It makes you ask yourself if there is a grand plan in the scheme of things that seem so painful at times.

If yes, what was ours? What are we to learn, share, and experience after learning the truth?

Maybe it’s that some forces are so dark, it will take an army to bring them down.

How do you unify an army? Give them a common enemy…

Powerful bonds… indeed.

When the three of us came rolling back into the compound, we were confronted with a unified line of officers. They all seemed to have an underlying pleased expression as we got out of the car, but also lingering was a peeved undertone.

Diesel’s arms were crossed. “We work some el shit-o out?”

Like the three scorned pups we were, we stood in front of the officers, saying, “Yes, sir.”

I asked, “Lilah alright?”

Diesel put me in my place. “Shouldn’t you know?”

“Yes, but—”

“Always make sure your shit is covered. Always.”

“Yeah, but—”

Gesturing about his officers, he asked, “Which of us did you leave in charge of her when you walked away?”

“Diesel, I just needed a break—”

“Which one!” he roared. Holding up my cut, he told me, “You no longer being a brother, she is no longer an Old Lady.”

I knew he was bluffing—that Lilah would never be harmed as long as he was alive. Attached to my club status or not, she was covered, but I heard his message. “Understood.”

“The price for such a mistake carries a guilt that you will never recover from.”

Since I was standing next to a guilt I figured he was speaking of, I nodded. “Won’t happen again.”

Chains, my VP, said, “What else shouldn’t happen again?”

Now that I wasn’t in a hospital, shell-shocked and scared, I was able to take in far more details of my officers.