He never acknowledged my quick outburst, instead, hitting the guy once more. “You know we’re gonna kill you, right?” One more jab to the jaw. “Right?”
“Maybe we should wait for Prez to get here before we do anything else.” I tried to be the voice of some semblance of reason, although my words fell on deaf ears.
Linc wasn’t a violent guy by nature, even though some might think the opposite because he was a trained fighter. In fact, the opposite was true. Even with his moods switching easily these past couple of weeks, he was typically calm, which only made his threat to the Reaper that much more alarming.
Nash hung back, leaning against the nearest wall, watching intently with his hands hidden in his pockets. Kaden stood next to me, tension radiating off him but nowhere near the level it was from Linc.
“There it is.” Hawke laughed, securing his hair out of his face, his devious grin making my stomach roll. I wasn’t a pussy. I’d been in my share of fights, some of them right alongside my brothers here, but killing someone was in a whole other category, and seeing the enjoyment on the nomad’s face made me take a step back.
“There’s what?” Kaden asked.
“The fight.” Hawke glanced at all of us, minus Nash. “I thought you guys were soft. There might just be hope for you yet.” It was pointless to argue with him on whether we were “soft,” because in the end, I didn’t care what he thought of me. And I could speak for the other two, stating they’d agree with me.
A door slammed above our heads, followed by several voices. Assuming it was Marek and one of the other guys, I waited impatiently until they joined us. Then a moment later, I heard the creak of the steps right before I saw him, followed by Tripp, who had to duck so as not to hit his head.
Prez shoved past all of us and stood directly next to the Reaper. “What’s his name?”
“Does it matter?” Hawke asked, snapping his mouth shut when Marek flipped him a glare.
“Pike,” Linc answered, his hands balled into fists at his sides as he closely watched every movement our leader made.
Marek leaned over the body, studying him before opening the Reaper’s cut, peeling his shirt away from his side. “Which one of you shot him?”
I looked to Kaden, then Linc, my eyes coming to rest on Hawke, who ended up answering.
“I’d love to take credit, but it wasn’t me.”
“Then it wasn’t any of us,” I said, glancing back between Linc and Kaden, waiting for them to disagree.
“It must’ve been his club.” Linc relaxed his fingers before cracking them. “He said they were the ones who beat him up.”
“Not surprising,” Tripp added. “The only rule with that club is that there are no rules.”
“Like in Fight Club,” Hawke retorted.
“No.” Tripp shook his head. “The main rule there is that you don’t talk about Fight Club.” They bantered as if there wasn’t a man teetering between this world and the next.
“Oh yeah, that’s right.” Hawke grinned and slapped his brother’s shoulder. “I miss this shit. Is that wrong?”
Tripp looked down at Pike before returning his eyes to his sibling. “A little bit.”
“You two done?” Prez asked, turning the Reaper’s head from side to side. They both nodded in response. The prospect groaned, finally fluttering his eyes open soon after Marek touched him. I stepped closer, craning my neck around the side of Hawke so I could see better. “Why did you come to our club? You had to know things wouldn’t end well for you by doing that, right?”
Marek appeared cool and collected, even though he looked disheveled. Anyone could see he was exhausted, like he’d seen too much during his life and this was just something else he had to create a memory of.
Pike didn’t respond at first, so Linc did it for him. “He said he came to warn us they were comin’ for us. And he confirmed they were the ones who set the fire at Indulge.”
“Why would he come to warn us?” Tripp asked, scratching the side of his head. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I think he’s got a thing for Maddie.” Kaden held up his hands when Linc took a step toward him. “Hear me out. He said he tried to get them to leave her alone. To get new pussy. You don’t do that, try and protect someone like that unless you care about them. He even shoved her at you during the fight so you could take her.” He paused a moment before saying, “I think he’s in love with her.”
“He. Raped. Her,” Linc seethed. “He was the reason she was there in the first place.”
“I’m not sayin’ we should let him go. I’m just tellin’ ya what I think.”
“Well, no one wants to hear it.”
The tic in Linc’s jaw showed he was about to lose his shit any minute, and I didn’t want to be in such close quarters when it happened, so I retreated until my back hit the wall.
Marek grabbed a chunk of Pike’s hair and lifted his head off the table. “Is this true? Were you tryin’ to protect Maddie even though you were the one who brought her into your fuckin’ club?” I waited for him to ask if he was in love with her, but he didn’t, which was probably for the best, considering Linc’s demeanor.
The back of Pike’s head hit the wood of the table with a thud. “Ye… yeah,” he finally said, his expression contorting as he struggled to pull air into his lungs. “I hate my… myself for bring… bringing her there.”
“You should,” Linc yelled, advancing a step before Tripp laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
“What do you think we should do with you now?” Prez asked, folding his arms over his chest, the crinkle of his leather amplified in the small space.
“Kil… kill me.”
“Did he say what I think he did?” I asked, pushing off the wall and walking back toward where Pike was sprawled out.
“Yup. He wants us to kill him,” Hawke parroted, pulling the gun from his waistband the same time Linc did. I wasn’t sure how I felt about witnessing a murder, but I sure as hell didn’t want Linc to be the one to pull the trigger. I could sleep better at night if Hawke was the one to end the guy’s life. The act suited him more.
Marek leaned over the prospect, asking him a question I was curious about myself. “Why do you want us to kill you?”
Although slow, his response was immediate. “Bec… because you’ll give me… a quick death.” I thought I heard a gurgling sound when he inhaled. “They won’t.”
Prez nodded before stepping closer to our VP’s son, resting his hand on his shoulder. “This one’s yours.”
I thought there would be some sort of hesitation on Linc’s part, but only a second passed before he cocked his gun and pressed it to the side of Pike’s temple.
“Lincoln!” I had to stall for time before he pulled the trigger.
“What?” He never took his eyes off the prospect.
“Are you sure you wanna do this?”
“After everything Maddie’s been through because of him? You’re fuckin’ right I do.” A veil of contempt and rage drifted over his face, and for a moment, the guy pointing the gun at the Reaper wasn’t someone I recognized. In the end, however, he would have to be the one to deal with his decision, so I clamped my mouth shut and didn’t say another word about it.