“What about your bike?” she asked.
“Hawke can drive it back.” Tripp glanced quickly at Tag. “I doubt he wants to ride back with the new prospect.” Then he directed his attention on me, Linc, and Kaden. “You three take Tag and the van back. Then go home and get some rest. I’m sure the next few days, weeks even, are gonna be stressful. Add in, we still haven’t heard anything from those bastards.”
“What are we gonna do with… you know?” I wanted to come out and ask the blunt question, wondering if everyone else present forgot about the dead Reaper in the basement, but had to watch what I said because Reece was still here.
“We’ll take care of it tomorrow.” Tripp pulled his wife toward the front door after responding.
It seemed the club had gone from one way of life to another in the blink of an eye. We had to carry weapons now in case anything unexpected happened, and people were dying around us, one almost losing his life because of a rash conclusion. Even though it was the right decision to allow Tag to live, I had no doubt Marek was gonna have some choice words for his son for involving Sully the next time they were alone together.
Even with the impending possible blowup between the two of them, I wished I had a father in my life I could go toe to toe with occasionally. Someone who cared about me, even when we didn’t agree on shit.
“What do you think of Tag now bein’ a prospect?” Kaden sidled up next to me as we walked back toward the kitchen, Linc remaining behind to talk to our newest member. “This has never happened before,” he said before I could answer.
In the past, the only way to become a member was to either be related to someone in the club or have grown up with another member, such as was in my case, me having gone to school with Kaden and Linc, them a couple years younger than me. If someone was from outside, such as with Brick, they had to prove their loyalty, and while it used to take years, if they were deemed worthy, they were prospected, then eventually patched in sooner.
“I like the guy. I can’t imagine what’s goin’ through his mind with all this, though. I doubt he wants to be a member of a club that strapped him to a table and cut him up before stabbing him, but like Marek said, it’s either this or death. What I don’t understand is why make him a member and not just let him go?”
“Probably so my ol’ man can keep a close eye on him.” Kaden raked his fingers through his already disheveled hair. “Who the fuck knows.”
I stopped him with a harsh grip on his arm. “You okay? That was a lot to take in.”
He nodded before shrugging away from me, his eyes hooded in exhaustion. “Yeah. I just wanna get outta here.”
“I couldn’t agree more, brother.”
Miles, Nash, and Rez gathered in the front room. I had no idea if they were gonna stop by the clubhouse tomorrow or leave right from here to go back to Laredo. I didn’t bother to ask because bluntly put, I didn’t care. I liked all three just fine, but it had been a long night and all I wanted to do was get as far away from here as possible.
Linc walked up next to Kaden and me, as we made our way out of the house. Tag lagged a few feet behind him. “You ready to go?” His question wasn’t directed at anyone in particular as he shoved past us, pulling his cell from his pocket and mumbling under his breath as he typed out a message. He disappeared into the garage, Kaden following next. I stopped and turned toward Tag.
“You okay?”
“I don’t even know how to answer that question.” He walked slowly, wincing every now and again before continuing toward me.
I pointed toward his side. “Who patched you up?”
Tag shrugged half-heartedly. “Some guy. I think he was a doctor, but I was so out of it when he worked on me, I couldn’t be sure. All I know was that he gave me some good shit to help. I wish I had more of it.”
“Linc’s mom is a nurse. I’m sure she can get you something for the pain once we get back.”
His teeth harassed his bottom lip and for a moment he gazed off in the distance, looking like he was busy contemplating something, but he never said another word before heading toward the van.
Once the four of us were settled in, Tag in the passenger seat and Kaden behind the wheel, we left, the entire ride back to the clubhouse in silence, save for the radio Kaden kept on a low volume.
When we were close to home, I shot off a text to Chelsea. I didn’t expect a response, seeing as how it was nearing three in the morning, but I sent her two more anyway. Debating on whether to show up unannounced at her house or to go home and pass out, I was startled when Kaden spoke. The first words uttered in almost an hour.
“Tag, you should stay at the clubhouse tonight until we can figure some things out. I don’t think you want to go to your mom’s house lookin’ like you do.”
“You’re probably right.” He turned to look out the window, his head shaking slightly side to side. Then I heard him sniff right before he raised his hand to his face. Kaden realized the guy needed some show of support, so he rested his hand on Tag’s shoulder. But nothin’ any of us could do or say would change anything that happened to him. He’d still have to deal with his physical wounds as well as the emotional scars that were already forming.
When we finally arrived, Kaden threw the van in Park and jumped out, rounding the front and opening Tag’s door to help him out in case he needed the assistance. Turned out, he did. I heard him groan twice on his way inside, which spurred me to stop Linc before he walked too far ahead. I realized as soon as he walked in there, he’d make a beeline straight to Maddie’s room.
“Hey, do you think you can ask your mom to come and look at him tomorrow morning? He’s gonna need some more pain meds and from the way he’s still wincing, he’s gonna need ’em like now.”
“Yeah. I’ll call her first thing. Now I gotta deal with Maddie.”
“Hey.” I smacked him on the back. “At least you can honestly tell her we didn’t kill Pike.”
“There’s that.” He stretched his arms behind his back and cracked his neck. “I’ll see ya tomorrow, man.”
I jerked my chin toward him right before he walked away. Not needing to go inside, I headed toward my bike, making the decision that I was in fact gonna pop by Chelsea’s. I needed to see her. As I kicked over the engine and fastened my helmet, I prayed she wouldn’t turn me away after the night I’d had.
The route I chose to her place gave me time to rehash everything that had taken place less than two hours ago. As the wind whipped against my sweatshirt, the smell of impending rain nestled in the breeze gave me a sense of peace, although life was anything but serene right now. The closer I got to Chelsea’s, the more everything rushed over me, from my anger at having Pike show up at our club, to him then later dying in the basement of the safe house. And there was no way I could forget the look in Linc’s eyes when he’d been set on shooting the Reaper in the head only to have the guy die from the bullet his club gave him, but not before Linc made a fuckin’ promise to look after the prospect’s family.
Then Sully and Reece showing up where they were definitely not wanted, interfering with our business, to the showdown between Kaden and his ol’ man to Marek telling Tag he had to become a prospect for us or choose death. Every piece of the jagged puzzle eventually fit together, but I was still left wonderin’ what life was gonna look like come sunrise.