Larkin nodded, and Clutch bashed him again with his gun. This time Leeroy buckled and dropped over, knocked out.
“Well shit,” Noble said. “The fucking Rebels tried to kill you two.”
“Pack him up,” Larkin said to Dow. “And get rid of that body.”
“Got it.” Dow got to work right away on the dead body.
“Noble, stitch Clutch up and then follow us to the clubhouse. I’m taking Janine back.”
“Got it,” Noble said.
“Fuck that,” Clutch cut in. “I want to talk to this fucking cunt some more.”
“You will,” Larkin said, “soon enough. Let’s get him back and then see what he tells us.”
Clutch grunted but didn’t fight.
“Come on, Janine.” I followed Larkin over to his bike and we climbed on. “You okay?” he asked me.
“I am, thanks to Clutch.”
Larkin nodded. “We owe him a lot, don’t we?”
“Yeah, we do.”
He fired up the bike and we headed back toward the club.
I owed Clutch a lot. I owed him my life twice over, and probably even more than that. Dow could handle the dead body, and Noble and Clutch would get that Rebel fuck back to the clubhouse.
And then we’d find out what the hell was really going on.
Fear was running down my spine, but I could barely feel it. I was in shock, probably from what I had witnessed.
But I owed Clutch everything. That was all I could think about. No matter what, I owed Clutch, and I was going to pay him back, someday, somehow.
30
Clutch
After my fucking face got stitched up, Dow came back with a truck. We helped pile the dead body into it, and he headed out to dump the thing out in the desert where it would never be found.
Meanwhile, Noble shoved the Rebel into the back of their van. He got into the driver’s seat and rolled down the window. “Meet me at the club,” he said. “I’ll send some guys back for my bike.”
“Got it.” He pulled out and I got onto my own bike, kicking it to life.
My fucking face was aching, but I was too angry to feel it. This whole thing had gotten fucked faster than I could have imagined, and yet Janine still thought she was really going through with this marriage.
Truth was, after this little fucking stunt, that marriage was done. I didn’t know what Larkin was thinking, but a direct attempt on his daughter’s life by the club he was trying to patch over basically meant the deal had to be off.
But we still had questions, lots of fucking questions. Fortunately for us, we had someone to ask.
I rode back to the clubhouse and parked outside. The place was mostly empty, which was surprising for one in the morning. Larkin must have cleared it out. I climbed off the bike and spotted Noble pulling the van around the back. I headed over and watched as he pulled it into the alley.
“Help me with him,” Noble said, climbing out.
I opened the back door to the clubhouse and then slid the van door open. Noble came around and grabbed the guy’s feet, yanking him toward us. I grabbed his arms, and together we carried the heavy bastard inside.
The weapons locker was just down the hall. The door was already open, so we carried the fuck right in there. Larkin was leaning up against the wall, and there was a single chair in the middle of the room.
“Place him there, boys,” he said. We managed to get the guy upright and sitting in the chair, and Noble began to tie him up.
I walked over to Larkin. “How is she?”
“Better,” he said.
“You know the fucking wedding is off now, right?”
Larkin gave me a look. “Let me worry about that.”
“Come on, prez,” I said. “The fuckers tried to kill her. She’ll never be safe, married or not.”
“I know,” he said softly. “Shit got fucked faster than I expected.”
“So let’s finish it.”
“We talk to him first. Then we’ll decide.”
I nodded reluctantly. “Fine. Where is she?”
“My office.”
“Get me when he’s awake.”
Larkin nodded as I walked off, back down the hall. I passed the conference room where the council met and paused outside the side door to Larkin’s office, knocking twice.
“Come in,” she called out.
I pushed the door open. “You okay?” I asked her.
Janine was sitting in a chair, staring at the ground. She looked up at me. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
“You did good back there.”
She stood up. “Clutch.”
“No need to thank me,” I said, grinning at her. “Just did my job.”
“You’ve saved me twice now.”
“I’m very good at my job.”
She stepped toward me. “What do we do now?”
I shook my head slowly. “I don’t know. We’ll find out soon, though.”
She looked like she wanted to say something else, but I couldn’t take this shit anymore. I closed the distance between us and pulled her against me, kissing her mouth hard.