“Now get the fuck off my lot,” Trev said. “Before another war starts.”
They walked to the SUV and got back inside. We all stood and waited until they were gone before anyone spoke.
“That’s what you came up with?” Trev asked.
“We need a good fight,” I said. “Jim could do it.”
I looked back at Jim. He was nodding. “I’ll do it. I don’t care. If I did this, I’ll help to fix it.”
“I fucking hope so,” Jasper said. “Christ. What a fucking mess.”
I was then left alone with Jim right there in the lot. I walked to the railing and leaned against it. Jim walked to the railing and grabbed it.
“What the fuck is this?” he asked.
“Reality, brother,” I said. “You’ve been floating around for a long time. This is the extreme version of reality. But this is where we’re at. I’m sorry I threw you under the bus there.”
“You had to do it,” Jim said. “I could use the action.”
“Seriously, you think you could pull this off?” I asked.
Jim looked me dead in the eyes. “Do I have a choice?”
“No, you don’t. If you fuck this up, we’re all dead.”
“We used to say the same shit over there, brother,” Jim said.
I patted Jim on the back. “Welcome back.”
I walked away from Jim.
I needed a drink and I needed Belle.
I suddenly felt safer being at war halfway across the world.
**
I got my drink and I got my girl. I threw back a couple beers and had my arm around Belle’s waist. I loved digging my fingers into her side and feeling the natural curve of her body. Feeling her hip made my cock pulse and start to fill.
The clubhouse was busy but it wasn’t the same free-as-fuck kind of attitude. It was obvious every guy in there had some shit on their mind. That always happened when our lives were threatened to be rattled. Having the Russians showing up like they did put a kink in Trev’s Presidency. I could tell the guys were wondering if voting in working with the Russians was a bad idea. Shit, it brought up a ton of money, so it wasn’t a bad idea. Everything with Ivan and Peter would smooth over on its own. They were old school pricks and they enjoyed killing people just to say they did so. But they also needed us to help them. If they really thought they could come to Daurian and take control, they were out of their minds. They would muscle it though with murder and power, ruining the town, which they didn’t fucking want either.
I pulled Belle close to me and kissed her cheek. She looked at me and had weary eyes.
“Talk to me, sweetie,” I said.
“Nothing to talk about,” she said. “I’m just looking around here…”
“And this is why I’m here,” I said. “This is my family. This is my brotherhood. This is where I found my freedom. You want to do something with me?”
“Anything,” Belle said. “As long as I don’t get shot at or something.”
“Nah, not here.” I stood and backed up. I winked. “Then again, we’re both wanted people, aren’t we?”
“Me?” Belle asked. “What do I have to do with this?”
“Ah, sweetie, you’re screwed.” Her face dropped. I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “I know, it’s terrifying. Just let me work this all out. Before that though, come for a walk with me.”
I don’t know why I had the urge to take her where I wanted to go. I hadn’t been there in a while. And I sure as hell never took a woman there. It was a private place. A little piece of peace that I enjoyed.
I took Belle to the back of the clubhouse to a storage closet. I pulled the chain on a light and shut the door. In the corner was a metal ladder.
“Right there,” I said.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Going up to the roof of the clubhouse,” I said. “Trust me.”
I walked Belle to the ladder and I went first. Looking up, it was all dark. At the very top was a small latch to unhook and then the door flipped open. It was a heavy door and groaned in protest of being moved. It smacked the roof when I tossed it over its rusted hinge. I got on the roof and crouched down, offering my hand to Belle. Having her look up at me, the way her eyes still lit up in the darkness of the night, goddamn, it was all the proof I needed that an outlaw like me could find love. And not just crazy good love between the sheets either.
There were a few chairs up on the roof. A little table with an ashtray and plenty of empty beer and whiskey bottles. I walked Belle near the edge so she could see the ground. We weren’t miles up in the air or anything but it was high enough that I felt her clutching at my leather cut.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“It’s actually beautiful up here. Somber but beautiful.”
“We come up here a lot to think. A lot of bad shit down there so we try to find peace up here.”
“When was the last time you were up here?” she asked.
I thought about it. It had been a long while. A real long while.