Page 62 of Property of Azrael

“You may not like her, Ash, but that woman is everything to your brother. You need to keep her together for him.”

I know she is, but she’s a weakness. A weak link to the chain that holds our club together. Az may hate me when he realizes what I’ve done, but in time, he’ll see it’s for the best. Hallie isn’t cut out for our life. I couldn’t save Kennedy, but I can save Hallie from what comes with loving my brother.

“She’s gone.”

“The fuck did you just say?” Orion growls into the phone. “Where is she?”

“No idea. She ran out of here hours ago, and I haven’t seen her since,” I answer flatly.

“Why didn’t you go look for her?”

“While she and I may be your priority, he’s mine. Chasing after an emotional woman is again, not my problem.”

“You fucking asshole!” he shouts. “What did you do? What did you say to her?”

“The truth.” The bitter truth about the real ugliness in our world.

“Why, Asher? Tell me fucking why!”

I didn’t owe him or anyone else an explanation. She decided on her own. Faced with the ugly truth of the situation, and what had been done on her behalf, she ran. Not that I blame her. This was my intended outcome by saving my brother from the pain of a loss that I still feel. Saving him from the rage that would go with it. While I have a temper, Az puts mine to shame. It would be a bloodbath. One we wouldn’t be able to recover from in the end.

No. This is the better outcome for all of us.

“I don’t know why she ran,” I lie.

“Asher, I swear to fucking God, if you did anything to hurt Hallie, it’s not going to be Az alone who will punish you for it.”

“It needed to be done.”

“You solved nothing, you miserable piece of shit. You’re only making it worse. What do you think will happen when he wakes up, and she’s gone? He’ll move fucking heaven and earth to find her. He’ll hurt himself to protect her. Fix this, Asher.”

“There’s nothing to be fixed. She decided on her own.” I double down. With a little nudge from me.

“Kennedy would be ashamed of you for doing this in her name.”

The mention of her name hits its mark.

“How would you know what she would’ve wanted? It’s not like we can ask her.” Not anymore. Not unless there’s a way to talk to someone in the great beyond. I’d tried enough over the years to listen for her voice on the wind or around me, but all I’d found was deafening silence.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Ash. Kennedy may be gone, but she’s here with us every day. She’s in the decisions we make, the countless number of innocent people we’ve saved. We’re a club because of her, a fucking family. Or we were until you singled yourself out, hellbent on making the rest of us miserable along with you.”

“When you lose someone you love, maybe you’ll understand.”

“We all loved her, you asshole. She was the sister I had never had. To all of us. You may have loved her best, but we loved her too.”

“Maybe you should’ve loved her enough to keep her safe.” The harshness of my words startles even me. When did I become such a heartless dick? I knew the rest of them had grieved with me. I knew Kennedy loved them all in her own way.

“I know you’re in pain, Asher. You’ve been in pain and grief for so long, I don’t think you realize what you’re doing. You’d rather deny your brother and Hallie a chance of what you and Kennedy had out of fear. Fear that you’ll be the one having to pick up the pieces like he did for you.”

My phone pings with a group text from Van.

Found them. Sending location now.

Find out what you can and finish this.

Relief washes over me. It’s over, for now. My brother’s safe. Injured, but safe, the threat subdued. I peer over at his still body, watching the machines keeping him under, wishing he was awake so I could tell him the news that his club protected him. To share what Fox and Van had done.

“Fix this, Asher,” Orion barks before disconnecting the call.

---