Page 38 of Acid

“What happened?” I ask with a whisper, and his hold tightens.

“S-She was-was ran off the road, then dragged outta her car. We chased them, and she was thrown off Brooklyn Bridge,” he stutters, and my tears fall as I hold him tighter.

“She’ll be okay, she has to be, she’s finally giving you a chance,” I murmur and his arms tighten around me, and everything in me breaks for this man.

Last year, he was screaming in his wife’s face at the diner, accusing her of trying to get pregnant, telling everyone who would listen that she’s trying to trap him again, that she wanted a baby and yet, here he is, after finally realizing that wasn’t the case, that he loved her, breaking because he could lose her.

We stand like this for a few minutes before the door to the waiting room opens and I freeze, my eyes widening, my legs going weak at the person standing there.

Piston holds me up as I give him my weight, kissing my head as I look at my big sister wearing a white coat over her scrubs.

She’s here, she’s really here….

Without thinking, I leave Piston’s embrace and walk over to her. Cassidy’s tears fall, her hazel eyes staying on me and, as if I’m on autopilot, I lift my right hand and swing.

The room is silent; you can hear a pin drop.

Holding her cheek, Cassidy nods, then grabs me in her embrace, and my tears fall fast and hard as my big sister holds me so tight I can’t breathe, but I don’t complain. Instead, I sob, all the pain spilling out.

She’s back, I’m no longer alone….

13

Acid

I bounce my knee as I watch my little brother like a hawk. His clothes are soaked, and the grief-stricken look on his face, fuck, it’s killing me.

I rest my elbows on my knees, linking my fingers before resting my chin on them, not looking away from my brother even as Steal sits beside me.

“She’ll make it,” he states firmly, and I nod.

We need to keep the faith, even if I lost mine years ago.

The moment I saw Natalie with my brother nearly six years ago, the way he was looking at her in the Huntsmen, I knew she’d be his but, fuck me, did he fight it. He fought hard against his feelings. In the end, his love for her won, only for her to be attacked as she was driving out of the gate. Our prospect, Adam, was killed before Nat was fucking dragged outta her car, and then thrown over Brooklyn Bridge, before Piston jumped in after her. I watched, with fucking horror, as he swam with her, trying to keep her afloat before giving her CPR.

The fuckers who did this, The Killers, are a nasty gang that have been trying to take our territory ever since their new leader took over, the same leader who targeted my sister-in-law nearly three years ago, wanting her to get info on the club.

Our fucking father.

I swallow hard. It doesn’t surprise me the fucker went down that route, but whatdoessurprise me is the fact he’s keeping his identity a secret.

Everyone on the fucking east block knew what he was doing to me and Piston, so why hide in the fucking shadows like a pussy?

I sigh and sit back in the chair, crossing my arms over my chest, my eyes still locked on Piston.

“If he loses her, we’ll lose him, Steal,” I remind him.

There’s a reason he made Nat his “three-year fling” in college, trying to ignore his feelings. She centers him.

“He won’t fucking lose her; she won’t give up, brother,” Steal rasps as he leans forward, and I nod.

If I lose Piston, I’ll go off the rails, especially after losing Perrie. I fucking know I will. He’s the only family I have left. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I know there’s Canine, Holly, and Aurora, but Piston, he’s my brother, he’s the reason I continued all these fucking years, why I didn’t put a bullet in my head at fifteen, not able to handle the fucking dirt under my skin.

The door to the waiting room opens, and both Steal and I stand, expecting it to be Cassidy because, of course, shit couldn’t get worse than having he Prez’s ex-girlfriend as Nat’s doctor. Instead, I swallow hard when Perrie rushes in, her hair plaited, wearing her gym gear.

She’s training?

Where the fuck…? My jaw ticks when I notice the blood on her hands, and I step forward to call her out, but she ignores me and rushes to Piston, who stands and takes her in his arms, holding her tight.

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