Page 13 of Wolf

Images too close to the surface threw themselves before me, but I shoved them down before they could catch me, choosing to focus on this boy here and now growing lifeless in my arms. I refused to look away from his eyes, whispering things over and over again to reassure him. I wouldn’t be able to remember what I said. I seemed to drown in the numbness anchoring me inside my own head, where no thoughts could comprehend what was happening. There was just this raw, painful emotion that made me feel heavy and filled to the brink ofbursting.

But I didn’t think about it. I just watched as the surreal image of this boy dissolved into nothing. His shaking limbs lost their strength and settled beside him. His chest, shivering and desperately reaching for breath, slowed to stillness. His quivering mouth relaxed. And unlike in the movies, his eyes were open as his life left them. He was looking up at me, and that’s where they remained. In them, I saw a reflection of my face, where not even a single tear haddropped.

If the eyes captured their last look on life, his would contain an image of a woman who didn’t even cry while a kid died in her arms. And knowing that look in the world he grew up in, he’d realized that he wasn’t the first person I’dwatcheddie.

Chapter Five

Wolf

The treadon my wheels were nearly gone by the time I tore up turf outside the dilapidated diner. Its sign was hanging on by only one or two screws, looking like it was about to fall off at any moment. I pulled up under it anyway, seeing the other bikes already parked up outside the building, and hauled my ass around the side of the diner where I saw my mengathered.

Blue and red lights painted them with stern faces as they talked to some of the officers. I moved over to where Lamb stood, more than likely having finished gathering the information. He leaned up against one of the walls where you’d usually see a man smoking a cigarette. Lamb didn’t smoke, however, and instead, his eyes were going over everything andanything.

I looked down to the black body bag on the ground and the red bloodstains dried on the concrete. Lamb frowned, and when he saw me coming up to him, his frown onlydeepened.

Before I said anything, though, Lamb just pointed his gaze over to an ambulance in the midst of the cop cars. It had its back doors open and police and a paramedic surrounded the girl sitting on the steps. She had a blanket wrapped around her, keeping it draped loosely over her shoulders. Her head perked up in my direction, and when her eyes met mine, they only held them for a second before looking downandaway.

“Fuck this shit,” I growled, looking back to Lamb. “Is everythingcovered?”

“It’s already sorted. They didn’t find a weapon on Anna and there are other witnesses placing the van and the gunfire on the street during the time of the attack. They’re ruling it a mugging. Anna has no guilt to bearinthis.”

“At least we don’t have blues on our tail. What I’m more concerned about is whose fucking territory this is,” I growled, running a hand throughmyhair.

“I think we’re about to see to that,” Lamb said just as I heard the roar of bike engines race up the street. I stood with my shoulders squared and watched carefully as the Hell’s Runners’ bikes pulled up outside the diner. The blues looked up from what they were doing, but upon seeing the Runner’s cuts, they quickly went back to theirbusiness.

I felt the presence of my brothers sweep up behind me. Jax wasn’t among them, but I had an idea where he went as the rest of us faced thearrivingclub.

I recognized Chains as he pulled up in the front. He pulled off his helmet and glasses, and it still stunned me to this day how much he looked like Noble. He was the spitting image of my old sergeant at arms. The same blond hair and broad build. His hair was cut short, however, almost right to the skin compared to the long mutt that Noble hadgrown.

I felt Hunter stiffen beside me, a tense air beginning to rise as he looked at his half brother. Noble and Hunter had been full brothers by blood, and in the aftermath of Noble’s death, Chains had been revealed as his half brother. Hunter still couldn’t stand Chains, but I, on the other hand, had once worked with him in order to help him cut loose a few troublesome brothers from his club. Despite that, he had chosen to go to the Grim Reapers instead and was now under theirthumb.

“Wolf,” Chains greeted, his voice a deep baritone as he walked up to me. By the sound of it, he had been smoking more. Fucking over your club would do thattoyou.

“Chains,” I returned. “You looklikeshit.”

“I’m not here for small talk, Wolf,” he responded, his two sidekicks coming up at his rear. Neither of them wore the V.P. badge, which was all I needed to confirm that he still hadn’t chosen one. The boy was leaving himself open without one. “What’s your club lawyer doing causing shit on ourterritory?”

“She wasn’t causing shit,” I responded. “Shit just happened. It was amugging.”

“Don’t try to bullshit me, Wolf,” Chains growled, obviously not liking my ignorant attitude. He’d best be careful where he put his boots because I was on a fine line with what just happened, and with every passing second, it was getting slimmer andslimmer.

Chains looked past me to where the body was lying in the middle of the alley. “A mugging where your lawyer happened to be standing next to Lizard? One of the Grim’s informants? Seems highly unlikely, if youaskme.”

“It’s unlikely to be hit by lightning. That shit still happens.” I was fed up with this tedious argument before Chains and his goons showed up and couldn’t be bothered to parry with a baby-face president-in-name-only like Chains. “If you’re here because your big boss’s informant got killed, then go deal with that shit yourselves, since it wasn’t our girl who did it. Now, I’m fucking fed up with this shit, and I don’t have any more time to deal with you. Wedonehere?”

“I ain’t going to start a turf war with this bastard lurking around the west coast. I know Charon keeps approaching you, but this area isn’t run by the Grim Reaper’s, Wolf. It’s run by me. I get the final say on shit,” Chains said, his hands unconsciously pulling on the jacket that held his presidential patch. “I worked too hard for this club to have it destroyed by a turf war. That’s the reason I’m letting you go.Gotit?”

I looked him up and down and heard the will in his voice. I’d figured it would have died out after being unmanned by the Grim’s takeover, but it seemed to have survived. Whatever plans Chain’s had, they didn’t end with ridding his club of troublesome members, nor taking the pseudo president’s seat. I had a feeling the Grims were going to have their hands fullwithhim.

With one last glance at the man, I turned without answering and walked away, the action a symbol initself.

My men fell in line behind me, Hunter being the fastest to turn away without looking back, and we made our way back over to thebikes.

The Runner’s watched as our boys saddled up and Jax walked back over with Anna. She stood quietly beside him, tucked under his arm. Her face was looking up, but it was cold and distant as she looked at the boys. They all made soft gestures toward her, but thatwasall.

Jax brought her to me, and I slid off my jacket and pulled it around her. Blood was evident on her clothes, but we didn’t talk about it as she slid her arms into the sleeves and waited as I sat down on my bike before she slid on behind me. Her arms came around my waist and held tight as I fired up the engine and turned out of the old diner’s parking lot before hitting the road outoftown.

I hit the gas and left Chain’s town behind as we made our way back toFellpeak.

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