Kate’s head fell against my shoulder, and I shifted to keep her from falling forward. “What do you know about Saint anyway? Where the fuck did he come from?”
“Honestly? I never met the guy. Wouldn’t surprise me if he was some politician with the kind of power he has—”
“Wait a minute,” I argued. “You’re tellin’ me that you went to war for someone you never met and now you think you’re just gonna walk away without him findin’ out?”
Saint had taken over the Sons without revealing his identity.
I was wrong before. This wasn’t some David Koresh-sounding bullshit, it was straight out of the Wizard of fucking Oz.
“Saint’s become obsessed with finding out who was responsible for killing your son. Wants to start another war before finishing this one. I’ll be long gone before he realizes anything is wrong. I never gave a fuck about who capped the kid.”
I clenched my jaw and leaned across the seat, ignoring the flashing in my vision. “You don’t give a fuck about my kid?”
He clicked his tongue against his teeth with a shake of his head. “You seem to have me confused with Mother Teresa. I only ever cared about what happened to you—”
My nostrils flared. It was the same shit he’d been saying since day one. “Yet here you are, helpin’ me escape when you should’ve put me down months ago.”
“Do you know what it’s like to set out with a clear goal, this one thing you just have to accomplish, only to wake one morning to find you can’t remember why you started in the first place?”
I shrugged my good shoulder and slouched down until the back of my head rested against the seat. I needed sleep; we could talk later.
“Grey.” Cobra snapped his fingers. “Stay awake.”
“Why?” I groaned. “Don’t know how to fuckin’ drive without me givin’ directions?”
He slammed on the brakes so suddenly that I barely had time to get my left arm out in front of Kate before my right shoulder slammed against the dash with enough force to leave me gasping for breath.
“As I was saying…” Cobra took his foot off the brake, and the Jeep began moving downhill again. “I started the entire fucking thing to avenge the Serpents. The club may have turned on me, but my mission never changed. I was always going to kill you.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s stoppin’ you now?” I wheezed out through clenched teeth, before bracing myself for the next impact.
He surprised me by laughing. “I’ve told you. I want to know I took you down at your best.” The Jeep slowed to another stop, and he retrieved a cell phone from the glove box. “So, this is where I leave you—”
I looked out at towering pine trees lining either side of the mountain trail and then back to him. “And where the fuck is this?”
“Couple miles outside Mirror Lake.” He held the phone out. “You may have service, you may not. Just know that they’ll trace the phone, so you’ll want to ditch it soon. I think this makes us even now, no?”
Mirror Lake?
I wracked my addled brain for the memory, almost weeping with relief when it came to me.
“What if we took the girls to Mirror Lake?” Wolverine asked with a sly grin. “Got a cabin up there—all the fishing gear. Might keep ‘em entertained for a weekend. Always kept you busy as a kid.”
“I’d be willin’ to get in on that,” Angel added. “Just leaves Celia, all alone in that house. Might be a good chance to reconnect…”
I shook my head, hiding a smile. “You two just got it all figured out, don’t you? Alright, if you take the girls, I’ll see what I can do to win their mama back.”
Wolverine clapped me on the shoulder. “That’s a fine idea you’ve come up with, kid. A fine idea.”
The door swung open underneath my hand, and I checked the side pocket door for a weapon before pulling Kate to the edge of the seat with my good arm. I wasn’t sure what I would’ve done even if I found something. I couldn’t shoot, and I didn’t have one-tenth of the strength I’d need to use a knife.
It didn’t mean this was the end of the road for us, though.
“You of all people should know that we’ll never be even ’til blood’s been drawn,” I said, as Kate brought her hand up to pat my cheek. “Soon as I’m healed, I’m comin’ after you with everything I’ve got. Made a promise to my girl that I’d send you screamin’ to the Reaper.’
Cobra’s eyebrows went up in surprise even as his face lit up with a manic grin. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. I think I’ll be working alone from here on out, though.”
“Tell you what,” I said, draping Kate’s body over my left shoulder. “Figure I’ve got a couple of weeks to a month before I’m in any shape to fight. Seems like a fair head start to me.”