Page 31 of Rogue

“There’s something else we need to talk about,” Alice says. But then she again falls silent too.

“All right, but one of you is gonna have to say it fast or I’m leaving,” I say. “I got better things to do.”

They glance at each other and none of them speak.

“Just so you know, my mind’s set on us getting more hands-on again,” I say.

“We need to have a conversation about riding on personal, solo revenge stuff,” she finally says.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Bianca?” I ask, calling her by her real first name.

Alice is the name she started calling herself after Angel died. As in Alice in Wonderland, and that movieAlice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. It makes sense to her. Never did to me.

Hearing her name makes her gasp and do a double take, her eyes shooting righteous lightning.

“Look, Rogue, Angel was my best friend since before kindergarten, you know that,” she says. “And I wanted her death avenged as much as you. But you gotta talk to the others. If we’re riding in vengeance now, then others will want their turn too.”

“Do you all feel this way?” I ask, looking at each in turn. Blade and Creed nod.

“We started this journey we’re on by hunting a serial killer,” I say. “We now finally caught him. It’s not just personal vengeance. We completed the mission that was our whole reason for existing in the first place.”

At least it’s been that way for me.

No one says anything, but they all have trouble meeting my eyes now. And each other’s.

“And I never denied anyone vengeance,” I add.

“You’re denying it to Widow and her sons,” Creed says, but has trouble meeting my eyes.

I can’t believe I’m hearing this either.

“We all know what they are. Drug dealers and killers,” I say. “They came to us under false pretenses.”

“And yet we helped Devil’s Nightmare MC and they’re even worse killers,” Alice says and throws her hands up as I glare at her.

The wound in my side hasn’t bothered me all day, but it’s twinging now. And it’s not bringing up any good memories of Melody anymore.

“I’m not the one saying this,” she adds. “I’m with you. But some of the new ones are starting to whisper along those lines.”

We’ve had an influx of new members in the last year or so, including Widow and her two sons, Tito and Whip. They’re the sole survivors of a biker war in Arizona and they’ve been angling for us to go after the biker club that killed off theirs in that war. I understand their pain. But that war was over drug dealingterritory and both sides had blood on their hands, which is not something they were forthcoming about when they joined.

“Their MC sold drugs to children in schoolyards,” I say. “That’s not what we do. We don’t avenge people like that.”

“She’s just the bearer of bad news, Gabriel. Don’t go off at her,” Blade says using my real name now. Probably in an effort to calm me down. It works to ground me. Somewhat.

I nod and give Alice an apologetic look, which is the best I can do in my current boiling blood mood. She knows me as well as Blade does, and doesn’t need him to come to her rescue. She nods at me, letting me know she isn’t mad.

“I can handle Tito and the others, Blade,” I say.

“Can you?” he asks in a tone that suggests we’re just having some sort of a philosophical discussion.

I don’t even bother replying in words, just nod.

“Two weeks ago, I’d be sure,” Blade says but then lets his voice trail off.

He must know this calm, slow way of insinuating shit I don’t wanna hear makes me see red, and yet he’s doing it anyway.

“But now what?” I snap since he’s showing no signs of picking up the narrative.

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