Page 17 of Biker's Tribute: Property of Bear

She picks up after two rings.

“Hey, baby bear,” she answers in a voice that’s deadly sweet and fucking relieving to hear.

“Mom…”

I am a grown ass man. I have killed before. I am not her “baby bear”.

“Is everything okay?”

She can tell from my tone. Her instincts have always been fucking crazy.

“Are you at the casino?” she asks.

Hot shame bursts through me. The message is clear – “did you screw up again?”

“No. I’m at a motel. Something fucked happened and you need to stay away from our place.”

“What happened?” She doesn’t sound that worried. I guess when you have cancer, even if the treatment might be working, you put your life into perspective and let the little shit go a lot faster. That’s how mom has handled it so far, anyway. I try to keep it simple so she knows that we’re in danger, but we don’t have time for a complete debriefing.

“Bad guys came after me. Same club from out west, I think. I got away for now but… I don’t know how this is going to shake out.”

“Did you call Wyatt?” she asks. I promised her I wouldn’t tell Wyatt about the cancer until we had good news and I’ve kept my promise. Owen can be pushed out of asking too many questions, especially since he only gives a shit about being balls deep in his wife these days.

“No. They attacked about a block away from the condo.”

She exhales with relief, but still sounds relatively calm. Dad always loved that about her, and I think it’s the reason all of us boys remain drawn to wild women.

“I’m in Back Bay,” she says. “I can find a hotel nearby.”

“No,” I answer. “I need you further than that. I’ll get you a plane ticket to New York City. Go straight to Logan Airport. I’ll come see you in a few days.”

“Where do you expect me to stay in New York, Ethan? I have a doctor’s appointment in two weeks.”

“I’ll call Condom. He has places all over the East Coast. I’ll hook us up.”

“Okay, sweetheart. Stay in touch.”

“I’m sorry, mom.”

“Sorry for what?” she asks. “You didn’t give me cancer.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too, Bear.”

She hangs up. My foot taps impatiently on the red and dusty gold motel carpet. I have to choose my next calls carefully.

Darragh Murray picks up after the first ring.

“Ethan, what the fuck happened?!”

So he knows.

“I’ll get my guys to handle it.”

“Handle it? There are cops all over the building and they have bodies. You need to get rid of whatever gun you used and get the fuck out of Massachusetts.Now.”

Shit. Cops. That isn’t good. I knew there was a risk of the police department responding, but my priority wasn’t the cops or the future or even to commit a damn murder. I just had to protect the woman in the room. I didn’t stop and think for a second.

---