Page 62 of Tusk's Fury

Ember smothers back a smile. “Thank you. That’s very generous of you.”

Siege rolls his eyes, “It’s a pittance compared to what our club made on this trip. I’d be more generous, but I’m worried that we’re gonna have to bribe a rival club if we want to get to him.”

Her eyes get big. “You’re really going to go after Bishop Harper?”

“He’s got a lot to answer for, don’t you think?”

“Yes… yes, of course he does. I hope and pray you catch him and put a stop to him exploiting naive members of his congregation.”

“Thanks for the offer honey, but I don’t think we’re gonna need hopes and prayers because we’ve brought down tougher men than Harper before.”

Cindy jumps up. “Don’t underestimate him. He’s a snake in the grass.”

Siege replies, “Thanks for the warning. Why don’t you girls get some rest? We’ll meet up around noon tomorrow. One of the brothers will be by with breakfast around eleven in the morning.”

After they leave, I tell Tex, “I’m gonna go take a walk and clear my head.”

He laughs. “No, you’re not. You’re gonna call your old lady and have phone sex.”

I punch him playfully in the shoulder and try to get him in a headlock. He shoves me towards the door and starts pulling out the sofa bed. Just blowing off steam after today feels like a godsend.

A soft, feminine voice comes from behind me. “Want to take a walk with me?”

Whirling around, I stare at Ember. “No. And you should be inside, not out in the open.”

She starts backing away. “I just wanted to talk to you about something.”

Schooling my expression, I take a deep breath and tell her, “Look, I’m about to crash out for the night. My brain is mush. Catch me in the morning, and I’ll talk about whatever you want.”

Her expression brightens. “Thanks. I’ll do just that.”

When I look down at my phone, I notice the time. It’s late and I don’t want to wake Brittany and the baby. I send her a quick text and shove the phone back into my pocket and head inside. Tex’s big body is taking up the whole pull-out bed, so I lie down on the floor with a throw cushion.

Cecil is lying on the other side of the room. “You okay, man?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“My sister says that she wants to follow in the footsteps of Eve. Do you know what that means?”

Shit, that was clearly what Ember wanted to talk to me about tonight. “I guess she wants to do all the things Brittany did when she ran.”

“But why would she want that? I don’t understand,” he laments.

I sit up and clear my throat. “Think about it for a minute. I saw how elaborate that fuckin’ church was. I’ll bet you had all kinds of rituals and ceremonies. That’s what your sister grew up with. It’s what she’s used to. There isn’t a lot of ritual in an average person’s life. She’s drawn to following in Brittany’s footsteps because it feels like a ritual that will set her mind free from all the guilt, shame, and loss she experienced at the hands of Harper and the church.”

“It still seems weird to me that she would go looking for rituals to replace the ones that ruined her in the first place,” he says.

“Yeah, that’s because you’re more mentally balanced than your sister. She needs a good therapist, not more and better rituals. She just hasn’t figured that out yet.”

“I suppose you’re right,” he adds morosely.

I lay back down but can’t resist telling him, “You might be more mentally balanced than your sister, but you’ve got your own problems. The biggest one is understanding that you can’t save your sister. Right or wrong, she’s gonna make the decisions she thinks are best for her. She’s gonna make mistakes and learn from them. You gotta let her make her own mistakes in life, or she’s never gonna grow as a human being.”

Chapter 22

Brittany

Today, I’m all dolled up and having coffee with Clara in the clubhouse. For once, I feel like my old self—attractive and desirable.

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