Page 86 of Riding the Edge

“Because she has all of us.”

Biting the inside of his cheek, he looks away and contemplates my words.

“Whether you like it or not, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Why her? Why now?” he questions, giving me his eyes.

“Why not?”

“I’ll kill you if you hurt her.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less but that’s not going to happen.”

He doesn’t argue and in exchange, I offer him my hand. He remains silent as he stares at the peace offering between us. A moment later he gives me one of the firmest handshakes I’ve ever received and my respect for him grows tenfold.

“Make her happy,” he says. “No one deserves it more.”

“I’ll do my best,” I assure him. “But I need something from you too.”

“What’s that?”

“I need you to let the paramedic go,” I tell him, dropping his hand. “Without Jack knowing.”

His eyes narrow and he steps closer to me.

“What kind of game are you playing?”

“This has nothing to do with your mother,” I say. “Jack’s going to kill that girl and I can’t let that happen.”

“If I let her go she’s going to run to the cops and then what happens? What happens to Jack? What happens to you?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “What I do know is that your mother needs me and that has to come before the club. You release the girl and I’ll make sure Pipe gets a handle on Parrish. Everything after that is on Blackie and Pipe. You and me, we’ve got one priority, and that’s seeing your mother through the fight of her life. You got me?”

“Yeah,” he says reluctantly. “I got you.”

I got you too, kid.

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