Page 22 of Brick's Redemption

She seemed to think about that for a minute. “During this war you had going, how many did he torture and clean up?”

I nearly snorted at how she phrased that. “A dozen.”

“Shit.” Her gaze dropped to her lap as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt. Finally, her head lifted. “They went after him for it, didn’t they? It’s why they followed him after he left the clubhouse on my birthday.”

“Yeah, Ginny, baby. They did.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I’ve always wondered. Mom never told me any of this.”

“We’ve only talked about it once. She didn’t want to burden or overwhelm you, sweetheart. I suspect she also didn’t want to ruin how you viewed your dad and the relationship you had with him. I bet she didn’t want to tarnish his memory.”

“I don’t think less of him, Brick. In fact, it helps. He was so brave and fearless.”

“He was,” I agreed.

“I’m so proud to be his daughter.”

“You should be. He fucking loved you so much, Ginny. You and your mom were everything to him. All that shit he had to do, he did it willingly because it kept you safe.”

Sorrow penetrated her delicate features. “Not anymore. The Crimson Skulls are after us.”

“They are.” I wouldn’t lie to her.

She jumped to her feet. “I won’t let his death be for nothing. He didn’t sacrifice his life to let those bastards win.”

“That’s exactly how I feel.”

Good. We were finally on the same page.

Ginny moved closer, lifting her hand to rest her palm against my chest. “Who was in that black truck the day we were run off the road? You never told me.”

No, I didn’t. It wasn’t relevant until now.

“A Crimson Skulls member. Their old enforcer.”

“There’s something else you’re not telling me,” she quietly replied.

Yeah. Two things. The first was easy to admit. The second? I didn’t want her to hate me for keeping it from her.

“I found Hesh the day he died.” My chin dropped. I couldn’t handle seeing uncertainty or doubt in her eyes. My fucking heart squeezed with my confession.

“Alive? Or after they shot him?”

“Both.”

She gasped. “What did he say, Brick? Was he in pain?”

Her anxious expression nearly tore me in two. “He made me promise to be there for you, to watch over you and Ciara. I swore to keep you both safe.”

Ginny flung her arms around my neck and buried her head in my shoulder. “Brick.”

“I tried to save him, but I was too late.”

There. I said it. The words that had haunted me for fifteen years.

“It wasn’t your fault. I’m sure you did everything you could.”

Which was nothing more than call 9-1-1. I pressed my hand to his wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but he’d been hit in the chest three times. He bled out before the paramedics arrived.

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