Page 75 of Warrant
Normally that decision would be up to Cypher. But Riggs and Jared had some say in this, too.
“I can take them to jail,” Ainsley offered. There wasn’t much conviction in her tone. The situation was well beyond her control and she knew it.
Jared looked at her. Everyone was staring at him. Really the question was what he wanted done with his mother. We already knew what we’d do with the men. They weren’t going to see the light of day. But Christina? None of us were keen on killing an unarmed woman. That was a gray area for us, despite the fact that she’d orchestrated all of this.
“Can I think about it for a minute?” Jared asked, looking first at his dad, then Cypher.
“Sure. Take a few minutes while we load these guys into the SUV,” Cypher told him. He looked over at Ainsley. “This going to be a problem?”
She glared over at me, then focused on him and shook her head. She didn’t like it, but she was willing to let us deal with the remaining men of the Iron Circle. Her concession was worse than her arguing. I was ready for her to argue. I wasn’t ready for this. If she was giving in to us this easily, what did that mean for her and I?
“I should call this guy out here an ambulance,” Toxic said, sticking his head inside the front door. “Aw man, I missed all the fun?”
Ainsley frowned and hurried out the door toward her injured deputy. If he needed an ambulance, it meant he was alive.
“You going to be able to handle that?” Cypher asked, nodding toward where Ainsley disappeared.
“Yeah, I got her,” I told him. “I’ll make sure she understands.” It was keeping her from running from me that was going to be the problem. I was so close to making her mine. I could see the anguish though. She was compromising all her morals now, everything she stood for. And at some point thatwasn’t going to sit well with her. Once she realized that, she was going to run.
He chuckled. “Glad you’re dealing with her and not me. Good luck, Brother. Once you’re done get your ass back to the clubhouse and get that shoulder looked at.”
I’d almost forgotten that I’d been shot. Now the ache was setting in. Sighing, I headed outside toward my woman. I had promised her I’d explain. This was going to take a while. At least everyone was safe and the club’s troubles were over. For now.
CHAPTER 30
Ainsley
Ishut the door to the ambulance and sighed. The guys had taken off with the rest of the Iron Circle Crew before the ambulance had gotten here. Warrant had checked on me first, but then he’d left with the others. They’d needed all the help they could get to take care of the remaining crew members. Owen was going to follow my deputy to the hospital, but he just had a mild concussion.
Looking down at Aella, I saw that her eyes were drooping. I wasn’t about to bring them back into my house because there were still bodies—not to mention blood—in there. “Okay. Into the Tahoe,” I announced. Picking her up, I settled her into the booster seat and waited for Jared to get inside. “I’ll be right back,” I told him. “Wait here.”
I ran inside and packed a quick bag with enough stuff for the three of us for tonight and tomorrow morning, then went back outside with the dogs. It didn’t take long to get to ourdestination. Beau let out a happy bay from the backseat when he recognized home.
The kids wasted no time getting out of the vehicle and I went up to the porch and looked around all the usual places people hid keys. I was going to have to speak to Warrant about leaving his spare under a pair of muck boots next to the door. That was a terrible place to hide one.
Ushering the kids inside, I went through the motions of getting Aella ready for bed once more. When she and Jared were settled into the spare bedroom, I took a quick shower. It might seem counter intuitive, but I needed it. Given everything that just happened, I needed the hot water to wash away everything we had just endured.
By the time I came back out, I froze because the kids had crawled into Warrant’s bed and were fast asleep. I couldn’t blame them. The last time they went to sleep they’d been woken up to shooting and death. They were probably too scared to sleep alone.
Creeping out to the kitchen, I whispered for Beau to follow me. The hound lifted a heavy brow to eye me, but he did as I asked and heaved himself to his feet. Once we were there, I turned the light on and ran my hands all over his body. I wasn’t sure where he’d been kicked, but I wanted to make sure he was okay.
He took the opportunity to lick my face all over. He didn’t wince or show any pain, so I knew he wasn’t seriously injured.
“Wait here,” I told him, then went to the fridge. There was a steak sitting in there. It was probably supposed to be Warrant’s dinner at some point, but now, it was going to the goodest dog. Unwrapping it from the butcher paper, I put it on a plate, then onto the floor. I slid down the cabinet next to him and pet him as he ate his reward. He’d been willing to risk himself for thosekids. For me. He deserved this and more. Once he was finished we went back into the bedroom.
I crawled into bed next to the kids and smiled when Aella snuggled up next to me. My mind replayed everything that happened tonight as I laid there in the dark. I could have lost these kids. I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if that had happened. I could have lost Warrant. That bullet had been heading for his heart. I swallowed hard and tried to think happy thoughts. Everyone was safe and the Iron Circle wasn’t going to come after anyone again. Not after the MC got done with them.
That was the main reason I was okay with the guys taking them away rather than arresting them. And there was the dilemma. There would be far too much explaining to do if I hauled nine bloodied up men into the station. I could’ve managed, but I’d have to fill in some gaps. Instead, I’d only had to explain to one confused deputy that someone had snuck up behind him and clocked him over the head with something. It was the truth, but I didn’t elaborate on who had sucker punched him. That part was just a small lie by omission.
As far as the reports of gun shots, I’d blame that on Cypher and his club. No one would question a rowdy MC making that kind of noise. Was it fair? No. But considering that they left me in the dark about everything, it was a small penance. I’d also have to clean up the house of all the bullet holes and blood, but that was tomorrow's problem. It was going to be hard to explain away the black eye I had forming from that first asshole sucker punching me.
I wanted to make an arrest. I wanted to haul them in. I also knew it wouldn’t work. I knew that it would put Jared in more danger down the road. I knew that this was the only way he would stay safe, and I hated that it was true. I was so conflicted on what I wanted. My heart and brain were fighting each other. A small tear ran down my cheek.
Despite my racing mind, my body eventually forced it to shut down so that I could sleep. I curled up next to Aella and closed my eyes. Beau was a puddle on the floor in what I knew now was guard duty. He’d let me know if anyone out of place came here looking for us.
I jerked awakethe next morning when someone touched my head. The sunlight was streaming in through the window, letting me see that it was Warrant crouched there next to me. I sucked in a breath, trying to calm my nervous system, which was wide awake and ready to fight.
“Sorry, Baby Girl,” he said in a low tone. He brushed his thumb gently over my black eye.
