Page 86 of Wild and Unruly
“Same.” Dani nods. “Plus…” She looks to me, her eyes sad, and I feel the strongest urge to reach over and pull her into a tight hug. “Tommy targeted me too. It’s not a good feeling. He’s a terrible person.”
“So, you’re saying he’s getting what’s coming to him,” I comment, glancing at Annmarie, who mutters, “Damn fucking straight.”
“Honestly, yes,” Dani agrees. “I know it sounds horrible, but the world would be a better place without Tommy in it.”
I don’t reply, because honestly, I feel the same way.
34
stetson
If you askedme how to get to this little hut in the ground in the middle of nowhere, Colorado, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. Mitch drove for almost an hour, and it was mostly due to the many, many twists and turns that led us to wherever we were going.
None of us spoke the entire way up, all dealing with the seriousness of the situation. I sat in the front while CT, Logan, and Jax sat in the back. And Mitch drove with a cool and closed-off demeanor that’s become of him since he came home.
Once upon a time, Mitch was more open. He was a happy guy, shy maybe, but happy. He would engage in conversation. He would hug our mom and us, be outside and play with us until the sun went down each night. Maybe he would prefer to sit in the corner and strum his guitar or read a book, but he wasn’t mad, just…content to be quiet.
Now, there was something that lay underneath his skin.There was anger, maybe hate, maybe regret, that hung in the air all around him.
I feel like I don’t know my brother at all.
Mitch slows, turning on a road I can barely see, and you wouldn’t know it existed if you weren’t told it was there. He drives a few hundred feet before pulling off the side of the road.
There, sitting about twenty feet away from us, is a man leaning against a van, a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth. Behind him is a small hut that juts out from the ground. It is tiny and looks like an old well house.
I look over at my brother, but he just turns the truck off and gets out. We follow suit, and I look to my other two big brothers, who are watching with concerned interest.
He steps up to the man by the van, and finally, as my eyes adjust to the dark, I see who we’re meeting.
“Mick,” Logan says, reaching out to catch his hand in a shake. “How ya been?”
Mick smirks and shrugs. “Can’t complain.”
Mick was part of the Iron Horse motorcycle club here in Fall Springs. He’s been around forever and was in the same grade as Logan since there was only one school for both cities. He also was part of the reason we were able to save Thea last year.
He looks us over, and his gaze stops on me, giving me a nod, and I roll my shoulders back, reaching a hand out to shake his. “So, this is for you, huh?”
I glance at my brother Mitch, who’s standing with his feet braced, arms crossed, not saying a word. “What is for me, exactly?”
Mick gives a smirk and nods his head toward the shack. I take a step toward it, hearing the crunching of footsteps behindme. I open the door, blinking in surprise at the steps that reveal to me that lead down.
I look at Mitch. “What the hell is this?”
He clenches his teeth. “It’s where bad guys go.”
I close my eyes briefly and wonder how the hell I’ve gotten myself in this situation. “Mitch, how do we know we can trust him?” I ask in a low voice.
I want to find Tommy and take care of him, get him out of our life for good, but I’m not risking prison for it.
“You can trust them. They’re my brothers.”
Staring at Mitch, hurt lances through me. Logan and Jax turn to look at Mitch, confusion and hurt splashed across their faces.
Opening my mouth to say more, I pause when I hear the moan from below. Shit. He really was down there. Mitch moves past me, clomping down the stairs one at a time slowly, as if letting Tommy hear the slow descent of footsteps will amplify his fear.
“Stets,” Logan says in a hushed whisper, putting on his leather gloves like the rest of us already have on. “You don’t have to do this. We can take him somewhere and place an anonymous tip for the police.”
I grit my teeth, thinking through my options. But then, her face flashes in my mind. Her beautiful, lovely, battered, and bruised face and I wonder how terrified she must have been, how scared she was when this man came and used his strength against her like that.
