Page 71 of Concede

“Fuck, I can’t see,” I hiss and hand the binoculars to Romeo.

The driver starts to talk but I can’t make out the words. Terrance is shaking his head and keeps looking over to us.

“Terrance, damn it.” I grit through my teeth.

Terrance starts yelling, then backs away from the car window with his hands up. He turns to run towards us when I see the driver pull out a gun and shots echo in the empty parking lot.

“Shit!” Dom curses.

We all duck and draw our weapons. It’s an instant reaction to fire back, and we break the tree line, aiming for the Navigator that’s pulling away. I think we missed him, when the car swerved, and crashed into the dumpster.

All three of us jog to the car and I yank open the driver side door with my gun raised. The driver sits in his seat, with a bullet through his skull. Fuck.

I reach in to see what product he has when his body slumps over against me, soaking my shirt with blood. I look at his clothes and see his cut. I fucking knew it. Serpents.

“Romeo, get the drugs and let's get the fuck out of here!” I holler as I lean him back up and close the door.

Dom has Terrance by the shoulders. He finishes his rant and tells him to get lost. Hotel room lights are starting to flip on, and I know the cops will be here any minute. Our boots pound against the pavement as we race to our bikes.

We peeled out from behind the trees and hauled ass back to the main road.

When we pulled up to the clubhouse, the adrenaline was still pumping in my veins, and I ran a shaky hand through my hair as I cursed under my breath.

“It’s Viper, isn’t it?” Dom asks as he slides off his bike.

“Yeah,” I scoff and turn to Romeo. “I want to know exactly what that shit is, then I want to know if it’s what killed Scar.”

“I’m on it.” He nods and heads for the clubhouse.

I look down at my T-shirt, it’s covered in blood.

“Shit, let’s get cleaned up and we can discuss what the fuck we’re gonna do.”

Dom follows me into the house and when I walk in the door, Tanner is coming out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in her hand. When she sees me, her eyes widen and she drops her cup, sending it crashing to the floor.

“Oh my God!” She shrieks as she dashes to me.

Shit, she thinks it’s my blood.

Her legs carry her quickly across the room and I can already see the panic in her eyes.

“Zeke, what happened?” Her hands are shaking as she reaches out for me.

I grab her fingers and pull her to me. “Hey…. look at me. I’m fine.” I use both hands to angle her face towards me. Tears stream down her face and I swipe them away. “Baby, don’t cry, I’m fine. It’s not my blood.”

“You're not hurt?” She croaks.

“No, I'm not hurt.” I pull her face to me and kiss her. Her lips calm the storm that’s raging in my soul.

“Zeke? What the fuck is going on here?” Dom’s voice booms behind me and I tense.

Fuck, I forgot he was back there. I look at Tanner who stares back at me in shock.

“I don’t even call him Zeke, so one of you better start fucking taking!” He roars.

I turn and face him. “Let's go outside for this conversation.”

He turns on his heels and I follow him into the yard.

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