Page 25 of Grizzly's Pride
“Calm down. We need a plan,” Tank said. “And don’t think you’ll sacrifice yourself or some shit to buy me time until our brothers arrive. Think of Piper, Grizzly. How would she react if I came back home without you?”
Tank’s words brought Grizzly back to reality. Dying wasn’t an option, not when Grizzly had promised Piper that they had a life, a future together.
“I’m out of ideas. What about you?” Grizzly asked.
“I have one,” Tank said, grinning. “But it’s a little crazy.”
“Crazy is good right now,” Grizzly said.
“Listen,” Tank said, and Grizzly did.
****
Sweat coated Grizzly’s shirt and back as he kept his head down. Squashing himself in the back seat of the old car felt uncomfortable. It wasn’t just musty in here, but it smelled like something had died in here as well. Grizzly focused on the situation at hand.
He could hear it now, Rage’s footsteps. The bastard had stopped shooting. Grizzly was hoping Rage had a limited number of bullets. Tank’s plan was simple. Grizzly would hide in the car. Rage would see Tank, injured and alone, and assumed Grizzly had bolted.
He remained where he was when he heard Rage scoff. The other biker stood only inches from Grizzly’s hiding place. If Rage turned his head, he would be able to see Grizzly through the broken window. Rage could point that gun at him, and the plan would go to shit, except Rage didn’t spare Grizzly a glance at all.
“So, your pal left you to bleed out here, huh?” Rage asked. Rage pointed the gun at Tank’s head. “Well, he won’t be able to get far on foot.”
“You’re wrong,” Tank finally said. “The Black Dogs MC probably don’t give a shit about their own, but to us, brotherhood is sacred.”
“You must be delirious, still uttering that shit when your friend clearly abandoned you to me,” Rage said with a laugh.
“I’m still here,” Grizzly said. He shoved the car door open, making Rage stumble. Rage’s mini-uzi clattered to the ground, and he lunged for it. Before Rage could wrap his grubby hands around his weapon, Grizzly shot him in the back of the head. Rage fell to the dusty ground, blood pooling out of the hole in his skull.
“Can’t believe that worked,” Tank grumbled. “Good job.”
“Great performance too, by the way,” Grizzly said.
He cocked his head to one side. Grizzly thought he imagined the sound at first, but he didn’t—the rumble of motorcycle engines approached.
He tensed, wondering if Rage’s former MC brothers decided to hunt him down, but Grizzly recognized the rider that appeared. Razor.
He held out a hand to Razor in greeting. Relief filled him as he glanced back at Rage’s body. It was all over. Piper was finally safe. Now all Grizzly had to do was make one stop before returning to the hospital. He needed to get a ring and put it on Piper’s finger.
Epilogue
One week later
“You sure you want to do this today? We can put it off until you’ve been discharged,” Grizzly told Piper, the worry in his voice evident.
Piper reached out to smooth out his furrowed brow. She winced at the motion. Rage’s bullet had barely missed her heart. The injury still hurt like hell, especially when the painkillers started to fade away, but Piper was patient.
Time would wash away the pain, and she’d have a great story to tell their kids. Kids. Yes, both of them were definitely open to having kids in the future.
A week had passed since Grizzly took Rage out. Grizzly expected retaliation from the Black Dogs MC, but it never happened. Rat had really cut Rage off from the MC and left Rage to fend for his own. Piper didn’t know why men still followed someone like Rat, but Grizzly once told her like called to like.
Piper might’ve started on shaky ground with King, but Grizzly’s Prez seemed to have changed his whole opinion of her after she’d taken a bullet for Grizzly.
Grizzly never left her side the entire time she’d been at the hospital. He was there the moment she closed her eyes to sleep at night, and he was the first person she saw in the mornings.
She also got to know Tank and Grizzly’s other MC brothers a little better during her stay. Not long ago, Mervin was her only family, but she felt like she’d inherited a bigger family when Grizzly announced to his MC that he intended to make her his wife.
“I want to get married today,” Piper insisted.
Standing next to Grizzly, Tank chuckled. Both men had discarded their cuts today to wear suits and ties. Grizzly looked uncomfortable in his suit, but Piper had worn a white dress for him and he agreed to dress up, just for today.
