Page 13 of Bone's Destiny

“It’s okay, sweetheart. It was self-defense. She would’ve killed me, you, and our son.” I went and took her into my embrace. “It was self-defense.”

“I killed her,” Lady M sobbed. “I’m going to jail. Prison, Ben. I’m going to prison for life.” She fisted my shirt. “Oh, God.”

“No, you aren’t. I’ll clean this up. No one will ever know. I won’t let anything happen to you, sweetheart.”

“But the baby.”

“He’s my son, and she was a strung-out addict.” Fuck, I should’ve taken care of the bitch weeks ago. None of this would’ve happened if I’d made her disappear after giving birth to Micah.

“But he’s not mine,” she whimpered.

“Yes, he is. He is now if you can love Micah as your own.” I’d understand if she couldn’t, given how he was created. He’d be a constant reminder of the night from hell his mother put us through. But he was my son, my blood, and hers too.

“Jesus, Ben. Of course, I can love him as my own. What will he think when he finds out about his momma.”

“He never has to find out. Nobody does. I’ll clean up the mess Ellie created, and we’ll go on living. You, me, and our boys.” I stared at all the blood and dialed into my crying boys. If Lady M hadn’t killed Ellie, I would’ve. Christ, I wished it had been me.

“It’s just so wrong. I should’ve done something different and not let her get to me. She made me react in violence.”

“Hush, baby. It’s done. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll keep you safe, and I’ll always protect you.” I kissed her forehead and held her trembling body against mine. I needed to call Hayes to fix up my neck. I hadn’t keeled over and died, so I should be okay. Probably needed fucking rabies shots. “You did what needed to be done. It was self-defense,” I assured her.

I knew my wife; she’d see it as murder. The blood on her hands would stain forever. Whenever she looked at Micah, she’d be reminded of her actions.

Lady M had a heart of gold. She cared about people and loved hard. I didn’t doubt that she could love Micah as her own, but the guilt would plague her.

Ellie’s death would haunt Margaret for her entire life.

6

Bone

The smell of oil and rubber warmed my soul like my favorite bourbon soothed my chest. There was nothing better than having church in the hangar. I missed being around all the planes at the airport.

In Montana, I only had my Cessna 182. She was my baby, along with my Harley. It just wasn’t the same. Not being with my brothers and their planes had affected me more than I had anticipated.

Obviously, I hadn’t fully adjusted to living in a different state than my family. No matter what happened between Lady M and me, the men at this table would always be my brothers, whether blood or MC brothers.

I sipped my beer, just taking it all in. My ears dialed into the sounds of engines starting outside the office, puttering and throaty rumblings, and the loud buzzing of planes taking off. Dammit, I’d rather be out watching the activity than sitting at a table. There was less traffic late in the evening in Fargo. I preferred nighttime flying anyway. Darkness mixed with the lights from the cities below made me feel safe. Strange, I know. I could hide from the world when in the sky, moving through the clouds.

There was a low hum growing in the room. Hustler and Buff seemed deep in conversation at one end of the oak table. Across from them were the Goode brothers, Easton and Mason. Oops, my mistake. They’d been patched in last month and got their road names. They were now called, Copter and Gunner. I wanted to get the brothers alone to ask if they’d like to transfer to Montana.

Spectre was busy on his cell phone.

Being at church was comfortable, like putting on my worn leather cut. Nothing better than knowing what fits you and where you belong.

Cobra sat at the head of the table. In his hand was the wooden mallet passed down from Granddad Charlie. Admittedly, I was envious because I had to buy a new one for my chapter. I supposed I’d pass it down to my firstborn son as my old man had done with Cobra.

My son? Where did that come from?

“Let’s get started. Stitch will be here when he can.” Cobra hit the table to start the meeting. “It’s been several months since our brother has been home. Everybody recognizes his ugly mug, right?”

Grunts and chuckles made me smile.

I appreciated his joking to lighten the mood. Of course, I had to dish it back. “But who has the war wounds?” I tugged the neck of my T-shirt down to show off my burn scars. “You might be the pretty brother, but I’m the bravest.”

“No argument there.” Cobra winked, but there was admiration in his eyes. He’d better not pussy out on me. This wasn’t the time to let his feelings show. His sensitive side was similar to our father’s. They were quick to forgive, point in case; Cobra had shown me mercy earlier. I couldn’t have let what I’d done to him go. I’d fucked up his life and kept him from his child. No, no. I would’ve held onto the anger until I took my last breath.

I wasn’t a fool, though. Cobra had restrained himself because I was his family, and family meant everything to him. He was a good man, a thousand times better than me. He wasn’t perfect, though. If someone else had messed with him, he would’ve ended them. Taking me out might have been for the best. Just put my sorry ass out of misery. We’d been raised to have each other’s backs, to protect and defend our blood. Family didn’t harm each other, well, not physically.