Page 38 of The Echo of Violence

“You don’t owe me shit. Hell, I’m only here because of you, Rex. You dug me out of a collapsed building and dragged me to safety. You literally walked through fire to get me. If I have to beat on a million skanks, it still wouldn’t be enough.”

“You’re my family, Jinx. That’s what family does.”

But not all family members feel that way, and we know it. Rex wasn’t the first person to find me in the wreckage of what was once the Savage Hearts MC clubhouse. Rusty, my father’s road captain, found me first. He had taken one look at me and bailed before a second explosion tore through the building, taking him out. I was pinned in place for another four hours before Rex found me.

It’s hard to say if those four hours made a difference or not. It’s not something I’ll likely ever know, but it’s hard to find any kind of forgiveness for a man who was once like an uncle to me. Even if he did lose his life that day. I still lost my legs.

The back door opens, and Nico shoves Nina inside. She is somewhat subdued now. He walks around and climbs in beside her, his hand moving to wrap around her cuffed wrists because he’s no idiot. Being calm now does not mean she won’t become combative again in a minute.

“You sure you don’t want to stay on the scene until the cops arrive?”

We might have been here to collect her after she failed to turn up in court, but her shooting at Nico in the middle of the street in broad fucking daylight makes this a crime scene.

“In this neighborhood?” he snorts. “Cops won’t get here for at least another hour if they come at all,” he spits in disgust. I grumble in agreement. The police wrote off this area years ago. Though I can see why—with all the gangs and pimps running the streets—their lack of speedy response time means innocent people get caught in the crossfire because they simply can’t afford to live somewhere else. More often than not, they die before help comes. It’s a fucked-up world, one that’s often let down by the system that’s in place—ironically—to keep us all safe.

None of us speak, and Nina remains quiet the whole way to the station. Rex jumps out when he parks the car and walks around to open the rear passenger door. He reaches in and pulls Nina out as Nico climbs out his side and walks around. Nico takes Nina from Rex, who says something to him. Nico’s jaw ticks, and he nods.

I watch as Nico walks the stupid bitch inside before turning to Rex as he climbs back in. “He’s still pissed.” I sigh.

“He’ll get over it. I’m going to take you home and come back for him once he’s had time to cool off.”

I nod and lean my head against the window with my eyes closed, replaying the way the scene played out tonight. Nico was on point. He knocked on the door before identifying himself, which is when Toto started growling. Trusting my dog’s instincts, Nico ducked a fraction of a second before a shotgun fired through the flimsy door, splintering the wood and leaving a big enough hole for the gun to be aimed directly at him. I was already in motion, knocking Nico to the ground, when she fired again.

We’re extremely lucky. Nina, not so much. With her two shots spent, I shot my taser gun at her head, knowing it would hurt like a motherfucker. Once she was down, Nico kicked the door in as I ran past him and restrained the woman convulsing on the floor. My only regret was that I hadn’t fired a live round into her brain. If she had been shooting any other gun, I would have. Firing a Taser at someone with a loaded gun in their hand is not something you want to do in case their finger spasms on the trigger. But she used a shotgun and unwittingly gave away that she was out of bullets.

I’ll admit I was rough with her. If I were a cop, I’d find myself on suspension right now. But here’s the thing: I’m not a cop. You don’t go from being a princess in a one-percenter outlaw MC to a cop. Some things are ingrained in you from birth. I might not consider myself a criminal, but I’ll never be a good guy either—case in point, tonight. I could have killed that woman in a heartbeat and not lost a second of sleep over it.

Nico is the one who tries to keep us in line, which is ironic considering he was the only one of the three of us who was a fully patched member of Savage Hearts. When his brothers were killed, it became his mission in life to keep us on the straight and narrow as much as possible. Partly because he’s naturally protective of those he loves and partly because he knows that what happened to our club was a result of all our dirty dealings coming back to haunt us.

“Don’t sweat it, Jinx. You know he won’t stay pissed at you for long. He just doesn’t want you to lose this gig.”

I shrug before looking at him. “I know. And I like what I do. It gives me an outlet for the rage that builds up inside me, and I’m good at it, but I don’t need it as much as you guys do.” There are other ways for me to burn off steam, but we’ve always watched out for one another. This job makes that possible.

“But I get it. He should be happy I used the Taser, though. Because, trust me, I wanted to pull out my Glock and shoot the bitch in the face to see how she would like it. If anything, I showed fucking restraint.”

“I know you did. And when he calms down, he’ll see it too.” He’s quiet for a moment. “You know he’s mostly pissed because of how easy it could have been—you catching a stray bullet while saving his fine ass.”

We pull up at my house. Rex turns the engine off as I reach for my door.

“You don’t need to come in, Rex. I’m going to take a shower and go to bed. Today has been a lot. Go be with Nico. Remind him how you don’t have a gag reflex, and maybe he’ll be in a more forgiving mood tomorrow.”

He laughs but climbs out of the car and opens the door for me. “Fine. I’ll walk you in, and then I’ll go. I’ll get him to text you later.”

“I turn the ringer off when I go to bed. You know I can’t stand it when it wakes me up. But I promise to act calm and rational around him tomorrow, even if he’s a dick.”

“Really?”

“Fuck no.”

He roars with laughter, flinging his arm around my waist when I get out of the truck. He kisses my cheek and takes my keys from my hand before jogging up to open my front door. He heads inside and flips the switch on. When I follow him in, he does a walk-through to make sure the house is clear. I don’t tell him I’m more than capable of doing it myself because it’s one of those penis things.

“Alright, everything looks good. Lock up, get some sleep, and we’ll figure out the rest tomorrow.” I nod and walk him out.

Opening the door, he steps outside before turning to give me a hug. The blades make me taller than usual, and with him standing a few inches below me, he ends up smooching my boobs, much to his disgust. Pulling back, he shudders. “I feel so dirty.”

I flip him off and laugh at his grin before slamming the door closed and locking it, knowing he’ll be listening for the click, and then I make my way to my bedroom.

The joy of having everything on one level means I don’t have to maneuver the stairs tonight. I rarely move shit around, and I could navigate my way around in the dark if I needed to without tripping over something and breaking my neck. It’s still light enough to cast the place in a soothing twilight glow. I pause when I hear the truck pull away before walking over to the window to ensure he’s gone.

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