57

Mason

After my fucking face got stitched up, Dow came back with a truck. We helped pile the dead body into it, and he headed out to dump the thing out in the desert where it would never be found.

Meanwhile, Noble shoved the Rebel into the back of their van. He got into the driver’s seat and rolled down the window. “Meet me at the club,” he said. “I’ll send some guys back for my bike.”

“Got it.” He pulled out and I got onto my own bike, kicking it to life.

My fucking face was aching, but I was too angry to feel it. This whole thing had gotten fucked faster than I could have imagined, and yet Leilani still thought she was really going through with this marriage.

Truth was, after this little fucking stunt, that marriage was done. I didn’t know what Phoenix was thinking, but a direct attempt on his daughter’s life by the club he was trying to patch over basically meant the deal had to be off.

But we still had questions, lots of fucking questions. Fortunately for us, we had someone to ask.

I rode back to the clubhouse and parked outside. The place was mostly empty, which was surprising for one in the morning. Phoenix must have cleared it out. I climbed off the bike and spotted Noble pulling the van around the back. I headed over and watched as he pulled it into the alley.

“Help me with him,” Noble said, climbing out.

I opened the back door to the clubhouse and then slid the van door open. Noble came around and grabbed the guy’s feet, yanking him toward us. I grabbed his arms, and together we carried the heavy bastard inside.

The weapons locker was just down the hall. The door was already open, so we carried the fuck right in there. Phoenix was leaning up against the wall, and there was a single chair in the middle of the room.

“Place him there, boys,” he said. We managed to get the guy upright and sitting in the chair, and Noble began to tie him up.

I walked over to Phoenix. “How is she?”

“Better,” he said.

“You know the fucking wedding is off now, right?”

Phoenix gave me a look. “Let me worry about that.”

“Come on, prez,” I said. “The fuckers tried to kill her. She’ll never be safe, married or not.”

“I know,” he said softly. “Shit got fucked faster than I expected.”

“So let’s finish it.”

“We talk to him first. Then we’ll decide.”

I nodded reluctantly. “Fine. Where is she?”

“My office.”

“Get me when he’s awake.”

Phoenix nodded as I walked off, back down the hall. I passed the conference room where the council met and paused outside the side door to Phoenix’s office, knocking twice.

“Come in,” she called out.

I pushed the door open. “You okay?” I asked her.

Leilani was sitting in a chair, staring at the ground. She looked up at me. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“You did good back there.”

She stood up. “Mason.”

“No need to thank me,” I said, grinning at her. “Just did my job.”

“You’ve saved me twice now.”

“I’m very good at my job.”

She stepped toward me. “What do we do now?”

I shook my head slowly. “I don’t know. We’ll find out soon, though.”

She looked like she wanted to say something else, but I couldn’t take this shit anymore. I closed the distance between us and pulled her against me, kissing her mouth hard.

She melted into my kiss. It felt right, fucking safe, to hold her in my arms and to kiss her deeply. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had something outside the club worth fighting for.

We kissed for what felt like hours, but it was probably only a minute or two. Finally, she pulled away, resting her head against my chest.

“Okay,” she said. “Okay. I think I’m ready to let it go.”

“Let what go?”

“Everything.”

I wanted to ask what she meant, but the door opened and Phoenix stepped in.

If he thought it was strange that I was hugging Leilani, he didn’t say so, didn’t even miss a beat actually. “He’s awake,” he said. “You coming?”

“Yeah,” I said, stepping back from Leilani.

“I’m coming too,” she said quickly.

Phoenix went to argue but just shook his head. “Okay. You’re in this now I guess.”