It would never have crossed my mind to let someone take the fall for my shit.
But this bastard didn't just let some schmuck in his crew go down, lose some years that would be repaid at some later date.
No.
He let his woman go down for him.
A woman who wasn't even knowingly involved in it.
If there was a list of people I couldn't stand - snitches came first, cowards were a clear second.
I couldn't fuck with cowardice.
You didn't get into a criminal lifestyle and expect freedom. That wasn't how it worked. And when shit went down, you manned the fuck up and dealt with the consequences.
I understood her rage. Hell, I didn't even lose ten years of my life, and I felt something similar as she told me the story, as I had a night to chew on it, let it settle deep in my stomach.
That being said, if this was going somewhere with Freddie and me - and something in me said it was, regardless of what I might have insisted to Sugar and everyone else at the clubhouse - I was going to have to find a way to bring it up again, reason with her, make her see that losing more of her life wasn't worth making him pay.
On that thought, I stood, slipping into my clothes, moving toward the door, figuring that Thad would purposely hang around in the main space until we emerged and he could get some words in.
And I thought it might be better if I went out first, got it over with. I didn't think Freddie was quite ready for the teasing yet. At least not in front of me. I knew she would get it in private. But that was different.
This - sex in general - was somewhat new for her.
Hell, even if she hadn't told me, I would have known it. The woman was a fucking live wire, sparking at every touch, her body demanding more at every turn.
Luckily, I could definitely give her more.
"Well well well. I figured that was your SUV parked out front. A bulletproof SUV, too, wasn't it?" Thad asked, standing in front of a coffee pot that was steadily dripping.
"Yeah. Reign likes safety," I agreed as I lazily buttoned my shirt.
"Not gonna lie. That is a good thing to hear. You know, you don't really get to pick who your little sister shows interest in, but a gun runner wasn't super high on our list of potentials for her."
"I get that," I agreed. And I did. If one of the guys with kids had their daughter grow up and fall for some out of town biker, they would have a fucking stroke. "But I'm what you got anyway."
"Mmhm," Thad said, pursing his lips a little. "So, I'm gonna assume that means this wasn't a 'get it outta my system' sort of thing?"
A 'what are your intentions toward my sister' conversation.
Would the new shit never cease?
"She's not out of my system," I told him, not wanting to make some promise that I might not be able to keep, not knowing if she would get out of my system, if I would be out of hers.
The idea of that made an uneasy feeling slosh around in my stomach.
I'd never been in this position before.
Wanting more, but not knowing if the other person did.
"Good to know," Thad said, turning to reach to pull down two mugs, setting them down on the counter, pouring us each some. "You can stop looking at her door, handsome. She thinks she is a terrible sleeper, but since she got out, she sleeps like the dead. And until her alarm wakes her up. Plus, figure she might be a little more wiped out than usual," he added with a smirk. "Uh oh," he said when there was a knock at the door.
"Uh oh?" I asked, reaching for the mug he handed to me as he took his own toward the door.
"You thought you'd just have to deal with the fun, easy going brother this morning. But it is, apparently, a two-for-one kinda morning. Yo, Colson," he called even as he was pulling the door open.
"Is Winnie up? We need to talk about the other... what is he doing here?"
I couldn't even be bothered by his glare. Like Thad had said just a moment before, I wasn't what they wanted for their sister. And I got that. Apparently, Colson was not as easily swayed to the idea as Thad was though.
"He is your little sister's new gentleman friend," Thad explained, passing his coffee mug into his brother's hand, going back to get another for himself. "Took her out on a fancy dinner date and everything."
"Did he leave his guns at home?" Colson asked, closing the door behind him, staring daggers at me as he did so.