“Heaven is up there, Dex, and that’s where I’ll wait for you.”
…
At the precinct, they left me outside in the cruiser, didn’t even bother booking me. After what felt like an eternity, I felt the rumble of Rough's Harley as he arrived. He drove up to the car and stopped right beside it. I swore under my breath, this guy was a fucking super hero with an in like no other. Of course, they'd call him. Nothing happened, legal or illegal without Rough being the first to know. I watched as he talked with the cops, occasionally glancing at me, his face stern. That was the thing; you never know what the man was thinking. Did he approve? Disapprove? Was he going to kick my ass? I always thought he could have been a poker champion, the man was a blank slate. When he met Claire, all that seemed to change. He didn’t go soft, but all of the despair left him. You could see in face that he was in love and he’d found the key to his heart. It must be nice to be so at peace with someone.
"Sergeant," Rough said as he opened the door for me, "mind gettin' the cuffs off my boy?"
The shorter cop shuffled back and smiled sheepishly as he freed my wrists from the cold metal.
"Thanks," I said, rubbing them together.
"Make sure this falls off," Rough said. “Keep him off the report. This way, you guys get your promotion and my man stays out of it.”
One of the cops exhaled the smoke from his cigarette upwards, before tossing it to the ground and stomping it out with the heel of his boot. The smile on his face was all we needed to see to know he’d comply.
“Must be nice having the Valor do the dirtiest jobs,” Rough said. He was jovial enough that the cops didn’t take offense. Malcolm knew how to make both sides of the law work in tandem like a well-oiled machine. “Make like you never saw this guy before,” he warned before we walked over to his bike. "You hungry," he asked as he put on his helmet.
"I think I need to clean up before I even think about food. I’m covered in his blood."
"We've got a shower too. Besides, Claire would kill me if she knew I let you go back to the clubhouse alone after the shit you just pulled."
"I'm fine," I spat. “You pissed I took it all the way? I caught that boss red-handed with a girl younger than your daughter.” I could see the red rise in Rough’s eyes at my mention of Sky. The comment had the same effect on me, and I could feel my heartbeat pick up again.
"You did good, Patriot. He had it coming any day, my brother. Maybe you don’t have an appetite, but you know I don't like to upset my woman."
He drove us back to the scene as the medical examiner’s truck was pulling out of the parking lot. Rough dropped me at my hog and I jumped off his bike.
“You coming or not, Dex? Claire will want to see you.”
"Fine." I got on my bike and put on my own helmet, "I'll follow you."
I wanted to turn around and ride away at least ten times as I followed Rough back to his house. I didn't know why, but I always felt uncomfortable there. Their life, Rough and Claire’s was picture perfect now. A lot of the guys had really good family lives going. I was happy for them, shit, I truly was, but I also felt hell-of out of place there. Being with Rough just kept throwing it in my face and opening old wounds. He was settled, he was happy, and it looked good on him. Somewhere deep down, I guess I longed for that too.
However, a stable happy life, a woman, kids and a family, was so far off of my radar that it felt like a joke. I snuffed out life with these hands, I didn’t even know where to begin to make a step in that direction. Although, there was one person in this world who made me dream about something like that, and she lived in this fucking house. Maybe, that’s why, just the sight of Rough and Claire’s house made me sweat. They had everything alright, and Skylar Baxter Miller was the limit of my sky. She was heaven personified.
"Patriot," Claire said, smiling at me. She was standing there, engulfed by the massive door, an apron tied around her waist as she rubbed her giant belly. I forced a smile on my face and lifted my hand in hello. She started to waddle my way as if to throw her arms around me in a hug.
“Not my blood,” I told her by warning and raised my hands in surrender. I needed a shower before I went and hugged a mother to be.