“Fuck,” Optimus cursed, slamming his palm against the wall. “Your bro always take this long to catch on o things? We were going to sort this. What the hell didn’t he understand about that?” Op was furious, but that wouldn’t stop us going after Romeo tonight. It just meant that Romeo could end up with his ass being kicked if someone got hurt.
“He thinks he’s protecting us,” Blizzard noted, leaning back against the wall, his hair sticking up everywhere. No doubt like the rest of us, he’d been dragged from his bed because of Romeo’s disappearing act.
“Someone is gonna have to protect his ass from me when this is done because instead of fucking my woman and putting another baby inside her, I’m going to be in…” He looked over at the tablet, the blinking dot now moving into some hunt area on the outskirts of the city. Op rolled his eyes. “In the middle of bumfuck nowhere, rescuing him.”
Damn it, Romeo, you fucking idiot.
Why can’t you trust me and come to me with this shit?
“Kiss your women and meet me out the front.”
We managed to catch up to Romeo pretty damn quickly. We pulled up just on the other side of Huntsville by the state park to look at the map Wrench had. He pointed out that Romeo’s movement had stopped only minutes ago close to the base of the mountain. It wasn’t on a road or path, so I guessed we were going hiking.
I knew who he was looking for. I knew exactly what his mission was, but this shit was dangerous. He didn’t know the area. He was obviously being given directions, or at the very least, been given a destination.
How the hell does he know what’s waiting for him up there?
He’d barely talked to me the past couple of days, avoided me like the plague, but chatted to Meyah several times. Also, conversations I wasn’t included in.
Romeo was harboring a lot of shit inside including the need to keep himself separate from anyone who could matter. He didn’t understand the idea in strength together. While I saw my brothers as strength standing behind me, he saw them as a weakness that could be used against him. I needed him to hear me. I needed him to learn and understand because I didn’t want to let him or Phee walk away again.
I had to make him see.
I just didn’t know how yet.
We finally pulled up down a dark road that was barely wide enough for two of us to ride side by side. We pulled off onto a farmer’s roadway which was made of clay.
“There’s a huge amount of machinery at the end of this road,” Wrench called out as we pulled up at the entrance, and he took a pair of bolt cutters from his saddlebags. We hadn’t passed a house in a few miles so, luckily, we wouldn’t have to worry about witnesses. “I know the farmer. Anyone hears us riding away, he’ll tell them he was just out here starting up his babies at 2:00 a.m.”
Wrench cut the bolt, and we took off down the rough road as fast as we could go without being thrown off. He was right, there were huge bailers, mowers, tractors, and some other scary looking pieces of machinery with blades. We stashed our bikes in between a few pieces of hulking metal. We all took flashlights from our saddle bags.
Wrench pointed his at the mountain ahead of us. “He came down that road over there,” Wrench noted, pointing at a road that was a dead end, not too far from where we were standing. Still, there were no houses around which gave it an eerie feeling.
“There’s a light up there,” Blizzard hissed, pointing up into the trees where there was some kind of square shaped glow. “Looks like a small private cabin, probably one of the old ones that they rent out to hikers. We need to get going now and get the hell out of here.”
We all ran out into the sparse field between us and the tree line, trying to keep our flashlights down and not alert anyone that we were coming. It took a few minutes for us to reach the tree line and then the climb began. I was fighting for breath already, and the hard part was about to start. Loose leaves and tree branches made an already difficult climb even harder when we couldn’t use the path that was made to lead to the cabin, and we were all wearing heavy boots and dark clothing which covered our body as much as possible. While most of us had tattoos, whenever we were out doing things we weren’t meant to be, we tried to cover any identifiable features that could lead to evidence.
Tonight was no different, even in the dark, even somewhere as remote as this.
I was starting to worry.
It was taking us too long.
We weren’t going to make it in time.
How was I going to tell Phee I hadn’t done what I promised her I was going to?
A hand pressed on my back, and I looked over my shoulder at Blizzard, my eyes now adjusted to the darkness. “It’s not over yet,” he growled quietly. “Your brother might be an idiot, but he’s a fighter.”
He was.
Romeo was one of the strongest people I knew. Ever since we were kids, he always saw the world for what it was. I was his older brother, but he was always the first to stand up for Phee and me, if he felt like someone wasn’t treating us fairly. And it wasn’t just us, it was anyone who seemed like they were the underdog. He was always there ready to fight for them.
Sometimes it got him in trouble, but it earned him a lot of respect.
A couple of weeks ago, I’d had this idea in my head that Romeo would come here, he’d see this life, and feel what the club was about. He’d prospect, join the club, and be my brother in more ways than one. But I could feel that this wasn’t what he wanted, this wasn’t the life that called to him as it did to me.
I didn’t care if he wanted to join the circus.
Or if he suddenly decided to start a drag show where he dressed in sparkly pink dresses and sung Lady Gaga songs. I just wanted to have him be part of my life.
Bang.
The shot fired echoed through the trees around us and down the hill, moving out across the open farmland.
I couldn’t lose him
Not again.