“I know for a fact Sabrina’s brother’s a cop, and he could have helped.”
“Goddammit,” he snarled. “Luca’s the last person I’d call.”
I took a deep breath and pressed my palms to my eye sockets.
“Look, what’s done is done,” he said. “Can we start fresh and try to put all this shit behind us?”
“Can you stop killing people long enough to get control of your anger issues?”
He gave me a slight smile. “Baby, I don’t have anger issues.”
“Baby, youdo,” I countered.
“I have never harmed anyone who didn’t deserve it.”
“Honey your anger doesn’t hurt them, it hurts you.” I slid my hand to his chest, just over his heart. “I know you’ve heard the old adage that unforgiveness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die, right?”
“Yeah,” he grunted out.
“Well, you’re literally trying to find some form of redemption by killing or maiming the people who have done you wrong, waiting for the anger to go away and it’s not.”
He scowled at me, but I knew I’d hit a nerve.
I gripped his cut. “What you’re really doing is trying to punish yourself because you weren’t there to protect your brother. Or your mother.”
He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.
“It wasn’t your fault. None of this was your fault.” I tugged on his cut, and he met my eyes again. “I love you, but I’m not willing to give up my soul to be with you… or watch you give up yours.”
He studied me for a few tense seconds. “What does that mean for us?”
“That all depends on you,” I said, turning his words back on him.
He shook his head.
“What happened in your meeting with the club?” I asked.
“Our club, along with some other MCs, have had some trouble with an organization who call themselves the Beast.”
“The Beast?” I asked with a chuckle.
“They may sound like a joke, but believe me, they’re nothing to laugh about.”
“What do they want from you?”
“That’s simple. To join, close shop, or die.”
“Why?”
“The club’s presence in the area along with our growing weed business pose a threat to the Beast’s nationwide expansion plans. They are the ones responsible for the attack on my mother.”
I gasped. “Oh, my God.”
“Not just my mother either.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Beast have been systematically targeting club members’ family, the people closest to them, along with MC-owned businesses all over the country.”