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“He’s dead. You’d know that if you bothered to stick around.” I get right in his face. “Where the fuck were you when we needed you? If you’d been there, she might not be in the hospital fighting for her life.”

“She’s awake now,” Talon says.

“She’s okay?” Nitro asks, still bouncing.

“Just woke up,” Matrix says.

“Aren’t you going to go see her?” Nitro asks.

“I can’t. Blackstone.” I look away from his accusatory eyes. Fuck him. He wasn’t here for us. I don’t know if I can let that slide, even if he does have a point about me being a dick at the police station.

“We all want Blackstone dead. It’s not your job to kill him. It’s ours. The whole club,” Nitro says.

“Already told him that,” Reaper grumbles.

“If you let that woman walk out of your life, you’ll regret it forever,” Talon says. “She belongs to you, and you belong to her. I see how you are when you’re around her. You’re different. Calmer. She’s good for you.”

I know he’s right, but my need for vengeance isn’t making this easy. I don’t think I can have both. I can’t keep her and go after Blackstone.

“Look…” Nitro approaches me carefully. “I fucked up. I should have been here when shit went down with the sheriff. If you want to kick me out, I get it.”

“No one’s kicking you out,” Talon says, skewering me with a look. “Right, pres?”

“You’re on shit duty until I say so,” I snap.

“Shit duty?” Reaper cocks his head.

“Yeah, whatever menial shit that needs to get done is Nitro’s fucking job until I say so. Shit I’d normally make the prospects do,” I say.

“I guess I deserve that. But you have to admit you were a fucking jackass after I got arrested,” Nitro says.

“Fine. I was a dick. But you put my woman in danger.”

“Which I shouldn’t have done. I’m truly sorry for that.” Nitro looks away.

“Then I’m sorry about punching you in the face.”

“Aw, are you guys going to kiss and make up?” Matrix teases.

“You’re still my brother,” Nitro says. “Even if you’re a fucking asshole.”

“Fuck you, too.”

I hug him, and he squeezes hard enough to make it hurt. I squeeze back until we’re like two boa constrictors fighting it out. It’s always a competition in this club. My brothers are my family. We might fight and want to tear each other’s eyes out from time to time, but we’ll never stop having each other’s backs. They have my back. They’re just as obsessed with vengeance as I am, but something’s changed. I’ve changed. I have everything I want. I have my brothers, and I have a woman who has managed to heal my fucked-up heart. The giant, gaping hole Blackstone left inside me isn’t there anymore, and it’s all because of her. She had the courage to stay with me, even knowing how fucked up I am. It didn’t scare her away. It only made her fight harder for our love. She fought for us. Now it’s time I fight for her.

They’re right. I need to go to her. I don’t know if she’ll even want me after what we went through, but I need to know. Holding onto my need for revenge almost got her killed. I still want vengeance against Blackstone, but I can’t do it alone. My brothers are right. The price of vengeance is too high. One man can’t carry the whole burden on his own. I tried to do it, and I almost lost Julia because of it. I don’t ever want to put her in that position again. She has to come first. I’ll always love my brothers, and we’ll never give up our mission, but from now on, she’s my number one priority. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make her happy if she’ll let me.

“I need to go,” I say.

“To the hospital?” Nitro asks.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll ride with you if that’s cool.”

“Me, too,” the others chime in.

“Okay, we ride together. But first, I need to stop at a shop.”