Page 30 of Grace's Redemption

I shivered, but than my body went numb. My senses dulled and a pain pulsed through my body, from the epicenter, my heart.

My vision blurred. I wiped at my face. I hadn’t realized the tears silently streaming down.

“Call an ambulance.” Derrick yelled as he cradled Mattie in his arms.

Papa Scott kneeled next to Derrick.

“It was his sacrifice for the club.” Papa Scott grabbed Derrick's shoulders. He guided him to stand. Mattie lay on the ground between them, still, quiet.

Mattie.

They stood face to face.

Papa Scott whispered. Derrick nodded all the while tears fell from his eyes.

Papa Scott’s face was stoic and unfeeling.

My heart sank.

Derrick looked down at Mattie. Papa Scott pulled his face back to him. He patted him on the shoulder.

Derrick’s expression changed to hard cold steel.

My body shuddered back into the present. I missed the numbness. I stared down at the two men.

They walked toward the clubhouse arm and arm.

A scream sat at the top of my throat, but it choked itself out.

Derrick looked up before they entered the building.

I dropped to the ground and doused the light from my phone. I hugged my knees to my chest.

My hands shook uncontrollably. I rubbed them together, covered my mouth and stared at the door.

I expected one of them to barge in and grab me.

I heard nothing. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there.

The rumble of bikes in the distance was a welcomed noise, but as they got closer, dread set into my chest. A painful weight of what I’d witnessed played over and over again in my head.

The bikes engines cut, but screams, cussing, anger, and chaos ensured. The manic energy consumed the place. I scrambled up and peeked over the edge of the window.

The guys stood around Mattie’s body, others sat on their bikes, staring on in disbelief. Their faces stunned in states of grief, anguish, and despair.

My eyes scrunched as a truck entered the complex, the truck I’d driven here.

Papa Scott was in the driver’s seat. He stopped the truck in the middle of the entrance and jumped out.

He waded through the throngs of bikers as if he didn’t know what was happening.

Derrick stepped out of the truck and stood back, observing. His face an impenetrable mask.

Papa Scott knelt next to his son. He gathered him in his arms and wailed as he rocked Mattie.

The guys gathered around him, spitting out words of revenge and condolences in the same breath.

He laid Mattie down, shrugged out of his cut and laid it over Mattie.