Page 72 of Iron

With a firm nod, he got that I was takin’ what he was offering.

“But this comes to me. Not my club. You call in that favor, you call it in to me,” I told him firmly.

“Got it,” he said and ran his hand through his hair before finishing his beer.

He set the empty bottle down on the coffee table then headed for the door.

“I’m sorry about yer brother,” he said as he paused before turning the handle.

My eyes went to the floor as I nodded.

So was I.

I couldn’t believe he was gone.

Dade had been a good man. He had lost his leg for the club and still stayed after.

I went into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of whiskey once Connor had gone. I poured a healthy amount into a glass, then put the whiskey back so I wouldn’t be tempted. It was one of those nights.

Flopping down on the couch, I thought of how quickly shit had gone bad in the matter of a handful of hours. I left the club earlier, excited to spend time with my woman.

I returned with a battered woman and a lost brother.

Then there was Abigail.

My head hit the back of the couch and I blew out a long breath.

Abigail stood there silent in shock when I told her. Then she broke down. It couldn’t have been easy to hear that your brother was dead so unexpectedly. I had Charming watching over her, so I knew she would have someone. I’d check on her in the morning but I imagined that now she needed time away from me. I was sure she blamed me, though she hadn’t said it.

Hell, I blamed myself.

That should have never happened and, fuck, I wished I could have gone back. I’d take that bullet for him if I could.

I didn’t know where to go from here. I really didn’t. I knew all the shit that I had to take care of. I knew the things that were to come. But I didn’t have the first clue on what I could do for Abigail now. Whatever she wanted, I would bend over backward to give her. That was something for another day. She needed time to grieve and that meant that she had to put her focus on that. Later would come, the part where we did our best to move on without Dade around.

I finished my whiskey and stood up.

Petra was in my bed and I was going to take comfort in that.

I stripped down at the end of the bed, my eyes on her peaceful, sleeping body. She was down for the count and I wondered if she’d stir when I slipped in and curled my body around hers.

She didn’t, not even as the bed dipped and I scooted closer to her. My fingers gently rubbed over the bruising on her wrists from where she’d been tied up. I had tried my hardest not to focus on her injuries but they were there in the back of my mind. And now as I pulled her body tight into mine, I saw them. I wanted to kill that asshole all over again.

I didn’t have all the pieces yet and I hoped that Petra could fill in the blanks in the morning. It was one of her girls that had been caught up in that shit. From what I got, the girl couldn’t really help it. It seemed like her family was crazy. But that didn’t mean that I could let it go. I had to know how the hell this even happened.

For now, only a handful of brothers knew about Dade. I was going to keep it that way until morning. I figured it was best to call everyone in and deliver that news all at once. I had Mason handle sending out the message that there was a club meeting bright and early.

I looked at the clock beside my bed and realized that the meeting was only a few hours away.

I didn’t even try to sleep, I knew I wouldn’t, no matter how hard I tried.

Instead, I held Petra and tried to remind myself of the good things I had in my life.

Hours later, there was a soft knock on my door. I closed my eyes and let out a long breath knowing I couldn’t put it off any longer.

“Someone’s here,” Petra said as her head turned to look at the door.

I knew Mason had let himself in. It wasn’t unusual.