Page 217 of Lost Lyrebird

“You done?”

Dozer pushes off the table.“Yeah, I’m fuckin’ done.”

Deeds takes a deep breath.“Don’t let this come back to bite me in the ass.Because I’m warning you now, I’ll come for you if word of this reaches Pappy.”

Finn answers for Dozer because the man is seconds away from throwing a punch.“Understood.We’ve got as much invested in this as you.All I want to do his protect her and my club.”

“I get that, just don’t drag my name through the mud if shit goes down, or hell will come callin’.”

Finn taps his hand on the table.“Same for us.”

Deeds meets Dozer’s gaze.“And we agree here and now to keep this between us.Cap and Pappy aren’t to know.”

Dozer nods, and with that, Deeds stands.He gives me one last lingering look before he turns to leave.

Taz is reluctant to step out of his way, and it’s then that Deeds’ temper flares to life.“Get the fuck out of my way, before I put you down.”

“You could try,” Taz grins.

“T, let him go,” Dozer snaps.

Taz gives an exaggerated bow as he moves aside.

Deeds only looks back once more.The emotion in his gaze speaks volumes.An ache builds in my chest at the betrayal on his face.Yes, it makes me feel like absolute shit, and I know I’ll never forget this moment.But it was the right thing to do.I hope, in time, he’ll see that.

Finn’s arm comes around me then.I tilt my head and look up at him.“Are you pissed?”

He shakes his head adamantly and places a kiss on my forehead.“No, babe.I’m not pissed.”

“Comin’ here like you did,” Dozer says as he takes Deeds’ seat, “was fuckin’ dangerous, Lil’ Bird.But fuck, you might have just saved all our fuckin’ lives by doin’ what you did.Thank you.”

“What?”

“I’m fuckin’ grateful, Lil’.What you did here was fuckin’ brave, and if this meeting hadn’t happened, who knows what the future would look like for us.Just wanted to say thank you and let you know, we’re good.”

The emotion trickles in and then rushes in a wave over me.A tear trails down my cheek, and another soon follows.Finn puts his arm around me and pulls me close.He holds me and runs his hand over my back.

I lost my oldest friend today, and it fucking hurts.Yes, I gained the loyalty of men who will be in my life, hopefully for quite a while.I hope the tradeoff is worth it and that, in time, Deeds will eventually forgive me.

“So what the fuck are we gonna do?”I hear Bodie ask.

Dozer’s the one who responds.“First things first.We need to get rid of the rats, then we’ll figure out the rest.”

Taz chuckles, “Let’s not sit around all day then.Let’s get back and do some hunting.”

“Stealthily.”Dozer growls.“Which means that no one finds out what we’re up to, and when they do disappear, we do it right so no one’s the wiser.”

“It’ll take time and patience,” Finn adds, and the others nod in agreement.

“What about Mateo.How do we make sure they don’t get to him again?”Bodie asks.

Dozer thinks about it for a moment.

But Finn cuts in.“We bring him in.Let him prospect.Watch over him.He can be Lily’s bodyguard because she’s also going to need to be watched over.I’ll sponsor him, and it’ll be his main task.All of us, though, need to keep an eye on him and make sure they can’t get to him.We’ll send his mom somewhere safe, if we have to.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.Is he up for it, though?”

“He is,” Bodie nods.“He’s asked me how he would go about joinin’ the club.Maybe it was because they were forcin’ him to, but nah… I think he was lookin’ for a way out.Now that I think about it.”