Page 54 of Wicked Ends (Hellions of Hade Harbor #4)
Marcus
I drove like a madman to the hospital, nearly spilling off my bike on one or two sharp bends around the coast. It didn’t help that as soon as I’d pulled out of the HHU lot, the heavens opened and rain hammered down.
The road grew infinitely more dangerous as I turned my motorcycle this way and that, bending into the curves of the cliff-lined road, but I didn’t slow down, not for a second.
If I came off… I deserved it. It felt strangely good to let everything go. My hopes, my fucking dreams that had kept me apart from my older brother for so long. I let it go. All of this was my fucking fault. I should pay for it.
Somehow, I made it to the hospital unscathed.
I rushed inside and to the floor where Cole was.
There was a sea of leather outside the room.
The MC brothers were here, ready to check on their president.
They parted when I walked through them. They wouldn’t treat me with so much respect once they knew that it was all my fault.
I paused outside Cole’s room, afraid to open the door. Then the choice was made for me as it slid open.
“You’re here. Your brother’s been asking for you,” Gage said, face wreathed in smiles. He stepped back and let me into the room.
Cole’s eyes met mine as soon as I stepped in. The thing inside me that had been clenched tight and barely holding on relaxed.
He was okay. He was going to be okay.
“Look who finally showed up,” Cole said, his voice deeper and more gravelly than ever.
Maddox stood. I approached, and he clapped me on the shoulder as I passed.
Then, he was closing the door behind him and leaving me alone with Cole.
“Well? Doesn’t nearly dying get me a fucking hug?” Cole asked gruffly.
I leaned over and hugged him, as carefully as I could.
He didn’t smell like himself. Cole was leather and pine. Now, the sterile scent of antiseptic hit my nose like a slap.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I took the longest nap I’ve taken in years,” he said and rested his head back against his pillow. “I’ve been worse.”
I shook my head. “No, you haven’t. You had to have surgery.”
Cole snorted. “Please, it was just a concussion.”
“Cole,” I bit out. “I don’t have the bag.” There, it was out. It needed to be said.
Cole studied me. “So I heard. Who has it?”
I didn’t even stop to think before speaking. It didn’t matter if Ari had used me; I wasn’t sending the Harbor Hounds after her.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s my fault. It’s my responsibility.” I raised my chin. “And I’ll take it, whatever you want.”
Cole was still studying me closely. “Meaning?”
I blew out a breath. That chaos swirling in my chest with nowhere to go fell quiet; I realized I was done fighting my destiny. I was a Bailey, with Bailey blood—I’d tried as hard and as long as I could to be someone else, but it always came down to this.
“If you want me to get Dad out, I’ll do it. If you want me to help more with the Hounds, I’m here.” I set my hand on top of my brother’s.
He was still so pale, but his heavy ink was a harsh contrast against the white sheets.
“Who has the money, Marcus?” Cole asked, his tone resolute. He wasn’t the type to just drop something. He was going to need more.
“Maybe I should forget about trying to be someone else and be the person I was born to be,” I said. “Would you forget about the bag if I gave up on those pie-in-the-sky dreams?”
Cole’s hand gripped mine, surprisingly strong. “Where is the money, Marcus?”
“I spent it.” My tone was final.
“You spent it? That’s how you want to play this?” Cole asked quietly.
“It’s the truth. It’s my fault. Blame me.”
Cole stared at me so long and hard, it felt like he was seeing right into my soul.
Then he sighed and let go of my hand. “What a fucking mess.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” I said. “If you want me to join the Hounds, I’ll do it. Honestly, I’m tired of fighting it.”
Cole frowned at me.
“What was it Dad always used to say? ‘Water always finds its level.’ This is mine. I’ll join and watch your back.
You’re my brother. You’re all I have in the world.
” Pain ripped through me at the stark honesty of that statement.
My friends had their girlfriends, and bright, shining futures ahead of them.
Ari—Ari would hate me now for the self-destructive presentation stunt.
My parents had never given a shit. There was only Cole.
And the only person who’s ever really cared about me.
“Come on. Ask them for the papers to sign me out. I’m going home,” Cole sighed.
“What? No, you can’t. You need to stay here.”
“Marcus, you want to be a Hound, first thing to learn is that what I say goes. Get the papers,” Cole snapped at me.
“Yes, boss,” I muttered and went to find a nurse.