Turning around, I shake my head, looking down at my feet before I lift my gaze to meet his. I hold his eyes for a long, silent moment. I hold them, then clear my throat before I speak.
“Understanding my reason doesn’t excuse my actions. I took an oath of brotherhood when I became a Beast and I fucked that up over cunt.”
He nods his head. “So you want me to end you? You saved that girl from a fate worse than death and you want me to end you?” he asks.
“I’ll take whatever punishment you deliver, however you deliver it.”
“What about that girl out there? She’s all alone now.”
Licking my lips, I press them together, and bite the inside of my cheek hard, tasting blood before I speak. Honestly, I don’t know what to do with her. What they should do with her. They can’t set her free, Riot will just find her. She has no money, no way to work, no ID, she ain’t even eighteen.
“I trust Dragon to take care of her. She’s innocent.”
“Is she? Riot’s kid. What if she’s doing exactly what you did? What if she’s here to report back to him? She could have played you. Women can do that, easy to fall right into their trap, you know that better than anyone.”
Anger fills me at the insinuation. The fact that he would think this girl who was about to be raped by not only her father’s entire club, but her father as well, would do anything to help them is disgusting.
“She’s not like them,” I grind out.
“Yeah? You sure about that? Been watching them for a while, know some of those bitches like that whole scene.”
Taking a few swift steps toward him, I let out a low growl. “One look in her eyes, the innocence oozes from her. She fucking delivers Meals on Wheels, fucker. She ain’t him.”
Reaching for his cut, I grab both sides and I give him a shake. He doesn’t even try to pull my hands from him, instead, his lips curve up into a smile.
“You like her.” He chuckles. “Not just like, but you want to keep her.”
Pushing away from him, I lift my hand and run my fingers through my long hair, tugging on the ends. “Don’t matter. She’s a kid and I’m a dead man walking.”
“Yeah, probably. But in two weeks she’ll be legal.”
“And I’ll be dead,” I say, my voice low and void of all emotion.
Eagle doesn’t stay for another moment, before I can even turn around to face him, he’s gone and the door is locked behind him.
Fuck.
I have to make sure that Pammy is taken care of when I’m gone. I have to. I can’t fuck over another woman. Not again. I’ve done that enough in my lifetime.
Chapter Four
JAGUAR
I watch the door, waiting to discover my doomed fate, hoping that they’ll at least reassure me that Pammy is going to be okay. I wish that I could have saved her earlier. Wish I could have taken the Punchers down by myself. I wish that I could have done a lot of shit, and I wish that I wouldn’t have done a lot too.
My life is full of nothing but regrets. I don’t think I’ve done one thing right. Not a single thing. Letting my head fall back against the wall, I feel and hear the thud, but don’t care. There’s no point to caring about much these days. Not really, not when I probably won’t live to see tomorrow.
The door opens and with it, I know my fate will be confirmed. Dragon stands with his gaze focused on mine, his face set in a hard expression, his jaw clenched, though mostly hidden by his dark, thick black beard.
“We’re ready,” he ominously announces.
Standing, I wipe my sweaty palms along the thighs of my jeans and clear my throat. Taking one step toward him, then another, I try not to think of this as what it is—dead man walking. That’s all I can think about, that’s all I’ve been able to think about since the moment I crossed the Arizona border.
I’m worthless just like my dad said that I was. I’m worthless, because I feel like running. I feel like getting as far away as fucking possible. I know deep down that it would do no good to run. I brought all of this on myself and I need to pay for what I’ve done.
I expect to be taken out to the warehouse, but I’m not. Instead, Dragon leads me into the conference room. Just like yesterday, the club is there, the members sitting around and just like yesterday, their glares tell me what their mouths don’t—they hate me.
They hate me and they have every right to. I don’t blame them at all. If the script was flipped and I was sitting on their side, I would hate me too. Everything that I have done is unforgivable.
I stop at the end of the table, knowing that I won’t be invited to sit down as I watch Dragon make his way toward the head of the table. He doesn’t sit either. Lifting the gavel, he raps it down on the wooden block, calling the meeting to order.
The men are quiet, the room completely still in silence as we all wait to see what Dragon is going to say. He clears his throat before he lifts his gaze to meet mine.
“A few months ago, I would have pulled the trigger myself and ended your life without a question,” Dragon begins. “Today, I’m more reluctant to do so. Not because I’m soft, but because you have proven yourself, and I’m torn. The way we found both you and Pamela, the way you protected her…”
Dragon jerks his chin toward Eagle, and I watch as he stands. “At the end of the day, your life is not mine to do with as I please. It’s not solely my decision
