Wild Blaze (Back Down Devil MC 0.5)(24)

One by one, the battles were won.

Brody remembered a very drunk Miller saying that to him one night years ago. It stuck and it always held true.

“Bro, we good here?” Gaige asked. His cigarette was perched between his lips.

“I’m losing it,” Brody said. “I can’t stand waiting.”

“Griffin will call. We have to let the rest of the shit fall into place.”

They were near the hospital but not close enough for Brody’s comfort. He wanted to be next to Heather. He knew the peril of sending her back into the arms of Lyle. He gave her fear and that fear was a crutch and a curse. If she showed anything out of the ordinary, including accepting punishment for leaving with Brody, then Heather would be screwed. And not the good kind either. Lyle would f*cking kill her.

Brody gripped the handlebars on his motorcycle and growled. “I can't wait much longer on this shit.”

“Take it easy. Save the energy for when this goes down.”

“This town… sometimes…”

“It needs us,” Gaige said. “We let one thing go and it all goes to hell.”

“We’ve been shot at. Attacked. Bombed. I mean…”

“Would you want anything else?”

The question was honest. And it hurt. This life was all Brody knew. It kept him alive during times that were dark. It always gave him a purpose. And while right now his mind thought way too much about Heather, if it wasn’t for this damn life, he would have never met her and had the chance to save her.

“This is my life,” Brody said. “I just don’t want anything to hurt… outside people.”

“That woman? Heather.”

“I’m not talking about my feelings,” Brody said with a grin.

Gaige’s cell beeped. He pulled it from his cut and Brody jumped at him.

“Whoa,” Gaige said.

“Let me… please, man…”

“You don’t need to talk about your feelings,” Gaige said. “Not when you’re showing them like this. You big *.”

Gaige gave Brody the phone.

“Griffin, bro. What’s going on?”

“All is calm,” Griffin said. “Gaige okay?”

“He’s fine. I grabbed the phone. Where’s Heather?”

“She’s making her rounds, brother. Just saw Erik. She got a cup of coffee.”

“Lyle?”

“He called. He’s on his way. She’s playing it, man. She’s doing good.”

She’s not f*cking playing anything. She’s f*cking scared.

“Okay,” Brody said. “What about the shipment?”

“The shipment is on its way,” Griffin said with a laugh. “Everything is right on schedule. It’ll cross into Frelen and then… well… it goes away.”

“And Lyle?”

“Jesus, man, relax. It’s all going to go according to the plan. Ease up on this one. I mean, what are you falling for this chick?”

Brody handed the phone back to Gaige and shook his head. “I’m done with this shit. I have to get in there. I have to be there to make sure…”

“Fuck,” Gaige said. He put the phone to his ear. “Griffin, just keep me updated. I have to talk this love sick puppy off the edge.” Gaige killed the call and climbed off his motorcycle. He took a deep drag on his cigarette. “Look, I get it. What you went through as a kid and what’s happening to Heather. I get that it’s eating you alive right now. You want to save her. Like you couldn’t save your mother.”

“Fuck,” Brody said. He moved at Gaige and grabbed him by the shirt. “What the f*ck do you know about any of that?”

“And how the f*ck do you think I survived?” Gaige asked. “You think I ate off a silver spoon?”

“I never…”

“Exactly,” Gaige said. “I’m sorry for what happened. That’s then, this is now. You care about that woman in there? Then you shut up and stick to the plan. You wait here with me. The call will come and then we end this. There’s no other choice. There’s bigger things on the horizon for this club, bro. I’m sorry your world is hurt right now, but we’re hurting all around. It’s time to fix shit. Make it all right.”

“Fair enough,” Brody said. He let Gaige go and backed away. “Sorry.”

Brody turned and ran a hand through his hair for what felt like the millionth time since he woke up.

This was so dangerous. This was so risky. If anything went wrong - anyf*ckingthing - it would be Heather’s life that would be sacrificed.

Brody took a couple breaths and looked over his shoulder. It was just in time to see the little black speedster cutting through the hospital parking lot. With a whistle, Brody nodded to Gaige. Gaige looked and nodded back.

It was time. Lyle was here.





sixteen.



Heather made her rounds but couldn’t focus on a damn thing. Luckily there wasn't anything pressing happening. Just the normal check on vitals, give out medicines, coordinate checkout times and routines. Everything was going along smoothly. It was hard to imagine the guys and prospects from Back Down Devil weren’t just in the hallway looking out for their injured brother Erik, but they were there to watch over Heather and protect her. She didn’t like that Brody was outside, but he told her this was the plan.