Sinner's Revenge (Sinner's Creed MC #2)(82)
Dorian goes on about respect and knowing your place. About how each of them could have been saved if they would have just disappeared. How their greed had finally caught up to them and their desire for power had sealed their fate. What was it with him and this power trip? He was the most powerful man in these parts. Was that not enough? Did he really have to make this big speech?
When his men move to form a line in front of Death Mob, I know he’s wrapping it up. I look down at Diem, who is white with fear at what her eyes are fixing to witness. Taking a gun from his back, Dorian stands in the center of the men. When he says the words, “This is for Dirk,” I move my body in front of Diem, blocking her view.
The sounds of gunshots surround us, as the men fire round after round into the bodies that continue to fall. I keep my eyes on Dorian, watching his every move. When the last body falls, I move back beside Diem. A tear runs down her cheek as she squeezes her eyes shut. With my thumb, I reach out and wipe it, and she jumps at my touch.
“It’s me, baby,” I whisper. “You’re okay, but I need you to hold it together until we get out of here.” Her eyes dance in her head, trying to find something to focus on that isn’t the pile of dead bodies. “Look at me, Diem,” I command, a little sterner. She does, and I know she’s fixing to break. “Keep it together. Don’t let him see you weak.”
Slowly, she comes back to reality. I can almost see the shield as it creeps down her face, concealing her feelings. Brushing the backs of her hands across her face, she stands a little taller and nods. “I’m okay.”
I turn just as Dorian approaches, giving her another couple of seconds to get her shit together. By the time he has her in his sights, she’s back to the trained killer he raised her to be. “This is your glory to have, Diem. Your hard work paid off and I won’t forget it.”
I clench my jaw, wanting nothing more than to slap him like the bitch he is and tell him to eat shit. But when he looks at me, I just look right through him. “Shady,” he says, nodding his good-bye.
Two men leave with him as the others stay to clean up the bloodbath. Clark comes over and instructs me to get Diem out of here, and I waste no time leading her to the car with my hand on her back once again. I call Rookie on the way, telling him we’re leaving. I’d let him know where we’d be as soon as I found out, and he was waiting only a few minutes away.
I usher Diem into the backseat. Like a puppet, she follows my every command. I’m not even sure she hears me. I’m anxious to get to Rookie so I can be with her. The closer I get to him, the harder she breathes. Then her eyes start to blink rapidly, trying to control the floodgates I know are coming.
Finally, I spot Rookie’s bike on the side of the road. I pull over, and get out to see Diem getting out too. “I need some air,” she says to no one in particular. Crossing her arms over her chest, she starts walking down the narrow road toward nowhere.
“What happened?” Rookie asks, keeping his eyes on Diem.
Unable to peel my eyes away from her either, I answer. “A f*cking slaughter.”
“Damn,” he breathes, shaking his head. He knew Diem was on the verge of breaking just like I did. “She have to do it?”
“No. I didn’t let her watch either.”
Diem finally stops walking about twenty yards out. Even from a distance, I can see that what we all knew was coming, was finally here. “I need you to drive us,” I tell Rookie as I jog toward her. I slow down a few yards away, not wanting to startle her. “Diem,” I say cautiously.
Turning to face me, she shakes her head. Tears rain from her eyes as her body jerks with sobs. “I don’t want to be a monster anymore,” she cries, and my heart breaks. She walks into my arms, her weight crashing against me.
“Shh,” I soothe, placing my lips on top of her head. My hands rub her hair, her back, up her sides, and back down, trying to let her know that I’m here.
“I don’t want this, Shady. Please don’t make me do this anymore,” she cries harder, the sound of her broken voice echoing around me.
“Shh. Okay, baby. No more.” I lift her up, wrapping one arm around her legs while the other holds her to my chest. In my arms, I carry her back to the car. “I got you. I promise. I got you.” Seeing her this hurt devastates me. It’s a feeling of heartache I’ve never endured until now. Even losing Dirk wasn’t as painful as watching the woman I love beg me for a better life.
In the car, I hold her in my lap. Letting her cry out everything she’s been feeling her whole life. I absorb her small body, her tears, and all of her problems. I’m her man and it is my duty to be the one to carry the weight. I want her burdens, her fears, her heartache, and her doubt. It belongs on my shoulders. Not hers.
Several days ago, I feared that my love for Sinner’s Creed was fading—being replaced with something else. Someone else. In this moment, I realize it’s no longer a fear—it’s a fact.
I’m ready to live for her.
I’m ready to give it all up.
I’m going to get her out of this life and away from this pain.
Like many of my brothers, the club has always been the sole purpose of my existence. But now she’s my purpose. I can’t live in a world where both her and Sinner’s Creed exists. And for the first time in my life, I’m okay with that. Because now, I only want to live in a world with her.