Fight (22 page)

37.

(Tripp)

Dmitry fell to the ground. I saw
Winter looking at him, trying to process what had just happened. I sure as hell
didn
’
t shoot the guy, but
someone did. The need to protect Winter took over again and I jumped toward
her. I grabbed her, hugged her, and spun her around so she couldn
’
t see anything.

I held her tight and rubbed her
back.

“
It
’
s okay, darling,
”
I whispered.
“
It
’
s
all going to be okay. I
’
m
right here with you.
”

Winter let out a soft sob. I
squeezed her tighter.

From the shadows of the warehouse,
I saw a figure approaching. Tall and wide, I realized it was Stoney. A gun in
his hand, a sad look on his face. He was in a black t-shirt and had no leather
cut on. Nothing to represent himself as the President of the Red Aces MC.

“
I
’
m not going to kill you,
”
Stoney said.

Winter jumped and tried to turn. I
held her close, never wanting to let her slip away from me again. I needed her.
Without Winter, I had no purpose to exist. I was better off taking that bullet
Aldo owed me for losing that fight.

I stroked her hair and kept my eyes
locked with Stoney
’
s.

“
It
’
s done now,
”
he said.
“
You two need to get out of here.
Police are on their way.
”

“
What
the fuck did you do?
”
Winter asked.
“
You piece of
shit.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Stoney said.
“
That
’
s right. That
’
s
what I am.
”
Stoney looked
at Dmitry.
“
He had a good
plan. It all came together perfectly. Especially when I got him to grab Autumn
and Andrea.
”

“
You
helped with that?
”
Winter
asked.

“
Christ,
”
I whispered.

“
It
was the bargaining chip,
”
Stoney said.
“
And once we
had things in place with Endo, we were going to destroy the Red Aces. I
’
d play it off that I was hurt,
killed, kidnapped. Whatever it took. Then I was going to get a different kind
of cut. A different kind of power.
”
Stoney looked at me.
“
But
it all got fucked up. Rocky started asking questions. Poking around my personal
shit. Getting in my way. He followed me one night when I took a woman from the
bar. I did it as a diversion. I dumped her at her apartment and met Dmitry. Rocky
confronted me and I told him I was working something. I told him Dmitry wanted
to meet up. That I had a plan to kill Dmitry. Rocky was on board. So I sent him
off, telling him the MC would be there to get his back.
”

“
They
were never involved,
”
I
said.
“
You set him up to
get killed.
”

“
That
’
s right,
”
Stoney said.
“
That
’
s how much this all meant to me.
I let my best friend fucking die.
”

“
You
killed him,
”
I said.
“
You did it. You set up your best
friend to be murdered.
”

“
Yeah,
I did. So fuck it. Who cares? It
’
s
all a mess anyway. The guys pegged me. Dmitry must have tipped them off. He
found out that Endo was gone, which meant everything we
’
d been working on was gone.
”

I started to open my mouth but shut
it.

Why would someone from Skull X
take out Endo if he was so important?

I held my question back.

I heard the cry of sirens.

Stoney at least had been telling
the truth about that. The police were on their way.

Nodding, Stoney looked around.
“
I never wanted it all. It just
fell into my lap. Fighting, drugs, always working for something that seemed to
be nothing but death. This fucker screwed me. So now he
’
s dead. You won the fight, Tripp. You won it all.
Now get out of here.
”

“
What
about Autumn?
”
Winter
asked.
“
Did he
…”

“
I
don
’
t know anything else,
”
Stoney said.
“
Just get out of here. I
’
ll pay my debts as needed. I
killed Dmitry. Let the police come find me. This is your only chance to get
away from it all. Both of you. I never meant for it to be this.
”

“
But
you meant something,
”
I
said.
“
You were going to
team up with Skull X and take down your own club. And that would have included
Winter. Either way, you lose.
”

“
I
lose,
”
Stoney said.

I pulled at Winter.
“
Come on, darling. We have to go
right now.
”

We charged toward a side door. I
kicked it open and we went outside. It was pitch black. The sirens were getting
closer, louder. I held the door open, trying to figure out what to do. I needed
to get to my car. I could take the risk and run with Winter.

Or we could hide
…

A gunshot rang out.

I looked back and saw Stoney on the
ground.

He
’
d
shot himself.

“
What
was that?
”
Winter asked.

“
Nothing,
darling. Get ready to run with me.
”

I took her by the hand and started
to run. We moved along the back of the building and then around the side. We
started to run faster, cutting in and out of a few of the emergency lights that
weren
’
t burned out hanging
off the building. When I looked at Winter, she looked at me. Her hair danced
behind her, her blue eyes looked simply beautiful against the light when it was
there. She was everything to me now. She was what fate was made of in life.

Then she smiled. Shit. In the face
of danger, death, people wanting to hurt us and kill us, Winter smiled at me.
The most beautiful smile I
’
d
ever seen in my life. There was no turning back, not like I ever had a chance.
From the moment I met her, everything changed in my life.

We made it to the front of the
warehouse and the flashing lights were off in the distance. The police would
come and find Dmitry, Stoney, and Kane dead. With any luck, they
’
d play it all off as some kind
of turf war over money, drugs, and women.

Maybe they
’
d find my blood on the floor and my ass would get
dragged into things. None of that mattered though, just as long as Winter made
it out of all this safe and alive. I
’
d
do anything to make sure she
’
d
be protected.

“
Don
’
t stop moving, darling,
”
I said as we ran across the
street.

I saw my car. I somehow still had
the goddamn keys in my pocket.

I opened the passenger door for
Winter. I hurried around and opened my door. I stuck my key in the ignition and
turned it. For a split second, I wondered if Dmitry had been smart enough to
disable my car
…
or bomb it
…

The car started with ease, just
like it was built to do.

All we had to do was back up and
back track through the lot and find an access road that would lead to one of
the main roads. The police would never find us. They
’
d be too far concentrated on the dead bodies in the
warehouse and what it all meant.

I looked at Winter. I grabbed her
hand and kissed it.
“
Darling,
I love you.
”

“
I
love you, Tripp,
”
she said.
“
Just get me out of here.
Get me out of everything.
”

“
Done.
”

I put the car in reverse and looked
up in the mirror.

I saw the silhouette of a car a
second before the headlights came on.

~ ~ ~

I held Winter
’
s hand tight. I wanted to tell
her not to be afraid, but I couldn
’
t.
Why? Because I was fucking terrified. Part of me hoped it had been the police
behind us. It would have been easier to navigate the legal system where I had
some rights. Dealing with Aldo and the
family
, however, was much
different. There were no rights. There were no privileges. Just commands.
Orders that if weren
’
t
followed, people would die. Easily.

We were in a living room in one of
Aldo
’
s beach houses. The
guys who came out of the car were with Aldo. He was in the backseat and they
let me see him. He looked at me and simply said two words.

“
Follow
me.
”

The car then drove right by the
police, Aldo able to give command to them. That meant we would be free in the
situation, unless Aldo changed his mind.

That was to still be determined.

The leather couch wasn
’
t exactly comfortable. The fire
in the fireplace was a little too much for the room. It was hot and stuffy.
Just beyond the living room was a large glass window and door that went to a
balcony.

That
’
s
were Aldo stood. Smoking a cigar. Someone handed him a cell phone. He talked
for a few seconds and handed it back to the person. They then put the phone
down and stepped on it. That
’
s
how they all communicated. Cell phones that were used once and then destroyed.

When Aldo turned around, he took
one last puff on his cigar. He handed it off and then came inside.

Winter gripped my hand tighter.

I couldn
’
t say a word to her. She was supposed to be dead in
all this. Aldo had nothing to do with her. He had no care for her.

Slowly, he walked toward the couch
across from us. He put his hands on it.

“
Drink?
”

“
No
thanks,
”
I said.

“
You?
”
he asked Winter.

“
No
thank you.
”

“
I
heard Stoney is dead. Suicide.
”

“
Yeah,
”
I said.

“
Dmitry
is dead,
”
Aldo said.
“
Piece of scum.
”

“
I
agree,
”
I said.

“
But
one person isn
’
t dead that
should be,
”
Aldo said.

“
Look,
Aldo
…”

He pointed at Winter.
“
I don
’
t know why you
’
re
sitting on my couch.
”

“
I
didn't do anything,
”
she
said.
“
I did everything
Tripp asked. I knew nothing. You can
’
t
blame me that they
’
re dead.
”
Winter sucked in a breath.
“
She was my
…”

Aldo nodded.
“
I know. My son fucked you over.
I knew about Autumn a year ago.
”

“
What?
”
I asked. I rose from the couch.
“
You knew
…”

“
Tripp,
don
’
t fuck with me,
”
Aldo said.

“
I
want to fucking hit you,
”
I
said.

“
You
owe me a bullet.
”

“
Then
just do it.
”

Aldo slowly walked around the
couch. He reached for a glass of something on the table. I quickly slapped it
out of his hand. I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him close. The door
busted open and men came rushing in.

“
Easy!
”
Aldo ordered.
“
Leave us be. We
’
re fine. Aren
’
t we, Tripp?
”

“
Yeah,
”
I growled.
“
Just fucking fine.
”

“
Good.
”

Winter then stood up.
“
How did you know about
…”

“
Please,
”
Aldo said. I let him go and
stood there.
“
I knew my son
was rotten for a long time. He cared about the money. Not the family. Not what
we stand for. He cared about himself. I hoped he would eventually disappear.
But then he did something stupid. He knocked up a woman who wasn
’
t one of us.
”

“
So
that means I
’
m guilty of
something?
”
Winter asked.

“
Christ,
”
I said.
“
Darling, easy now.
”