Page 71 of Apex of the Curve
“’Property’ isn’t just the land we own, or the house that sits on it. It’s the things we would die for, the things we would kill for. Our bike is our property because it represents our freedom. Our colors, likewise, set us apart and represent our love, life, and loyalty to and for the club. Our women, our children, are likewise our property. We would kill for you; I would die for you. Not a second thought about it.”
I stared at him and he stared back, letting his words fill the silence that stretched between us.
“It sounds sort of… romantic,” I murmured and he smiled.
“Nothing real romantic about it since we’re being honest.”
I asked again, “Explain,” and bit my bottom lip.
“Society has their own ideas about us,” he answered. “Some of us, like my dad, got arrested. At any given moment, we could go away, do long stretches of time. That’s not easy on our women or kids. Believe me, I lived it.”
“Then why do you do it?” I asked.
“C’mere,” he whispered, and I went to him. He put his arms around me and rubbed up and down my back through the blanket, cuddling me close. He sighed, hard, and said, “My dad went up on attempted murder charges,” he answered.
“Oh, what happened?” I asked.
“He was at a bar with a couple of other brothers. The Sacred Hearts, we have a reputation,” he murmured.
“I know,” I whispered, and he chuckled.
“You don’t know the half of it,” he said mirthlessly, “Not discounting you, not trying to be a holier-than-thou asshole about it, it’s just the truth. No matter what you’ve heard, the reality is likely ten times worse.”
“Okay,” I said cuddling close. “That’s scary.”
“Yeah, well, there are always some dumb motherfuckers trying to test their mettle with us, and that’s what happened with my dad, Herbo, and Deacon that night. Some dumb motherfuckers full of too much piss and vinegar decided to try the Sacred Hearts on for size.”
“Okay,” I murmured.
“So, the fight goes down, my dad lost his shit, stabs one of these assholes who just won’t quit with a broken beer bottle. The cops, of course, as always, take the side of the citizens and the prosecutors office, always with a hard-on for us, upped the ante on my dad from ‘assault with a deadly’ to ‘attempted murder.’ My pops rolled the dice on trial and rolled a one, got sent up for the max.”
“Rolled a one?” I asked confused.
Fenris laughed. “Yeah, don’t play D&D do you?” he asked.
“Dungeons and Dragons?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“No. I think Copper did, but I didn’t really get into it. He and his friends were very ‘girls aren’t allowed’ and I was usually busy making things with my mom.”
“Ah, well, your brother and his friends were full of shit,” he said. “D&D is for anyone who wants to play it, and one of the main things you do is roll a twenty-sided dice to figure out through some basic math how you did at any given action. To roll a one is to not only fail, but to spectacularly fail.”
“Ah,” I said, thoughts churning. I had a lot to think about.
A lot.
Fenris fell silent, and we just held each other, cuddling, comforting. Finally, he broke the silence and asked, “What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I mean, I don’t really know if I can handle all of this, but I don’t want to just give up, either. I don’t want to just walk away.” I pushed off of him so I could look him in the eyes. “I care about you too much, too deeply, to just walk away now.”
“Not going to lie to you, ever,” he said. “There will be times I just straight up won’t tell you things, but I’ll never lie to you, baby.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, not knowing what else to say.
“That being said, I care about you, too. I’ve never felt like this about any other woman before, ever.”
“Ever?” I asked, breath stilling in my chest at the sincerity in his eyes.
