“Okay, just stay calm. Did he say where he was heading?” The guy, who I’m sure isn’t Sinner, is starting to sound as concerned as I am.
“No, he just told me to get out of town, and then he left. Promise you’ll do something. He was–”
“I hear ya, darlin’, you can leave it with me.” He hangs up the phone, and when I look across the staff room to Fiona, she looks confused as hell.
“You wanna tell me what's goin’ on?” she questions.
“I don’t think I could, even if I wanted to.” I hand her phone back to her, hoping I’ve done enough.
Iraid the stock cupboard at the warehouse. This is where I carry out the majority of work I do for the club, and I have everything I need to get a fucker talkin’ or to make him wish he’d never fucked us over. I doubt I’ll be bringing any of Quinnell’s men back here with me, so I’m gonna need as much as I can carry to ensure I make ’em suffer when I raid their shipyard myself.
I move the chainsaw out the way, wishing it was easier to carry. I like the idea of spraying those fuckers’ blood all over their yard as I saw through their limbs, but it ain’t practical. Going in alone, I’m gonna need a more stealth approach.
“What ya doin', Dev?” I hear a voice come from behind me, and when I turn around, Saint is standing by the door with his arms folded over his chest.
“Nothin’ excitin’.” I add some rope and a container of salt to the duffel bag I’m filling.
“Millie called.”
“Millie?” I spin back around, unable to hide my shock.
“She sounded real scared.”
“Well, there ain’t no reason for her to be scared.” I try acting as if it ain’t a big deal. But…shit. I didn’t mean to fuckin’ scareher. I just wanted to be sure she was taken care of before I got into this.
“You're thinkin’ of stormin’ that shipyard by yourself, ain’t ya?” Saint snatches the bag from my hand and looks inside it, shaking his head in disappointment. “Jesus, Dev, I had you pinned as being a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of ’em.”
“This ain’t me being stupid, Saint. It’s me being practical. A lot of my brothers got shit to live for now, ain’t no need for ’em to put their lives at risk.”
“That's not how the club works, and you know it.”
“Yeah, well, I’m bending the rules on this one,” I tell him, snatching the bag back and shoulder-barging past him so I can get outta here.
Corey somehow made it into that shipyard without any of us noticing him from the outside. I wanna see if I can find out how he did it while it’s still light. That element of surprise could sure as hell work to my advantage.
“And what about me?” Saint's voice echoes across the empty warehouse before I make it to the door.
“What about you?” I drop the bag from my shoulders and turn around, letting him see how impatient he’s making me.
“You know what. Don’t make me fuckin’ say it, Dev.” He charges at me, “You know that it’s never beenjustCorey who depended on you.” He points his finger in my face.
“You're acting like I ain’t ever coming back,” I laugh at him.
“Looks like a suicide mission to me. There's a reason Raze wants us to wait,” he reminds me.
“C’mon, Saint, you know I can handle myself, and you're a big boy too, you don’t need me.” I tap him on the shoulder.
“What about him?” The frustration in his voice matches his eyes.
“Sinner?” I laugh even harder. “Now you’rereallyclutchin’, Saint. I’m going in, I’m spilling blood, and I’ll be back at the clubhouse in time for Polly’s meatloaf.”
“But what if you ain’t?” He proves he ain’t giving up on this. “What do you think Sinner’s gonna do if anything happens to you? All that anger, all that aggression. You think he’s ever gonna let me see the light again?
Sinner’s dangerous, Dev, and you know as well as I do that you're the only person he’ll take any advice from. You may have lost your brother, you may feel as if your whole purpose for being on this Earth ain’t here no more, but you're wrong.Ineed you, and that crazed son-of-a-bitch who lives inside my head needs you, too.” He taps that finger hard at his temple as his jaw tenses.
“I can’t take the guilt of another person dyin’ because of me.” I shake my head and try not to lose control of my emotions. “If we raid that shipyard together, there's a chance we won’t all come back.”
“Every man who attacks that shipyard tomorrow does it freely. Raze ain’t got no gun to their heads. We all make our own choices, Dev, and that's what Corey did, too. He made a choice. Yeah, it was a wrong one, but it wasn’t your fault.”
