“Drew, our prints are everywhere. We need to burn it all.” I felt oddly detached as the words left my mouth like I was experiencing an out of body experience. The lump of blood and flesh pooled below us seemed insignificant now Owen wasn’t a threat.
Drew’s head rolled my way slowly, and his eyes connected with mine, sharp like the locking of two ends of a magnet. He blinked wildly, raising his hand to wipe away some splattered blood from his eye before he gave me his full attention. “You’re right.”
My mind seemed to work a hundred miles an hour as I looked around the place, the logical part finally blocking out the slightly shocked part of myself. My eyes found the box that I’d put together, and I looked up to find several sets of keys on a small replica of a Harley, reminding me that there was a barn filled with vehicles sitting outside.
“Give me a second,” I said, darting for the door. I only made it down two of the porch steps before I was sprinting to the barn and tugging open one of the doors. The space in the barn revealed even more than I’d seen at a cursory glance. Not only were there bikes and a car, but there were also several four-wheelers, dirt bikes, and a dune buggy that was tucked in the corner. I didn’t react. There was no point in it. He was dead now and couldn’t suffer any more for his betrayals.
I did find what I was looking for, though. Several gas canslined the wall under a workbench, most of them looking full. I grabbed one and hefted it back to the house as quickly as I could, trying my best not to pant as I almost fell through the door. They weren’t as light as I’d thought they would be.
Drew glanced up at me as I set it down. “There’s plenty more out there.”
“On it.” And no sooner had the words left his mouth and he was out the door, taking steady strides to go and grab the others.
I took the can I had and moved to the back of the house. Starting in the farthest room, I pooled as much liquid as I could, lifting it and covering everything in a thick coating. I pulled a trail out to the hall and moved to Owen’s bedroom, soaking his mattress with the last of the can before heading back to the front and finding two more waiting for me.
I moved through every room, meeting Drew halfway. The two of us made sure to include even the most insignificant things just so anything left would be burned beyond all recognition. Drew used the last can to take the trail out to the porch, making sure there was something for it to ignite along the path. I stepped back and set the box of information I’d gathered down in the grass, and I turned to stare at the pretty house.
“We need to take care of the repo truck, too,” Drew told me, turning with a can in his hand and making his way over there. He took his time, like a true professional arsonist, spilling the liquid over all the places he wanted the fire to catch. The smell stung my nose as it clung to every bit of air around us.
Drew came back to stand beside me, his eyes on the house in front of us, but I could tell something was playing on hismind. His body looked strong, but there was a crease to his eyes that was easy for me to read.
“I have to do something,” he whispered suddenly.
I nodded, my hand resting on his forearm for a moment before I vocalized it. “You need my help?”
Drawing in a huge breath through his nose, he shook his head on its release. “No,” he answered, staring at the house. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
He moved swiftly but precisely, his hand on the gun at his waistband just as he disappeared through the door of the house again.
There was nothing but silence and the sound of the crows that seemed to circle up ahead.
Then I heard a single gunshot go off that sent everything around us clawing and scattering for far off skies and trees they could hide behind.
When Drew returned, he was tucking the gun back into his jeans, his eyes cast down as he made his way back to me.
“Done,” was all he said, and I had no questions to ask.
“Time to go,” I whispered. “But there’s one thing I need to do first.”
Glancing over at the barn with the vehicles piled inside, the only thing that really stood out was a custom Harley. It was gorgeous, all black and chrome, and it had a custom paint job on the tank. The reaper skull sat closest to the front, but the hound was in front, snarling away from it, heading back to the rider. It was a beautiful ode to the club, but it also felt like a significant fuck you, the hound pulling away from the central figure. It also annoyed me that it belonged to Owen, especially as he wasn’t a Hound anymore.
I could feel Drew watching me as I walked to the barn,but I avoided his glance as I switched the gears on the bike and started pushing it slowly from the barn and out into the light where the sun gleamed from the chrome. I made my way to the house, feeling the slow tingle of sweat beading on my forehead. As I got closer, the acrid smell of gasoline grew more pungent. I dropped the kickstand just in front of the porch steps, and I fought the urge to cover my nose as the smell started making me lightheaded.
Leaving the bike where it was, I headed back to the safety of Drew and shook my head when our eyes met. “He doesn’t deserve anything with the patch on it when he goes to Hell.”
Drew’s eyes were on mine, neither judging or expecting, simply there, watching me move around like he couldn’t look away. If we hadn’t have been in such a fucked up situation, it would have almost been erotic. Even in the midst of a living nightmare, Drew had the ability to look at me and make me feel like a queen.
I gave him a small smile as his eyes flashed at me, and I opened my mouth reaching for him, only to jump as the shrill tone of his phone blared to life from his inside pocket.
He pulled it out of his cut, brow furrowing when he glanced at the screen. The ringing cut out before he managed to swipe to accept the call, but it was followed by another alert which had Drew’s hand working the phone until a familiar voice came to life on speaker.
“Drew, it’s Kenny.” He sighed, leaving a dramatic pause, which only had Drew glancing at me with worry etching his every feature. “The cops were here, ATF, too. Slater and Jedd let them search the place, but they didn’t stop there. They didn’t find shit, man. Nothing, Drew, but they still asked Slater, Jedd, and Deeks to follow them to the station. Theysaid they could go quietly, answer a few questions, or they could be forced there.” Another pause and I was certain we were both imagining the way Kenny would be wiping his palm back and forth over his forehead in worry. “The three of them volunteered to go. I just thought you should know. It’s getting messy around here, man. Real messy. You’re gone. Eric’s… Eric. Those three are out. I don’t know how to handle this shit. I don’t want to mess up for y’all. Call me back whenever you’re safe. And…” Kenny sucked in a breath, the sound of its release echoing down the receiver. “I hope you’re okay.”
I could see Drew wanted to throw his phone rather than hang the damn thing up, but he did it anyway, looking tense as he did. We looked at one another for a long while. I couldn’t stand the thought of Deeks, Slater or Jedd having to spend a minute longer than they had to in that station when they were on a witch hunt for the club.
“Should have known it wouldn’t be enough,” I whispered, shaking my head.
Slipping the phone into the inside of his cut, Drew turned to me with a new urgency, his hands cupping my tender cheeks with a soft touch he reserved only for me. His eyes took it all in, all the blemishes Owen had left there and the way my eye was swollen, making one side of my face seem out of proportion to the other.