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“Fuck you, we only get to die once.”
“No one’s fuckin’ dying!”
“Hey, you tell your brother we never had a problem with him marryin’ our sister, not in the end. He better keep protecting her, or we’ll haunt his ass.”
“Mase…”
I roll my head to look at him, the weakness in his tone is alarming. His eyes flutter shut. My heart no longer beats; it thumps.
“No, no, no. Brother, open your fuckin’ eyes!” I scream, but even to my ears, it’s weak. I stare at his chest, waiting for it to rise, but there’s no movement.
Mustering the energy, I push at Leo’s hold on my wound.
“Let me go with him.”
“Never… he’s…”
“Don’t make… me live… with…out him.”
“Mase, brother, don’t do this… he wouldn’t want…”
Taking hold of my brother’s hand, I bring it to my mouth and press a kiss to his still-warm skin.
“It’s been only seconds, and I can’t bear the pain… you don’t understand.”
It turns out I didn’t need him to ease up on the pressure, death pulls at me regardless. Leaning my head on Myles’s shoulder, I will the end to come swift. Aspen and the kid will always be looked after. Even if she were to move to the city to be with Rudi, she’d have my sister there with her and the kid. If she stays in Willow’s Peak, she’ll have my parents and Emma.
We always knew the possibilities that came with the patch. We were indeed arrogant enough to believe none of them could touch us, but if I could live my life again, there isn’t a single thing I’d change.
Grumps always said, live free and live hard. My brother and I lived up to it since we were old enough to understand.
Then Aspen came into my life. It wasn’t the club or her. I could have it all, and I did. I love her, and I would die for her. I genuinely fucking would. To live without her would be far beyond painful. I wouldn’t want to imagine the suffering, but I don’t need to imagine the misery of living in a world without my brother. I’m living it, and I’m already dead.
“Mase! Don’t do this! Come on! Stay with me, you fuckin’ asshole!” I don’t know if my mouth moves into a smile. I think I’m smiling at the fear in his tone. If he’s scared, then the end must be here.
We always knew we’d go out in a blaze of glory, and I’m at peace with it… as long as I’m with my brother.
Chapter Seven
Aspen
There’s no color anymore. JJ put me down on the grass a hundred yards from the house and blocked my every attempt to get back inside.
“Aspen, you ain’t getting back inside unless Mase gives the nod. Besides, you’ve got problems out here, too.”
“What do you mean?”
He spins me around, and the brothers are on their knees, surrounding someone lying on the grass.
“Who is that?”
“Your father-in-law.” He sighs. “When we got word Mason went all one-brother-army, Leo gave the order for us to storm the house, and shots were let off from the second-floor windows. Rick was hit. He was dead before he hit the ground.”
No.
This isn’t happening.
Kyla, oh God, Victoria, and Mason, and Myles. The grandkids. Their faces fill my mind, rapidly flipping through each one on a loop.
