she stayed silent.
“You know I had to get out of there. If I’d stayed, I would’ve ended up the same as my father. That wasn’t the life I wanted.”
She sent him an unsympathetic glare before returning to her magazine.
“I should’ve said goodbye.”
Tears began to burn at the backs of her eyes, but Katrina refused to let them fall. For years, she thought of him, wondered if he was alive or dead. Thinking of it now, she realized how much his leaving still hurt. Blinking to ward off the tears, her body trembled with suppressed anger at his betrayal. Until he left, she hadn’t realized how much she depended on him to be her friend, confidante, the older brother she’d never had.
“Are you ever going to speak to me again, Kat?”
Almost a minute passed before she controlled her emotions enough to speak. “You left me without a word.”
“I know, and I’m so sorry it hurt you.”
Balling up a page of the magazine, she shrugged. “It’s done, and there’s no going back.”
Staring at the ruined paper in her hand, he settled an arm over her shoulders, tugging her close, surprised she didn’t pull away. “I’ve missed our friendship. Tell me you’ll give me a chance to make it up to you.” He kissed her temple, keeping Katrina tucked against him.
Minutes passed before she found her voice. “If you left to get away from the MC life, why are you part of Eternal Brethren?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I have nothing but time.”
Sighing, he considered her request, wondering how to answer without lying about his life. “All right. Let’s get coffee and I’ll tell you as much as I can.”
Standing, she studied him, the ache at seeing him again lessening. Throwing her arms around his neck, she let out a soft sob.
“I’ve missed you so much, Gabe.”
Chapter Sixteen
Dark Disciples Clubhouse
Big T slammed his fist on the desk, his features etched in anger. “I ordered you to seize him, not try to kill him. You’re lucky he didn’t die in that fuckin’ stunt you pulled.”
He’d sent a total of five men to locate and capture Gunner. The Brethren member wasn’t Big T’s choice, but that of Zeus and Einstein. It rankled him that the national president and vice president continued to interfere in the running of the local chapter.
He’d been promised autonomy, but had yet to experience it. National’s intervention was the reason he’d be riding north tomorrow morning with his VP, Cracker, leaving strict orders no attacks on Demons Blood or Eternal Brethren take place during their absence.
“We cannot risk a war. The two clubs have associated for runs. Do you shitheads understand what that means?”
The five men sweated, throats dry at the unvoiced threat. Men had disappeared for disobeying an order. “They’d join up to come after us?”
Big T glared at the slim, wiry man who’d answered. “Yeah. And that’s a big fuckin’ deal.” He rubbed a hand over his short hair. “Shit.”
Cracker and their sergeant-at-arms, Ox, stood to the side, their relaxed stances belying their readiness to exact any punishment their president doled out.
Big T swept an arm toward the door. “Get the hell out of here. I don’t want to see any of your faces before I leave for Vegas.”
Shooting each other nervous glances, the five shuffled out. They knew their dismissal didn’t mean they’d been forgiven for the screwup. Big T had given them a reprieve and nothing more.
Cracker lowered himself into a nearby chair. “What do you want to do about their fuck-up, Prez?”
Wiping moisture from his brow, Big T sat down. “Nothing, for now. Both the Blood and Brethren will be on alert for us to strike again. When you and I return from Vegas, I’ll decide what’s next. There’s no doubt one or both clubs were behind the killing of our men.”
“And the theft of our merchandise. Those kids were worth tens of thousands of dollars to us,” Cracker bit out. “This isn’t helping our relationship with the buyers.”
“Zeus already spoke to Juan Muñoz.” Big T mentioned their contact with the Reyes Montanez cartel. “We have one more chance to make good on the delivery. At half the profit to us. Fuckin’ cartel. I don’t give a shit how upset Muñoz is. There are others who’d do business with us.”
“It took months to set this up, Prez. Reyes Montanez could be a huge deal for us,” Cracker said. “We’ve got to bring them another load of cargo, and soon. We need the money, and they need the merchandise.”
“He’s