Beautiful Outlaw by Emily Minton
Thank you, Brother
Bowie
When we reach the lobby, I see Tin-Man through the glass doors. He’s straddling his bike with his hand on his hip. My step does not falter as I lead Shay outside. “You’re gonna ride with Tin.”
“What’s going on?” she asks, the first words she has spoken since we left her mother’s room.
I don’t want to tell her. Fuck, if I could, I wouldn’t tell her shit, but she needs to know. “That fucker is heading to the hospital. Lock wants you out of here right now.”
“What? How?” she mumbles out, her voice small and full of fear.
“I don’t know, baby, but we gotta get you on the road.”
I look down at her as we approach Tin-Man’s bike. She is shaking like a leaf, barely keeping herself together. I know she’s afraid, but there isn’t a damn thing I can do to fix that right now. “Just ride with Tin until I can get my bike and catch up with you.”
“I wanna stay with you.”
I know she’s hurting, know she’s scared, but I got to get her ass on the bike and out of here before that bastard gets here. “Get on the fuckin’ bike, right now.”
She doesn’t respond, just takes my brother’s outstretched hand and climbs on. Her movements are jerky, as if she is forcing herself to do as I say. I take a step forward and place my hand on her chin, forcing her to look up at me.
“You’re safe. Tin won’t let anything happen to you.”
She nods then pulls her chin from my grip. She turns her head away, and I see her hand go to her face. I know she is wiping away the tears she has been hiding since we walked out of her Mom’s room. I finally move my eyes from her and look to my brother. “Keep her safe.”
He lifts a fist to his heart. “With my life.”
No other words are spoken before his engine roars to life and they ride away. I stand for a minute, watching the headlights of his bike fade into the night, before running across the parking lot. I pull out a smoke and put it to my lips before stepping up to my bike. I light it and take a quick drag before grabbing my cut off the handles and sliding it over my shoulders. Just as I lift my leg to climb on, my phone rings. I swing my leg over as I pull it from my pocket and see Lock’s name flash across the screen.
Instead of saying hello, I give him an update. “She’s with Tin-Man. They’re heading toward Shooter now.”
Lock’s voice is filled with pain when he responds. “Mom’s gone. Dad said it happened the minute Laura walked out of the room. She was just hanging on to see her girl one more time.”
Fuck... fuck... fuck! “I’m so sorry, man.”
He’s quiet for a long moment before saying, “Thank you, brother. Thank you for giving my mom that. Thank you for letting her see Laura before she died.”
I can hear the tears in his voice, and they cut me to the core. “Anything for you, Lock. You know that.”
I hear him suck in a breath before he says, “Marcus is on the move, so you need to hit the road. I’ll be in Catawba tomorrow sometime.”
“Talk to you soon, brother.”
He doesn’t bother replying, just ends the call. As I slide my phone back in my pocket, I see a black four door Mercedes turn into the hospital parking lot. I’m not sure why, but my gut is telling me that is the fucker I want to kill. I fight against the urge to pull my piece out, knowing Shay and her family don’t need that shit right now. Instead, I lean my head back and pull in a deep draw from my smoke. Then, I rev up the engine and head to my girl.