I shut the window and powered the computer down, then walked out the back door of the diner and into the sun. Not one of those guys noticed that I walked up to them and started weaving through, searching for Garret among them. He was near the back of the crowd, standing with Butch and Rusty, his arms crossed and his jaw tight. When he saw me coming, he rolled his eyes and he turned away.
"Garret," I said anxiously. "Please."
"Go home, Sara." He refused to look at me, but I pulled on his arm. Rusty snorted at me and Butch walked away. Maybe he had told them, or maybe this was part of the unrest and they had a chip on their shoulders.
"I can't. You have to listen to me." My anxiety was building. I could feel Tony’s eyes burning into my back as someone else took over the shouting. I should've called the sheriff to be here for this, because I knew I couldn't keep Tony's secret anymore.Garret had to know what he was walking into and what Tony had done.
"Look, can you go away? We're sort of in the middle of stuff." He gritted his teeth, and I winced at how harshly he was speaking to me. But I knew he was hurting and I couldn’t hold it against him. But I also couldn’t walk away now.
"I love you," I said loudly, just as there was a slight pause in the noise around us. Butch looked over and I watched Garret's shoulders drop an inch. "I love you and I don't want you to get killed tonight over something that isn't true."
Garret finally turned toward me with a look that could kill. He grabbed my bicep like he was going to drag me away from the crowd, but this had to be done publicly, right now.
So I spat, "Tony killed Mandy."
Garret froze mid stride and I watched Butch and Rusty turn in my periphery, like they were suddenly interested in me more than the chanting. Garret looked confused as he glanced up at Tony, but the scowl stayed locked on his face like a permanent part of his physique now.
"I saw it happen," I whimpered, and my voice was shaking so hard, I barely got the words out. "I swear, Garret. I watched him choking her, and he saw me. He came after me."
His face softened into understanding as he let go of my arm and backed away like he'd been burned, but I didn't stop. I had his attention. It had to be now.
"That's why I ran, Garret. Tony threatened to murder my family if I said a word, and I was terrified." Tears were running down my face and I couldn't stop them. "I found out about Kip a fewmonths later, but what was I supposed to do? Let Tony kill him too?"
"Sara—"
"You can't listen to him… They didn't kill Mandy and he's gonna get you all killed."
Garret's nostrils flared and I watched his fingers curl into fists. Then his jaw worked again, upper lip rising almost as if he would bare his teeth like a dog. Butch took a step back like Garret was going to explode, and I kept talking because I had to get it all out.
"I'm sorry I kept Kip from you. I'm sorry I lied. I was wrong, and I've known I was wrong every single day for three years." I reached up and grabbed his cut with both hands. "If you hate me for it I understand. But please don't ride tonight. Please don't let him send you out there to die for something he did."
His hand closed around my arm so hard it hurt, and I winced. "Hey, ow," I whined, and he loosened his hold but didn't let go. Then he turned without a word and started walking toward the front of the crowd, pulling me alongside him.
"Garret, what are you doing?" Butch followed along like a nagging puppy, biting at his heels, but Garret didn't answer.
I had to scramble to keep up with him as he focused right on the crate where Tony had been standing and beyond it. He had tunnel vision, and I had a racing heart. I thought I would pee myself again.
"Garret." My voice was barely a whisper now and terror was crawling up my spine because Tony was thirty feet away and closing fast. "Garret, please tell me what you're doing."
30
GARRET
Everything clicked into place while Sara's mouth was still moving. I knew I overheard Lightning talking on the phone to Mandy that day in the garage, and what about the grass in his spokes—how I had to fix the bends and repair his suspension. And then Sara bolted from town overnight.
Now she had fear on her face every time a bike engine rumbled close by, and Lightning kept the feud burning hot every time it simmered and kept Fox looking at them, not running his own club.
All of it made sense now, and it was sickening.
My hand stayed locked on Sara's arm as I pulled her through the crowd toward Fox. She trembled and whimpered but she didn't protest. I was furious, but in the same breath, if all of this was true, I understood her reasoning. It didn't make it any easier to process the "why" of things, but it meant it was possible that I might. And Fox needed to hear this before anyone rode anywhere.
"Tell him," I said, pushing Sara forward until she stood three feet from the president. "Tell him what you told me."
Fox looked at her with glazed, empty eyes, not completely drunk today, and Lightning stomped closer to us, his chest was puffed out like he had something to say.
"What the hell is this, Crank?" Lightning's voice was sharp. "Get that girl out of here."
"Shut your mouth, Tony," I snarled, purposefully using his name instead of his handle. He looked ready to punch me as I turned to Fox. "Sara, tell him everything."
