Page 42 of Property of Heart

“Yeah,” Heart replies.“No shit.Looking at them right now, man.No.Okay.Yes, Lina’s apartment.See you soon.”

Heart puts the phone away.“He asked us to wait here.He’s about half an hour away and doesn’t want to risk shit.Good thing he was on his way back to us, otherwise it would have taken him hours to get here and then ride to Calvania to give back the damn coins.Fuck.Something tells me the man doesn’t extend deadlines.”

“No one is going to return those coins,” a voice near the door states.

My eyes go wide, recognizing the man who kicked Rob in the face when I woke up in the forest.This must be Jash.His arm is in a sling and he’s holding a gun in the other hand.

“I should have put a bullet in your damn head instead of your fuckin’ shoulders, thief,” Heart snarls.

“You’re the thieves, taking something that doesn’t belong to you,” Jash snarls.

Swade starts to rumble, “Lina bought the whole inventory.So, technically she isn’t a thief.She might not be the rightful owner, but...”

Jash takes a step forward and waves the gun when he bellows, “Shut your fucking mouth.You.Put those coins back into the bag and throw them at me.”

“Fat fucking chance,” Fatal calmly states.

I let my hand move toward the knife.Quint is somewhat blocking me from Jash’s view and it gives me the opportunity to grab it.My nerves are all over the place and I try to suck in a calming breath.

Clearly, I fail to become calm when Heart takes a menacing step forward.“There’s nowhere you will be able to sell those coins, fucker.Do you even know who they belong to?Probably not if you like living.Walk away while you’re still breathing.”

Jash fires off a shot, making a scream rip from my throat.None of the bikers so much as twitch, and yet they seem to become more pissed off than they already were.

“The coins,” Jash snarls.“Now, or I’m going to start shooting you fuckers for real.”

Lumos is standing on the opposite side of Heart and I watch him move his hand to his gun.I do hope he can act fast.Some might hope their aim will be good enough to hit the target, but I know my aim is damn good.At least, when I’m calm it is...but knowing Heart is standing in the line of fire makes my nerves jump all over the damn place.

Laith takes a step forward, drawing Jash’s attention and I know this is my chance.The only chance I will have a clear shot to throw my knife.I pull my arm back and breathe in right before I throw the knife with precision and ease.Thank fuck Jash doesn’t move so my aim hits his mark and lodges in his throat.

A grunt rips from him and he swings his gun in my direction, pulling the trigger right before Laith, Heart, and Lumos lunge forward.I watch horrified as they all jump him as the gun goes off once, twice, three times before the room is wrapped in silence.

Blood.Blood is staining the carpet underneath our feet as they pull back.Heart’s eyes are wide as he turns to face me.There are smudges of crimson on his denim vest.No.No.No.I can’t lose him.I rush forward and desperately grip his cut, shoving the fabric aside to check his body for wounds.

Crimson transfers onto my hands, but I don’t see any wounds on Heart.It’s then I turn and glance down to see Jash staring lifeless at the ceiling.Next to him is Laith, head turned to the side and groaning as he reaches for his belly and chest.Three bullet wounds are bleeding as he garbles, making blood rise from his throat.He doesn’t get to say anything else as his body goes slack.

“No,” I gasp, feeling my eyes well as hot tears start to spill over my cheeks.

Heart reaches for me and guides my head against his chest.Strong arms hold me close, drowning out the words of the others.I don’t know how long he holds me, but it’s enough time for me to pull myself together.

“What the hell happened here?”I hear my half-brother rumble.

Heart is the one who answers with, “Fucker must have been keeping tabs on us the whole damn time.He showed up when we finally found the coins.Fatal has them.You get those suckers to that asshole underworld boss, and we’ll clean up here.We only need to deal with the other two idiots in our basement and then everything is finally settled.”

Karev meets my gaze and I can see he wants to ask if I’m okay.

Making sure to keep my voice hard and stronger than I feel, I tell him, “Go.You heard what Heart said.Get the coins and end this thing so you’re off the hook for the arranged marriage.”

“We’ll talk later,” is all he says before Fatal throws him the velvet pouch.

Fatal speaks as soon as Karev leaves my apartment.“Heart, go take your old lady back to the clubhouse.She doesn’t need to see this shit, and we need to clean up here.”

Heart doesn’t give his president any words, but instead guides me out of my home and toward his bike.I cling to him while we ride through the darkness.I should feel happy and relieved.Should.Instead, there’s a gaping sadness I can’t shake.

One of Heart’s friends...a member of the Nowalk chapter died tonight.All because of the mess tied to my business.Greed.Thieves.People who only think about themselves and don’t give a shit about how it affects other people’s lives.

A dying man stealing from his last employer, trying to sell the coins but instead drawing the attention of thieves.Robbery gone wrong, making the coins land in my possession.If only they would have gotten their hands on the coins when they robbed Jasper Molin.Then Laith would still be alive.Or if Calvania realized the coins were stolen sooner and would have caught Jasper himself.

There are so many things that could have gone differently and yet somehow the butterfly effect resulted with an ending tonight no one can ever change.A good man died tonight.I had my hand in it too because if I didn’t have a knife...if I didn’t throw it...could things have gone differently too?Was this my fault?Indirectly, I think it was, or at least it definitely feels like it is.