Page 170 of Peaks and Promises

“I told you, I’m not going.”

“And I told you, we’re bringing you in. You don’t have anyone else to blame. You did this to yourself.”

“No, I have you to blame.” He looked at the others in turn. “And you. And you. All of you. You were supposed to be my brothers.”

“We were your brothers.” Hammer almost sounded bored. “You’re the one who chose disloyalty.”

“Disloyalty to what? Mayhem fucked me over. I went to prison for you pieces of shit, and what did I get in return? You fuckers let that bitch take my son.”

“We kept track of her.”

“A lot of good it did. She still had him. And then she thought she could keep him from me. Did anyone help? Did anyone make sure I had what was rightfully mine? No. You assholes left me on my own. Again. Left me to rot behind bars and then wouldn’t lift a fucking finger to help me get my kid back.”

“It wasn’t our job,” Hammer said.

“Brothers would have stepped up,” Axel shouted. “Brothers would have had my back. Instead you shut me down. Dragged me back to be humiliated. You think I could just take that? Live with it? I saw how you all looked at me.”

“You were the one being a fucking loose cannon, tearing shit up along the way. You’re a problem. The club doesn’t need that kind of heat.”

Axel ground his teeth together. Nate’s eyes were locked on me, as if waiting for me to tell him what to do. Helpless rage surged through me. He was right there, just feet away, but I couldn’t get to him.

“That bitch is the problem.” Axel gestured to me with the gun. “She thought she could run off with my kid? He’s mine.”

“He’s not yours,” I said.

“You’re outnumbered,” Hammer said, his tone calm and even. “This can end one of two ways. You let the kid go and come back with us. Or we take care of this here.”

Axel’s expression shifted, the anger appearing to melt away. He almost smiled, as if he actually thought he could talk his way out. “Look, you don’t have to bring me in. You already said I’m a problem. So why bother? I’ll disappear, and Mayhem will never see me again. No one gets hurt.”

“You disobeyed a direct order,” Hammer said. “You disrespected the club and our leadership. You know we can’t let that go.”

“So, I’m out. I already know that. Go back and tell them you stripped my colors. It’s over.”

Hammer didn’t reply. Just shook his head.

Nate tried to wrench his arm away. Axel’s face contorted in rage as he yanked Nate closer, and his eyes met mine.

“This is your fault, you stupid whore.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Hammer said.

Axel’s face changed again, a disconcerting wildness overtaking his features. His eyes widened and sweat broke out on his forehead.

“Vindictive pieces of shit,” he said, his voice rising with every word. “I just wanted my kid back. He was supposed to be my legacy.”

“Axel,” Hammer warned.

“It’s your fault,” he said again, lifting the gun, almost pointing it at me. “You did this to me. You cost me everything.”

His face hardened with resolve, and in an instant, I knew what he was about to do. I could see it in his eyes.

Lurching forward, I tried to stop him as he lifted the gun and pressed it to Nate’s temple.

His voice growled low. “If I can’t have him, you can’t, either.”

A gunshot rang out. My throat closed around a scream, and for a second, I thought I’d been shot, the pain in my chest was so intense.

Axel’s eyes went glassy and a trail of blood ran from his forehead down his face. A second later, his body crumpled, and he fell to the ground.