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“Dakota?” I whispered once we were away from the warehouse.
“Not now, Janey. What is the meaning of bringing Janey here to witness this?” Dakota asked Chance.
“Janey deserved the truth. She needs to know who she’s hitching her wagon to,” Chance replied firmly.
“Pyro had the right to inform her,” Justice retorted, and I blinked. Why was Dakota referring to his Hellfire name in the third person?
“Then Pyro better explain,” Chance said and walked away.
“Chance!” I cried, staring into the eyes of a murderer.
“Neither of them will hurt you, Janey; you just have to listen, babe,” Chance called and disappeared. I stepped back and wrapped my arms around my stomach.
“We need to leave; the police will be here soon. Come.” Dakota put his hand out, and I hesitated. For a moment, pain flashed across Dakota’s face, but it fled so quickly that I thought I had imagined it. “I will not hurt you, Janey, nor allow anyone to harm you, including myself.” Slowly, I put my hand into Dakota’s, and he led me to where his bike was hidden. I climbed on behind him, and Dakota roared off into the night.
???
I paced back and forth as I struggled to understand what Dakota had told me. Somewhere on the ride to the bar, Justice had receded, and I faced Dakota again. He’d taken me upstairs and had been explaining for two hours what Justice and he were. And how they were separate but one. I kind of understood what he was saying, but Dakota, the man I loved, was Justice. Justice killed horribly, and while gaining vengeance for the victims of crime, he still committed a crime himself. How did one possibly deal with that knowledge?
Dakota had left me half an hour ago after admitting everything. How after he’d been so severely burned, he’d looked for justice, and there was none to be had. His father disappeared, and then so did my family, and he was alone. Then his brother and sister died in a drug overdose, which literally set Justice off. That is what Magic knew and told me to discover. Magic had known Dakota was Justice. The boy Dakota had been had twisted in on himself, and he’d done what was needed to survive. I wondered if us being present in his life would have made any difference, but no one could give me an answer to that.
The fact of the matter was, Dakota had grown up differently from what I’d assumed. And not only become a member of Hellfire MC, which wasn’t a bad thing, but also this criminal Justice. I was a law-abiding person. Hell, I’d not even had a parking ticket. It had been asking a lot of me to accept that Dakota had committed crimes in the clean-up of Hellfire. But to acknowledge Dakota was a mass murderer, even if it was in the name of justice? That was a bitter pill to swallow.
I was still dithering as the sun rose and fell the next day. Magic seemed to understand I was wrestling with something and gave me plenty of space. Not a single member of Hellfire appeared throughout the day, which was strange, and I knew Dakota had ordered them to stay away while I decided. Nobody said a word about Hellfire or Dakota to me, although there was some talk about this Sunny being resurrected. The bikers fell on one of two sides. Sunny was telling the truth, or he was dirty. No one was really sure which Sunny was.
I closed the bar with Magic, still adrift in my thoughts. I empathised with the argument over Sunny. Accept Dakota or set him free. I’d created lists, pros and cons, right and wrong and several others, and none of them helped sway me either way. It was four o’clock in the morning when I made my choice. It was one I was ready to accept and live with for the rest of my life. And may God forgive me.
???
Pyro
Pyro looked up as the door to his bunk swung silently open. It had nearly been two days since he’d left Janey, shocked and disbelieving. It had torn his heart out to leave her in such a way, but Pyro knew he was right to. Janey had to make this decision with no undue influence or pressure. Pyro’s or Hellfire’s presence wouldn’t help Janey make the right choice, and he fuckin’ prayed that Janey chose him.
Pyro’s mouth dropped open as Janey stepped into his bedroom and aimed a gun at his head. So this was Janey’s decision. So be it. If Janey felt he was a wounded animal and needed to be put down, he’d let her. Pyro didn’t move as he held Janey’s gaze, sorrow and apologies blazing across his face.
“Let me record a message to Chance telling him this was my decision. That I let you do this,” Pyro said, and Janey nodded. Janey listened intently as Pyro recorded his message and put the phone down. By the end of the recording, he had made peace with his choice.
???
Janey
I watched him put the phone down. “You really wouldn’t stop me?” I asked, surprised.
“No.”
“You love and trust me that much that if I decided you needed killing, you’d let me?”
“Yes, Janey, I would.”
“Fuck, I love you!” I exclaimed and dropped the unloaded weapon and leapt at him. It had been a test, and one Dakota had passed. I would have walked away if Dakota had gone for me or tried to defend his actions. But Dakota’s eyes had shown his absolute trust in my judgement and acceptance.
“Love you too!” Dakota blurted, surprised by my action. Awareness slowly dawned on him as I wriggled in close to his side and sighed. Dakota chuckled and wrapped his arms around me as he realised I’d tested him to see his true self. Dakota dropped a kiss on my lips and tucked me under his chin. Closing my eyes, I knew I was finally home.
Epilogue.
Chance
Chance sat staring at Sunny, who gazed placidly back. He felt there was more to the story than what Sunny had spilt, and worse, Sunny was aware Chance had guessed. Chance didn’t want drama or shit like Rage was dealing with to hit them, but he had to wonder, why was Sunny here now? The tale made sense on paper, but underneath was an undercurrent of something Chance couldn’t put his finger on.
