“Howdy, there!” Ted called up cheerily, covered in his own fair amount of blood splatter. Thor, who had been a prospect when I left, who was now wearing a member’s patch on his cut, made a move to stand but Ted kicked him in the back of the knees and forced him back down to the ground, never breaking a smile.

I turned to Ti. “Was this you?” I asked, waving at all the unfamiliar men.

She shrugged with a little half smile. “I figured that if you were going to go to war, you should have an army.” She leaned in, her breath tickling my ear. “So I called in an army.”

Before that night I’d already known I was in love with Ti, what I didn’t know was that I could love her more than I already did, but right there, standing in a pool of my parents blood, mixed with some of my own, I fell for her so hard my chest ached with all the love I had for her.

Ted saluted me. “Had more fun tonight than I have in years,” he called up again, tucking one of his semi-automatics into the front pocket of his overalls so he could adjust his trucker’s hat. “Was like rounding up pigs at the fair.”

“What are you going to do with them?” King asked, nodding down to the men on their knees and I knew right away what he was really asking.

I shrugged. “I’m gonna talk to them first.”

And then we’ll discuss mass murder.

* * *

Thia

“THEY NEED YOU,” I said, pulling away from Bear. I was relieved he was okay, but I wasn’t ready to let him go just yet. I knew I had to though, because the men below needed him as much as I did.

He kissed me on the top of my head. “Don’t go too far, baby.”

King tapped Bear on the shoulder in one of those manly, reassuring, this-is-not-a-hug gestures and joined me by the top of the stairs.

Bear turned to his brothers, both current and former. From where we stood at the top of the steps I could see both Bear high up on his perch like an eagle stalking its prey, and the men below, all in different varying stages of dishevelment, all probably wondering what fate was in store for them.

I was wondering that too.

Bear looked down at Chop’s lifeless body like it was offending him by even bleeding.

Bear tugged off Chop’s cut and tore off the patch that read PRESIDENT. He spit on Chop’s body, then, holding on to the railing, he used the boot on his good leg to kick it off the second floor and into the crowd, who gasped and shuffled around on their knees to avoid being hit by the lifeless body of their fallen leader.

“Listen up, motherfuckers!” Bear shouted, his voice booming across the courtyard like he was speaking into a microphone. He looked as if he was about to spit fire as he limped from side to side, pacing the second floor balcony. The single handcuff that used to be connected to Chop dangled from his wrist, clanking against the rusted metal of the railing as he slid his hand over the top.

Bear stopped and leaned over, glaring at the men who from the looks on their faces, had already come to the realization that there was a good chance they were already dead.

“This,” Bear said, waving his arms around, gesturing to the walls of the building and then to the men themselves. “This was supposed to be brotherhood. Somewhere under Chop’s rule, you monkeys turned this club into a fucking gang, and a fucking bad one at that. This is not supposed to be a dictatorship. You aren’t motherfucking thugs. This wasn’t supposed to be a fucking war zone.” He grew more confident as the words came. Clearer. Stronger. “What this was supposed to be was a business.” Bear looked back to me. “A family.” He turned back around, the dried blood on his back covering his tattoos in a sheen of red.

He shook his head. Pausing. Thinking. “We’ve all been so caught up in who is doing us wrong that we haven’t been able to look past the barrel of our own guns long enough to see who is doing us right.” He looked back over to me again and the exchange between us was nothing short of electric.

“We’ve fallen so far,” Bear said. “We were brothers. We are brothers,” he said, closing his fist over his bare blood-splattered chest. “Family,” he said, looking down to the bodies of both of his parents. “Not the kind of family that donated to your fucking DNA, but the kind that would gladly take a fucking bullet for you.”

He cleared his throat like he’d made a decision, and I braced myself for what he was about to say. Although, good or bad, I knew Bear would do what was right for his family moving forward. Whether that meant that the men lived or died was completely up to him and either way, I’d support that decision. “You get one fucking pass. ONE,” Bear said, followed by sighs of relief and bursting out held breaths. “And it’s right the fuck now,” he said, pointing to the ground. “If any of you pussy ass motherfuckers want out, now is the time to take it. This is your one and only chance to walk out that gate without the threat of the club on your back. Ted and his boys will gladly step aside and let you walk out, but if you choose to stay, if you choose to be in this with me, then you are not choosing to be Beach Bastard anymore.” Again the crowd stirred but this time with ‘huhs’ and ‘whats’ of confusion. “That club is as dead as my old man. There is too much blood. Those stains are permanent. If you stay, you’re choosing to start over with me.” Bear paused while the crowd absorbed what he was saying. “So leave now while you have the chance.”

Not a single man moved. Instead they all stared up at Bear and waited for him to continue.

“Holy shit, I can’t believe he’s really giving them a pass,” King muttered.

“Did you really think he was going to kill all of them?” I asked out of the side of my mouth.

“Yep.”

“As a brother of our new MC you will no longer forget what brotherhood means. WE will no longer forget who our friends are. We got into this life to live by our own rules. The rules of the club and the rules of the road. We are lawless. We are free. We are FAMILY,” Bear said, pounding on his chest again. I’d never really known what pride was. I never had any major accomplishments of my own that I could boast about. But looking up at Bear there was no doubt that what I was feeling while watching him talk to his brothers was pure pride.

“Do you even know what is going on with your brothers outside this place anymore?” Bear continued. “Do you know if he’s making his bills this month? Do you know if his kid wrecked the car last week or if his old lady’s sneaking off when he’s not home to fuck the little league coach? Because you should. And if your brother is going through any of those things, it’s your job to help, and it’s my job to help because help doesn’t mean just when people need killing. Help means fucking help in any way you can put it in a fucking sentence.”