Page 21 of Beautiful Unity
“I was trying to convince Tiny we had a proposition for him when Brewer interrupted. Tiny said we were there to fight, so Brewer sent us off to the ring.”
“You didn’t?” I gasped, whipping my head back to look up at him.
“No, baby. We took some tunnels after convincing them we weren’t bullshitting.”
“But when we got outside, the guys who’d been moving their bikes got interrupted. That’s when all hell broke loose. Tiny knocked out two of them, but one of them hit me before I could escape, and Bubba jumped in to help.”
“They only had one bike loaded, so I tried to finish, but the fucker kicked out the lift and it rolled back on me. More were headed our way, so I had to leave it and jump into the bed,” Bubba groaned.
“Most of our injuries are from rolling around in the back of a truck with one motorcycle unstrapped while Tiny drove like a bat out of hell. He took all the back roads and even went through one cornfield,” Mack added with a gruff laugh.
“When I saw the state of them, I felt like shit,” Tiny admitted, tugging Mack closer.
“So your injuries aren’t from actually fighting?” I asked.
“Nope. Just bitch-slapped by Pretty Boy’s bike.”
I held in my smile until what he said sunk in. “Which means you had to leave yours?” God, he loved that bike.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s just a bike.”
“But—” I started, but he stopped me with a finger on my lips.
“No. It is. You and the people in this room are what’s important. I can replace my bike; I can’t replace you.”
“It’s still weird as hell to hear Bubba being sweet,” Pretty Boy whispered, but he didn’t actually do it all that quietly. Bubba glared at his friend, but there was no anger behind it.
“I have to ask, is my dad…”
“He’s alive but not the man he used to be. He’s… harder now. When you left, the sun was gone from his world—and the club, too. Sadly, it wasn’t hard for the Diamonds to infiltrate us. The club splintered after that night you and Mad Dog left. Many couldn’t forgive Tank for not protecting you sooner and left. The ones that stayed weren’t MCD. There were only a handful of us left after that.”
I chewed my lip, digesting all the information Tiny had imparted. Maddox must have noticed I was at my capacity because he stepped in.
“We have two rooms. We can bunk up if you two want to take one of the beds. We could all use a night’s sleep before we dive into plans of rebellion.”
“You sure you don’t mind?” Tiny asked.
“Take it. It’s safer this way.”
Tiny nodded and stood. He opened his arms for me, so I stood and gave him another hug. “I’m so happy to see you, baby girl. You’ve given me hope for the first time in years.” He kissed the top of my head and pulled Mack up.
Brooks handed Mack some clothes and toiletries while Grayson opened the door to the other room. Brooks cocked his head and stared at the smaller man.
“I have to ask, what’s Mack for? Do you love mac and cheese?”
Tiny snorted, and Mack grinned wide. “Nah. It’s because I like to get railed by a Mack Truck.” He slapped Grayson on the shoulder, leaving him speechless as they closed the door.
Pretty Boy turned around and pointed but still couldn’t find the words.
The rest of us howled, the sound filling the room and lighting up my insides. We were all safe, and we had Tiny. We’d made it another day and were one step closer to finishing this.
Diary # 7
Dear Mom,
We made it to Jackson. It’s not the same place I left. Knowing that kills me, but it’s not my fault, so it’s no use holding onto misplaced guilt.
I’m going to meet Dad soon. Is it weird I’m a little nervous? Dad has always been this bigger-than-life entity. I believed he could do no wrong and always made the right choice. Seeing the state of the town and hearing about the club shatters this image I had of him. Maybe the version I had never existed, but losing it is just as hard.