Page 77 of Lulu

I screamed.

He instinctively hunched his shoulders and lowered his head.

Mr. Stabler’s first shot just missed the back of Brody’s head.

I cocked my gun and fired.

I killed a man.

Chapter 30

Brody

Fucking hell!I felt the scorching heat of the bullet pass by my ear, jumped off my bike, and spun around to evaluate what the fuck was taking place behind me. It had all happened in an instant. I’d sensed that someone was coming up behind me a second too late. I’d let down my guard while I was texting Demon, and now I was looking at a dead man at my feet and a stricken Lulu a few feet away. My woman was in shock and hadn’t moved after firing her weapon. She was just standing there, visibly shaken and white as a ghost, her arm still raised, the hand that was gripping the gun pointing in my direction.

Before I moved, I made sure the man at my feet was dead. Lulu had shot him straight through the back of the head, and it occurred to me that had I not crouched down when I had, the bullet would have probably hit me, too. Instinct told me that the dead man was Crazy in disguise. I gave him a kick and didn’t bother checking his pulse. He was dead. I rushed over to Lulu and carefully removed the gun from her hand.

She turned dazed eyes to me. “I killed him.” The words were barely audible.

“I know, babe.” I tucked the gun in my pants.

“I killed him!” she said with more feeling. I could hear it in her rising voice that she was getting ready to fucking lose it. “Brody—”

I grabbed her and crushed her trembling body against mine, putting my mouth near her ear as I smoothed my hand up and down her back. “You saved my fucking life, babe. You had no choice. You hear me?” I felt her nod. As I inhaled her sweet scent, I was struck with the knowledge of how close it had come to all ending today. I closed my eyes and buried my nose into her neck, thanking the powers that be for giving us another chance.

“It’s going to be okay. Hear me, baby. I’m going to take care of everything.” I needed to call for a cleanup crew to take care of the body and any evidence of what had happened. I needed to let Sanford know.

“Was he the one?” I could barely hear her words they were so low.

“Yeah.” I tried to find words that would justify what she’d had to do, something that would replace the self-condemnation she was feeling at the moment. “I’m so proud of you, Hellcat. He missed me with that first shot, but he would have undoubtedly taken me out with the second.”

She shivered at the realization, and I held her tighter. “Thank fuck you were here.”

“I love you, Brody.”

Fuck, how did I get to be so lucky? I was keeping her and never letting her go.

I cupped the sides of her face and pulled her back so I could meet her eyes. “I’ve loved you since the moment I looked across the clubhouse and locked eyes on yours.” I kissed her tenderly. “Are you going to be okay?”

She released a sigh. “I think so, yes.”

“Then go inside and wait for me. I have some calls to make.” She nodded, and I reluctantly let her go. I kept my eyes on her as she snatched up her purse and disappeared inside the clinic.

Since I’d dropped my phone when the shit had gone down, I returned to my bike to pick it up and made the first call. Demon picked up right away.

“Christ, Brother, how long does it take for you to text back a fucking yes or no?”

I had to think for a minute to recall what his last text to me had said. He was pressuring me again to join the Desert Rebels, setting an almost unheard of precedent that I could go in as a full-fledged member and not have to prospect for two years. Apparently, because of my history with the MC, the members had voted on it and were okay with it.

“We had a situation here, Brother. Can you send a cleanup crew? Crazy is dead.”

“The fuck? Is everyone okay?”

“Lulu and I were the only ones here so we don’t have to worry about witnesses.” I took a deep breath, running my hand over the top of my head. “She killed him, Brother. I let my guard down.” I was still pissed about that. “The fucker was sneaking up behind me and she shot him clean through the head.”

“Jesus! Let me make some calls.”

When he hung up, I hit Sanford’s number. Demon’s proposition sounded good. I was done running solo, and today’s events reinforced my reasons for wanting to quit Sanford. I’d been afraid to take that step in the past because the thrill of what I did was in my blood. I’d been doing it for too long, and I craved it. But Karma had almost caught up to me.