knew it," Isabelle whispered. "When she came over here tonight, something was just off with her, you know? The shaking, the twitching, and her eyes were so dilated it was freaky. I just never thought about it. All those times I was pissed at her for ditching me at the clubhouse when she was holed up in the bathroom, it makes a lot of sense now."
I froze, my eyes going wide. "She's been doing that shit at the clubhouse? In our goddamn bathroom? How long has this been going on, Iz?"
She blew out a breath and lifted a shoulder against my chest. "To be completely honest with you, probably since the first time I came to the clubhouse back in September, I think."
"Jesus."
"I never thought anything of it, you know? I think I was more annoyed she was leaving me alone in the clubhouse than anything. Well, at least at the beginning. Everything else—all the weird things she's been doing, I never really put it all together until tonight."
Becca was either desperate as shit or had a goddamn death wish to do something that reckless and that careless tonight of all nights.
"What's gonna happen to her, Caleb?"
The fear in her voice made my chest twist a little, but there was nothing I could do to reassure her, nothing I could do to save her best friend, especially since it looked like her best friend didn't really want to be saved.
"We'll tail her, just like we did tonight. We'll watch her. She really hasn't done anything yet, at least not anything we know about. And let's face it, if you and Eli cut ties with her right now, all that's gonna do is freak her out and send her right to the ATF either out of fear or retaliation."
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, I guess, huh?"
I nodded into her hair. "Something like that, yeah."
"And if she talks to them, what happens then?"
She had to have already known the answer to that before she asked it. Maybe she just needed to hear the words. Maybe she was looking for hope where there was none.
"I don't think she'll get far enough to actually give them something, Iz. We won't let that happen. We'll be too close for her to get into a meeting with them without us getting to her first."
"And if she does get into a meeting with them?"
I sighed and ran my free hand over my face. I didn't like having to say it out loud, but she needed to hear it. "Then she'd better hope they get her into an airtight witness protection program."
She shuddered a little against my chest and I wrapped both arms around her to pull her in even tighter. We were lying here, basically discussing her best friend's imminent punishment in the middle of the night with our arms wrapped around each other and Isabelle wasn't running from me. She wasn't screaming at me either. It was almost as if she'd already known the truth and come to terms with it long before I ever got home tonight.
The weight of that settled into my chest and just about crushed me.
"I feel like she's already gone," Isabelle whispered and turned her head to bury her face into my chest. "She asked me who I would choose—you or her. The second that happened I just knew it was already over. All those years, everything we've been through together, it's just all gone now and I don't really understand why."
"If the ATF ever got wind of her problem, they'd exploit that every chance they got. They'd hold a maximum prison sentence for possession over her head just to get her to crack. She knows that probably more than anybody."
She turned her face again and then I felt the wetness spreading onto my skin, coating and saturating the space underneath her cheek with her tears. All I could do was tug her across my chest and hold her. There was nothing more to say. Nothing more that could be done.
Becca's days were numbered. Now it was just a matter of when and how.
Nobody put the club at risk and was shown mercy.
Nobody put my family at risk and lived to tell about it.
. . .
Isabelle
The next morning, as I stretched and
I froze, my eyes going wide. "She's been doing that shit at the clubhouse? In our goddamn bathroom? How long has this been going on, Iz?"
She blew out a breath and lifted a shoulder against my chest. "To be completely honest with you, probably since the first time I came to the clubhouse back in September, I think."
"Jesus."
"I never thought anything of it, you know? I think I was more annoyed she was leaving me alone in the clubhouse than anything. Well, at least at the beginning. Everything else—all the weird things she's been doing, I never really put it all together until tonight."
Becca was either desperate as shit or had a goddamn death wish to do something that reckless and that careless tonight of all nights.
"What's gonna happen to her, Caleb?"
The fear in her voice made my chest twist a little, but there was nothing I could do to reassure her, nothing I could do to save her best friend, especially since it looked like her best friend didn't really want to be saved.
"We'll tail her, just like we did tonight. We'll watch her. She really hasn't done anything yet, at least not anything we know about. And let's face it, if you and Eli cut ties with her right now, all that's gonna do is freak her out and send her right to the ATF either out of fear or retaliation."
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, I guess, huh?"
I nodded into her hair. "Something like that, yeah."
"And if she talks to them, what happens then?"
She had to have already known the answer to that before she asked it. Maybe she just needed to hear the words. Maybe she was looking for hope where there was none.
"I don't think she'll get far enough to actually give them something, Iz. We won't let that happen. We'll be too close for her to get into a meeting with them without us getting to her first."
"And if she does get into a meeting with them?"
I sighed and ran my free hand over my face. I didn't like having to say it out loud, but she needed to hear it. "Then she'd better hope they get her into an airtight witness protection program."
She shuddered a little against my chest and I wrapped both arms around her to pull her in even tighter. We were lying here, basically discussing her best friend's imminent punishment in the middle of the night with our arms wrapped around each other and Isabelle wasn't running from me. She wasn't screaming at me either. It was almost as if she'd already known the truth and come to terms with it long before I ever got home tonight.
The weight of that settled into my chest and just about crushed me.
"I feel like she's already gone," Isabelle whispered and turned her head to bury her face into my chest. "She asked me who I would choose—you or her. The second that happened I just knew it was already over. All those years, everything we've been through together, it's just all gone now and I don't really understand why."
"If the ATF ever got wind of her problem, they'd exploit that every chance they got. They'd hold a maximum prison sentence for possession over her head just to get her to crack. She knows that probably more than anybody."
She turned her face again and then I felt the wetness spreading onto my skin, coating and saturating the space underneath her cheek with her tears. All I could do was tug her across my chest and hold her. There was nothing more to say. Nothing more that could be done.
Becca's days were numbered. Now it was just a matter of when and how.
Nobody put the club at risk and was shown mercy.
Nobody put my family at risk and lived to tell about it.
. . .
Isabelle
The next morning, as I stretched and
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