Free Railed (Courage MC #2) by Kara Hart Page A

it? I’ll say it. But it don’t change nothing. Here it is. You ready? I’m sorry. S-O-R-R-Y. I’m sorry baby, cutie pie, sweetcheeks, and beautiful…” I tried every name I had on her. Eventually she had to give in and laugh a little.
    “What do you think was in that tea we drank?” she asked me.
    “Hell if I know. I told you earlier. It’s probably poison.” I shrugged.
    “No, I’ve seen poison. Pretty sure it kills you. This stuff just brought out the bad thoughts I had buried a long time ago. Stuff I probably should have dealt with.” She stared into the darkening desert sky.
    “I didn’t see nothing.” I mumbled.
    “You didn’t see anything? Nothing? It’s hard to believe, Avery. They knew what they were doing. They gave us something real; it wasn’t just in my head.”
    “Let’s just drop it.” I said. There were too many memories I needed to forget. So many brothers I had watched die. Both my parents … My whole past, present, and future were fucked. So when I told her to drop it, I meant it. It wasn’t something I enjoyed talking about.
    “But Avery, you said that you loved—”
    “I said, drop it.” That shut her up real quick. Frankly, I didn’t mind coming off as an asshole all the time. With people like her, I kinda had to play that character. She would never understand the things I had seen, the people I called my family, nor would she be empathetic to my plight. I was as guilty as I was a pawn in the system of economics. I grew up poor and abused so I abused the world and robbed everyone in sight. Who’s gonna be sympathetic to someone like that? Ghandi? Jesus? Bullshit.
    There was no love for a guy like me. It was too bad. These desert skies, as they faded to dusk, got me pretty lonely. And Hope? Well, she was a perfect creature. God spent a little extra time on her. She deserved more than I did. So I guess in that moment, I decided I would actually try and help her. Why not?

14

Hope
    W e made it back . We actually made it back. Although, I wasn’t sure what was worse: being in the presence of The Sapo Boys or hanging out with the Courage MC. Both were equally torturous for a woman like me.
    We were quickly brought into the strip club, amidst half-naked women calling me ‘baby’ and ‘honey.’ “Just ignore them Avery said, shielding me inside. We walked to the back of the main room where Bruce announced we would be having a big dinner together, a celebration of sorts. Avery had settled the score and the higher ups were happy. Maybe this meant I’d get my house back.
    Avery pulled the chair out for me, like a gentleman. It was odd, but ever since our little mind exploration in the desert last night, he had been treating me unusually well. He was already at the drinks; however, pouring himself full glasses of whisky and smoking cigars with Bruce. With every celebration came bad news. I knew that much. With every award ceremony came with a set of angry losers. The ‘winners’ built their own world, made of fragile glass.
    He gave a toast to the members of the MC. “To business and the return to better days. Some of you remember the 90’s and the glory this crew had seen. We’re still enjoying the benefits of it, myself included. But there’s more to be had. There’s more to give to everyone, every last one of you.” Upon hearing these words, Bruce’s face seemed to contort. He looked at Angelo and rolled his eyes. They weren’t having his wealth distribution speech. The workers of the MC didn’t deserve the better fruits. They were succumbed to the scraps left on the marble table.
    Bruce raised his glass in faux solidarity. “Yes. To a long life of Courage. Let’s all enjoy this night together.”
    All of the men cheered and swallowed down their drink. It was a sight to see as the powers were now shifting to an uncomfortable degree. The bikers were excited of course, but what about the ones that ran the place? Were they going to give everything to Avery and his