Read Online Rage's Story (Vanish Book 1) by Elle Michaels - Free Book Online
Authors: Elle Michaels
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member any more.”
“You never took my patch, never burned my ink. I’m just as much a brother as you.”
He pulls in a breath through his nose, the guttural growling in the back of his throat precedes a wad of spit shot towards the ground between us. “You’re no brother.”
I don’t have time to explain my actions. Why I killed Mike, why I had to pull that trigger. Why I feel guilt, but no remorse. He stole Auna. An innocent. One greatly attached to me. He set this stage. For my perceived transgressions, he made an undeniable one, and where the two meet, we have only now to face off. Explanation is over. I’ll kill him same as any other ex-brother that stands between me and her.
“Agree, Evin,” I say, “Or I’ll kill you now.”
I give him the option. It’s the only way. I have to appeal to his sense of honor, what little trace of it he may feel for me to ensure Auna’s safety. I kill him now, it’s over. Here, on this bridge, while the sun beats upon us, I offer the satisfaction of conclusion. It’s on the table.
I pull the hammer back.
“A moto-joust,” he laughs. “Has anyone actually done it before?”
“We’ll probably be the first.”
He shakes his head. Then he sighs, and it hangs. He rubs his cheeks. He has a bit of pride to swallow, admitting I’ve earned the upper hand before succumbing to my proposition. “Alright,” he says to his toes. His head raises, I’m staring into his welling eyes. His jaw clenches. “When?”
“Tonight. Sun down. Right here. The edge of the sleepy town we’ve awoken.”
I see him nod before I turn and head back towards my bike. His cell lies in the middle of the road, freed from his pocket in the crash. I kick it into the river. The MC will find him before long, but I can’t risk them coming too early. Not that I expect him to back out of our deal, Evin always kept close to the rules, no matter how foolish he found them. It’s how he wound up in this position. Following the rules of his father. What he never saw was reason to hold faith, in the transcendence of the family line. He never believed in redemption. For that sin, he’ll perish. For my assumption, for my faith, perhaps I will, too, but we each must follow the path forged by our belief. I believe in light. I believe it rests in Auna, that she is my angel, and that she can wash me clean.
I have to.
Or drown in darkness.
My bike sits in the bushes where I first parked, alongside I’ve kept my small collection of items amassed in my homelessness. Mere necessities. Toothpaste, some stolen clothes, food remnants. Trash, now. A little crumb trail left in my wake, a drifter’s signature. I straddle my bike and pray it starts. How long has it been? I feel the handlebars, cool to the touch, from the persistent shade. I close my eyes and kick.
The engine coughs, spits, then hums.
I open my eyes. I’m ready to ride.
The road laid out in front of me stretches into a blood red sunset, broken out across the horizon. I rev the engine. It’s been too long. I look across the way, the parking lot to the motel seems nearly foreign now, cleaned and cleared of what happened there, like it never did. I wish it never had, but I wouldn’t do it differently on another go around. Dealings in the dark require a darkness within. It’s why I have to keep running. I have to keep riding, and I have to pull the light along with me, through the night, chase the day.
The road flies beneath me, the dotted line blurs into a solid one while the wisp of clouds turn shade from pink, over to purple. Night settles in as I test run my bike. Good shape. Nothing seems out of order. I have less than an hour to meet Evin, to finish this, to--
The headlight flashes across her face, reflecting sweat and tears, a torn outfit of jean shorts and a bra, without shoes, dirty, but still wrapped in gold. The image hangs in my mind as I twist the wheel and I feel the bike slide out from beneath me, the pavement grind against my
“You never took my patch, never burned my ink. I’m just as much a brother as you.”
He pulls in a breath through his nose, the guttural growling in the back of his throat precedes a wad of spit shot towards the ground between us. “You’re no brother.”
I don’t have time to explain my actions. Why I killed Mike, why I had to pull that trigger. Why I feel guilt, but no remorse. He stole Auna. An innocent. One greatly attached to me. He set this stage. For my perceived transgressions, he made an undeniable one, and where the two meet, we have only now to face off. Explanation is over. I’ll kill him same as any other ex-brother that stands between me and her.
“Agree, Evin,” I say, “Or I’ll kill you now.”
I give him the option. It’s the only way. I have to appeal to his sense of honor, what little trace of it he may feel for me to ensure Auna’s safety. I kill him now, it’s over. Here, on this bridge, while the sun beats upon us, I offer the satisfaction of conclusion. It’s on the table.
I pull the hammer back.
“A moto-joust,” he laughs. “Has anyone actually done it before?”
“We’ll probably be the first.”
He shakes his head. Then he sighs, and it hangs. He rubs his cheeks. He has a bit of pride to swallow, admitting I’ve earned the upper hand before succumbing to my proposition. “Alright,” he says to his toes. His head raises, I’m staring into his welling eyes. His jaw clenches. “When?”
“Tonight. Sun down. Right here. The edge of the sleepy town we’ve awoken.”
I see him nod before I turn and head back towards my bike. His cell lies in the middle of the road, freed from his pocket in the crash. I kick it into the river. The MC will find him before long, but I can’t risk them coming too early. Not that I expect him to back out of our deal, Evin always kept close to the rules, no matter how foolish he found them. It’s how he wound up in this position. Following the rules of his father. What he never saw was reason to hold faith, in the transcendence of the family line. He never believed in redemption. For that sin, he’ll perish. For my assumption, for my faith, perhaps I will, too, but we each must follow the path forged by our belief. I believe in light. I believe it rests in Auna, that she is my angel, and that she can wash me clean.
I have to.
Or drown in darkness.
My bike sits in the bushes where I first parked, alongside I’ve kept my small collection of items amassed in my homelessness. Mere necessities. Toothpaste, some stolen clothes, food remnants. Trash, now. A little crumb trail left in my wake, a drifter’s signature. I straddle my bike and pray it starts. How long has it been? I feel the handlebars, cool to the touch, from the persistent shade. I close my eyes and kick.
The engine coughs, spits, then hums.
I open my eyes. I’m ready to ride.
The road laid out in front of me stretches into a blood red sunset, broken out across the horizon. I rev the engine. It’s been too long. I look across the way, the parking lot to the motel seems nearly foreign now, cleaned and cleared of what happened there, like it never did. I wish it never had, but I wouldn’t do it differently on another go around. Dealings in the dark require a darkness within. It’s why I have to keep running. I have to keep riding, and I have to pull the light along with me, through the night, chase the day.
The road flies beneath me, the dotted line blurs into a solid one while the wisp of clouds turn shade from pink, over to purple. Night settles in as I test run my bike. Good shape. Nothing seems out of order. I have less than an hour to meet Evin, to finish this, to--
The headlight flashes across her face, reflecting sweat and tears, a torn outfit of jean shorts and a bra, without shoes, dirty, but still wrapped in gold. The image hangs in my mind as I twist the wheel and I feel the bike slide out from beneath me, the pavement grind against my
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