When Dove Cries (17 page)

“You’ve got ten seconds to get on your bike and drive away, or else I’m going to kill you.”

“What… Shoot me? Is that your way? Like it was Tom’s?” Cade taunted.

Draven pointed at him. “Don’t you fucking say his name.”

“You forget that Tom was a criminal,” Cade snapped. “And so are you.”

“You asked for it,” Draven said coldly right before he charged down the steps, directly at Cade.

Prepared, Cade easily jumped out of the way and brought an elbow down onto Draven’s back. Draven winced but he turned and brought his fists up, catching Cade across the jaw. Draven thrust and ducked, jabbed and swiped. He was after vital areas and was doing a damn fine job repelling Cade, even though Cade clearly wasn’t advancing the fight. Instead, he kept retreating, driven back by Draven’s blind fury.

It was obvious that he did not intend to fight back, and all Dove could do was wring her hands anxiously. Watching them fight broke her heart.

Draven suddenly bent and attacked with a sidekick that caught Cade in the stomach. He expelled a lung full of breath and buckled slightly, leaving himself open to let Draven swing around with another kick that brought Cade to his knees.

“Have you had enough, motherfucker?” Draven demanded.

“Fuck you,” Cade ground out.

As if knowing what a vulnerable spot he was in, Cade rolled out of the way when Draven meant to pummel him and leaped to his feet. The two men squared off again, breathing hard, their concentration focused solely on each other. Cade returned with a great leap and a more forceful comeback, going on the attack and showing off his FBI training as he ducked another kick from Draven and did one of his own as he was recovering. He pushed Draven in the back and caused him to stumble. Draven recovered quickly and threw out a solid left hook.

Cade grunted and reeled back. Dove held her breath, wanting to jump in to end the insanity of these two battling but not knowing how, lest she become a victim of their war.

Yet she didn’t have to wait long. The fight abruptly came to a halt as Cade pivoted then did a duck-and-spin, striking into Draven’s nose and sending him spinning. He fell on his side and lay still.

“John?” Dove asked fearfully.

Draven pushed himself up to his knees, blood pouring from his nose. Cade stopped, halted by the sight of what he had done, and they both stared at each other, breathing heavily.

“Stop it!” Dove cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Stop it! Please don’t hurt each other. Can’t you see watching you tear each other apart is killing me?”

Cade blinked and looked over to her. She realized that was the first time he’d actually become aware that she was still standing there. He frowned, a thousand expressions crossing his face.

“Please stop hurting each other,” she whispered, pleading directly to him.

“Stay out of this, Dove,” Draven growled as he got to his feet, wiping the blood from his nose with the edge of his T-shirt. “This is between me and that killer.”

“I’m not a killer,” Cade snarled.

“Yes, you are!”

“Stop it!” Dove screeched, stepping between them and holding her arms out, as if that would keep both men at bay.

“Get out of the way, Dove,” Draven ordered. “I’m going to kill the man who killed my cousin.”

“I didn’t kill him!” Cade roared.

At the words, everything froze. Dove looked at Draven, who stared at Cade in disbelief, his mouth hanging open.

“What?” Draven finally managed to ask.

“I didn’t kill Thomas Draven.”

“Impossible. I saw you do it.”

“You saw what you were supposed to see,” Cade said tiredly.

Draven didn’t know if Cade was telling the truth or an elaborate lie, but something in his gut told him to listen. Dove lowered her arms as the murderous rage that had been vibrating from him suddenly disappeared. Cade sighed and ran a hand through his hair before he sat heavily on the ground. Again, he tested his jaw and grimaced. Draven waited. Dove waited. Static danced in the air around them.

“If you didn’t kill him, then who did?” Draven finally asked.

“No one, John,” Cade muttered. “Tom went into WITSEC.”

“Liar,” Draven immediately countered.

Cade didn’t say a thing, only stared at him with steady, unblinking eyes. Draven’s stance faltered and he lost the look of hatred. Dove held her breath as she waited to see what would happen next.

“He’s still alive?” Draven asked in a near whisper.

Cade nodded. “Jesus, I’m breaking every fucking rule in the book by telling you this but… I can’t hurt her, John. And if we have a snowball’s chance in hell of making this work, you need to get over your anger toward me.”

Draven practically fell onto the ground across from Cade, staring at him as if he were a ghost. “Then what went down five years ago?”

“Tom’s club was into gun running, and they used the harbor to deliver them up and down the west coast,” Cade began then he looked at her.

Dove knew she must have a baffled look on her face because he stopped and backtracked.

“John’s cousin, Tom, was in a motorcycle club in Seattle, a sister club to the Red Wolves. Five years ago, the ATF began to build a case against them. FBI was called in when Tom Draven came forward as an informant.”

“He became a snitch?” Draven asked hesitantly.

“His girlfriend had a baby,” Cade told him. “He wanted the child away from all the illegal, dangerous dealings of the club. He got approval for WITSEC if and when the arms deal with the Chinese came through. And the night you showed up, the night you agreed to help, was the night Tom Draven ceased to be. I was picked as the agent to carry out the assignment.”

“You pretended to shoot him,” Dove said.

Cade nodded and took a deep breath. “Tom was wearing a protective vest. I shot him in the chest, he fell into the burning building and Tom’s body was burned—or that’s how you were supposed to see it. What you didn’t see was Tom being led away by agents on the ground. He and his family got a new identity.”

“Can I see him?” Draven asked softly.

Cade shook his head. “You’d be endangering him and his family. Listen, I know I can’t prove this, but it’s the truth. And I just committed one helluva no-no that could end my career in a heartbeat.”

Draven sat there for a long time, simply shaking his head as he tried to wrap his brain around what Cade had just told him. Truthfully, he didn’t know what to think or where to turn. For so long, he’d built up this wall of hatred that had kept him going. To have it gone, to have it disappear in a flash, left him feeling shaky and empty. What was he supposed to think now?

“I… I have to go,” he muttered and pushed shakily to his feet. He headed for his bike.

“John,” Dove called out.

“Don’t,” Cade told Dove. “Let him go.”

He got on his bike and roared off, not even having a direction to head. But that was the great thing about Wyoming—it had lots of places to drive and
contemplate everything he’d just learned. Holy shit, what was he supposed to think now? For five years, he’d had this truth and now, suddenly, that carpet has been yanked from under his feet, leaving him wobbly and disoriented—and mad. In fact, he was so mad it probably wouldn’t be safe to drive, so he headed for the one place that had always soothed him. He needed time to process everything, to get used to the idea that Cade wasn’t the asshole who had killed Tom and, most importantly, that Tom was living his life somewhere with a new name and new family.

Christ, that stings.

Damn Tom. And damn Cade. Everything had changed.

Chapter Nineteen

It wasn’t too hard to find Draven. Cade had asked Givon and was told about a fishing pond in the forest that he sometimes went to, so Cade took a chance and headed there. As soon as he pulled into the clearing, Cade saw Draven’s bike, then he saw Draven about a hundred yards away, a mere blip against the sun.

Cade walked toward him, trying to compose his thoughts and what he could possibly say. But he kept wondering what he could say to alleviate the years of pain and loss, thinking his cousin had been murdered. God, he’d broken every rule out there and if his superiors ever found out, he’d be fired on the spot. Might even be arrested. Shit. He’d fucked up everything. He should never have coerced John Draven into helping him.

Draven stood at the water’s edge, skipping rocks over the pond. Ripples fanned out, making the dragonflies skimming over the surface dance toward the small waves. Cade could see Draven’s shoulders were tense, as if he were waiting for a fight. So be it. Lord knew Cade deserved what he’d already gotten and more.

Draven had been right. He’d never paid for what he’d done and though he didn’t really kill Tom, John Draven had been suffering for five years. Maybe that’s what he needed
to be punished for—the family left behind.

“John,” he said quietly.

Draven didn’t say anything.

“Come on, John, I’m wrestling big time with my conscience here,” Cade continued. “Should I have not said anything? I tried just walking away and I discovered that I couldn’t be the bigger man. I haven’t known Dove for very long, but there’s something there that keeps pulling me back and I just can’t let go. But I’m sorry that I hurt you—”

“Hurt me?” Draven snapped as he turned around. The white parts of his eyes were bloodshot and fresh tear tracks lingered on his cheeks. “For five years, I let hate fester in my heart. Hate for you. And, Goddamn it, hate for Tom. When I saw him die like that, I thought how stupid. What a stupid fucking way to die, over
guns
. I told North we had to go legit, we had to turn the Red Wolves around. I mean, we weren’t running guns, but we were extorting money from the community around us. We created even more tension with the Demon Devils just so the small businesses would pay
us
for help. We were no better than Tom and his fucking guns.”

He dropped his handful of stones and marched determinedly toward him, stopping only a couple of feet away. He ran both hands through his already messy hair.

“I didn’t want Bryman Jay’s money,” he said, shaking his head. “North and I voted against it. But there was all this debt, and Nick had just had a heart attack, so I let myself go with it. I was a failure there, to Tom’s memory, to my vow never to end up like him. And you tell me that he got out? He’s alive? What am I supposed to do, Cade, with this hate? Please,” he whispered then sank to his knees as he looked up at Cade. “Tell me what to do.”

Cade swallowed thickly against the guilt that slammed through him. Seeing Draven, this big, strong man, reduced to begging, made his heart hurt. He dropped to his own knees and gripped Draven’s arms.

“You can’t hate him for wanting out of that lifestyle,” he said softly.

“I don’t,” Draven said quickly. “But… I feel…betrayed. It’s stupid and selfish, but how did he just turn his back on everything? I couldn’t do that, Cade. The club is who I am. It’s
what
I am and Tom was the same.”

“No, he wasn’t,” Cade said. “Remember, I met him. He’d lost the biker mentality a long time before he made the decision to turn state’s evidence. You have always known the path the Wolves need to take, so don’t second guess what you know is right. You are still the same man from yesterday, with the same convictions. Don’t hate Tom because he chose a way out, just remember what he taught you.”

Draven stared at him for a long moment, and Cade could practically see the thoughts racing through his head. Then Draven’s hands came up to cover his.

“I was wrong about you,” he finally said in a deep, guttural voice. “You took my blame and my hate and didn’t say a word. Didn’t fight back. I… I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. I don’t want you to be sorry.”

“And you came once more to save my club,” Draven whispered.

Cade gave a small, weary smile. “Perhaps I had to deal with my own guilt, to make amends.”

“You truly are my brother. I’d be honored if you let me bring you into the Wolves.”

“It’s a great club, John,” Cade said. “But I have a job that the Wolves aren’t going to like and it forces me to travel all over the country. Which is the reason why I came back to tell Dove not to wait for me, to live her life with you.”

Draven frowned. “Wait. You’re leaving?”

Cade nodded. “Eventually. There’re some issues I need to wrap up regarding Gray Dog, but then, yes, I’m leaving.”

“Issues?”

Cade paused for a moment then gave a self-deprecating, humorless laugh. “I have no clue as to why I’m hesitating in telling you something confidential when I just dropped the mother lode of bombs. I think Gray Dog was murdered to shut him up. I came back to find proof.”

“More proof, eh?”

“Yeah, well, this time I don’t need to go incognito. I think Gunner Smith killed him either to shut him up or to take over the business somewhere else. I have to find him.”

“All right,” Draven agreed. “Count me in.”

“You don’t have to do that—”

“Yes, I do. And…” Draven faltered. He dropped his hands and rose. Cade did the same, frowning as he waited for Draven to finish. “If Dove decides not to let you go, then I want you to know you’ll always have a home with us, no matter when or under what circumstances.”

Cade reeled from that statement. That was not what he’d expected to hear, so he cocked his head and looked at Draven steadily. “What are you suggesting?”

“I think you know what I’m suggesting.”

Cade shook his head. “No, no misunderstandings. Spell it out.”

“I’ve seen poly relationships work,” Draven said. “North, Givon and Allis. Braden, Leo and Merrie. You say you can’t stay, but you can’t be a fed forever. And I’d be willing to share her, to bury my jealousy, because she wants you.”

Cade didn’t know what to say, in fact, this was not going at all as he’d planned. He’d thought for sure that Draven would be over the moon knowing he’d be gone, with one boot planted firmly on his ass as he kicked him down the road. This was very unexpected.

“John, that’s unexpectedly noble of you, but those other relationships were based off years of mutual trust and friendship. Until a little while ago, you hated my guts. I don’t think you’re up to seeing my junk every night when we go to bed.”