Strong

Chapter 22

POV Petal

I looked over at my brother nervously. He glanced up and caught my eyes and then sent me a small smile.

"Don't worry, sis. I'll keep you safe." he vowed.

"So will I." Jaden muttered in my ear as he tightened his arms around my waist and stood even closer to my back.

I looked around the old sawmill. Nat was standing with Decker behind her, mirroring the way Jaden and I were posed. Dom was sitting on a nearby pallet with Margo in between his legs. Joker and Blade were pacing together while Sunny, Thrash and Thor whispered together near the large door we were all watching. Sunny looked up when she heard Joker and Jaden.

"We all will." she assured me with a smile.

I scoffed, "I'm not worried about me." I looked first at Nat and then at Margo.

"You two should have stayed back." I stated not for the first time.

Nat chuckled and shook her head but Margo sent me a pissed off look.

"Why should we stay and you go? That makes no sense. We're a team. A family. We all work together. We all fight together and if it comes to it, we die together." She stood up and walked over to stand in front of me.

"You and I have ALWAYS been each others ride or die. That's never going to change." she promised as she looked deep into my eyes.

I nodded and opened my mouth to reply when a shrill whistle tore through the air. Dom jumped up as we all straightened and looked towards the door. A moment later, Ash came rushing in.

"They are coming in hot. Looks like 15 but there could be more hiding." he announced as he hurried to stand next to Thor.

We all stepped forward to form a line across the door. My shoulder brushed against Ash and he grinned at me. I took a deep breath and smirked back. Jaden stood on my other side with Joker and then Blade next to him. Sunny and Thrash stayed standing on the other side of Thor and Nat, Decker, Dom and Margo. I squinted my eyes and looked out into the forest surrounding the building, trying to see if I could spot Willa, West or the other dozen Rebels that were hidden in it but saw nothing but the dark trees. The setting sun didn't help me with my cause.

"Stop looking for them out there, Petal. You'll give them away. Don't worry, Tech and I have eyes on all of them and you. You're covered and they're safe." Wires soft voice whispered in my other ear through the small ear piece there.

Everyone smirked and glanced at me as I rolled my eyes. All their faced turned to stone when we heard that unmistakable sound of bikes heading towards us.

"Dummy up everyone. It's showtime." Tech added through everyone's ear pieces.

We were all silent as we watched the bikes pull up and stop right in front of the building. Ash was correct as I counted 15 riders.

"We've got a few friends incoming as well. Stay hidden, forest team." Spike shared.

I tensed but Jaden quickly put his arm around me as Ash grabbed my hand to hold. The riders all got off their bikes and the few that wore helmets quickly pulled them off.

"Why the fuck are we here? What could any of you possibly want?" Shooter, ever the hothead spat at us as they lined up to face us.

I glanced over the men that had come. Uncles and cousins along with my brothers, my father and Margo's father and brother and a few others. Viper seemed to stare at Margo for a moment but then quickly focused on me. Bear did the same thing. Shooter glared at Nat but then followed suit and looked at me. Most of the group ended up staring at me. What was that about? I glanced over at Joker who just shrugged at me and then gestured for me to speak.

"We need to talk. We have some new intel that affects us all." I began.

"Does it have anything to do with our god damn weapon warehouse or our pawn shop?  What the fuck?" Shooter snarled at me.

I smirked and shrugged.

"You'd have to come in to find out." I pushed as I tempted fate and turned my back to them to walk farther into the building. The rest of the Saint's and Rebels followed me but the Lost Boys paused for a moment.

"How do we know this isn't a trick?" Margo's dad asked.

"This could be an ambush." My father added.

Again I shrugged.

"Only one way to find out." I called back.

There were a few moments of silence and then, to my surprise, Viper stepped in and looked at me. Quickly the rest of the Lost Boys followed but Viper kept walking towards me. When he got about 7 feet away Joker called out.

"That's close enough." he ordered and Viper paused to glare at him.

"Why? She's my sister. MY TWIN!!! and you've kept her from me for 5 fucking years! Let me at least see her. I had no idea where she was, if she was safe, if she was hurt or even dead!" Viper spat at our second oldest brother with more rage than I had ever seen from him.

Joker rose to the occasion though and snarled back.

"You didn't seem to care that much when she was with you. You never took care of her, checked in with her, FUCK! YOU NEVER EVEN TALKED TO HER!!!" Joker stepped close to Viper and pushed him back.

"You've shown us how good of a brother you are to her and believe me, you'll NEVER be able to harm her again." Joker vowed.

"YOU were no better back then either. Remember? If you can earn a second chance then so can I." Viper threw back at him.

"ENOUGH!" I yelled at everyone looked to me again.

"Thanks big brother but it's fine. He doesn't scare me anymore. None of them do." I smiled at Joker who looked at me to be sure but then eased back to stand next to Jaden and I.

Viper took the opening to stand right in front of me. I met his eyes at we stared at each other for a moment. I saw something in my twin snap then and without any warning he scooped me up into a bone crushing hug. My feet were off the ground as he pulled me away. For a moment I was scared that he was going to try to run out with me but he stopped after a few steps and just cuddled me close.

"I'm sorry, sis. So fucken sorry. I don't know how to make this better but I will. I swear. Just know that I love you and I'm gonna be a good brother to you from now on." he whispered in my ear.

I froze from shock.

"I'm placing a tracker on your shirt. I have to or the others will know. Just make sure to take care of it right after we leave. They want you. They will never stop." He continued quickly and I nodded into his neck.

"I didn't know. I had no idea how bad it was for you. Please believe me. I should have been better but I see it now. Our Dad, Shooter and Ace are crazy. Especially Ace. They want you back. Only you. They want to kill Margo and Nat. They want to lock you away. They think you're brainwashed against them." he frantically finished.

I pulled away slightly as the rest of the Lost Boys came in and nodded at him.

"If they catch you, play along." he added and I nodded again.

He put me down and Joker and Jaden pulled me back as they glared at him. I glanced around and saw Ace look at Viper and nod smugly. Viper looked at him and mouthed the words, "You were right." to him as a chill went down my spine. I didn't know what Viper was playing at but I didn't trust him.