Keyes took another deep breath and pushed the patch inside his leather jacket for safe keeping. If he were smart, he’d go straight to the club right now and hand it over to Fox or Mack, but by God, he didn’t think he could walk into that clubhouse and look at his so-called brothers who had willingly let his old man treat him like shit all those years, at least not right now.
He shook his head, trying to rid himself of those destructive thoughts. He just couldn’t seem to shake the pissed off resentment he had toward his brothers right now. He was so fucking tired of the name calling and insults, and tonight showed him that his old man’s ghost still lingered all around him.
Instead of risking an outright brawl at the clubhouse, Keyes pulled his phone free and messaged Dev. “I fucked up. He’s beat down. I have his patch.”
“Cummings?” Dev replied within seconds.
“Yeah. With witnesses.”
“Fuck, Bro, what were you thinking?” The blood gathering at Keyes’s knuckles ran down his hand, leaving a warm trail over his tender skin.
“I got his patch. Whatever happens, he ain’t gettin’ this one back.” As he waited for Dev’s reply, his phone rang. Dev’s name popped up on his screen. He swiped to answer, lifting the phone to his ear. “Yeah.”
“Lay low. If you need somewhere to go, come to Holly’s.” Dev’s voice was low and serious, showing his concern.
Having a secret place to stay wasn’t a problem at all. Funny though, Alec was the whole reason for this trip, and he hadn’t considered him once since arriving at Cummings’s stupid apartment. “Tell your old man for me?”
“Fuck, man, I should’ve gone,” Dev said, regret lacing his words.
A bitter laugh welled in his chest. “He’d be dead right now if you went. My old man was spewin’ out of his goddamn mouth. Pissed me the fuck off.”
“I knew I hated that motherfucker,” Dev growled. Whether motherfucker meant his father or Cummings didn’t seem to matter, and Keyes swore he heard the sound of Dev’s knuckles cracking in the background.
“Yeah, I’m out,” he said and ended the call.
He settled back in his seat, rolled his tight shoulder muscles before he pushed the kickstand back in place and drove straight to Alec’s. The front outside lights of the house were all off, not the normal inviting home he usually drove up to. Keyes rolled down the long driveway, spotting Alec through the windows taking long strides through the house. Keyes parked his bike in its regular spot and was barely off the seat before Alec threw open the back door, calling out to him.
“A biker assaulted Cummings,” Alec said frantically, and Keyes nodded, never breaking stride as he by passed Alec, heading straight through the still open back door. There was no hesitation on Alec’s part as he easily shifted around to stay right on his heels. “Alexa, turn on all the lights.”
The room was immediately bathed in bright light as Keyes shrugged out of his jacket, the prospect patch falling to the floor at his feet. The leather sleeve of his riding jacket scraped across his raw knuckles causing the bleeding to begin again.
“Dammit, Key, what the hell did you do?”
Alec reached for his throbbing hand, but Keyes sidestepped him again, going for the sink. He flipped on the hot water and waited for it to warm as he let the fresh blood drip into the empty basin. The knuckles on his right hand were a torn-up mess. They would definitely be tender for a while. Alec stayed close, hovering at his side, reaching for his hand again but Keyes didn’t readily hand it over.
“It’s club business, Alec.”
“Fuck club business. Are you hurt?” For the first time since he’d arrived home, he cocked his head Alec’s direction where he held a clean hand towel in his hand. The heavy concern caused deep worry lines to wrinkle Alec’s forehead. Nash had finally made it to them. In his peripheral vision, he’d watched Nash trying to keep up since he’d walked inside the back door. Nash yapped at Keyes’s feet, his tiny face craning to better see them until the puppy lost his balance and toppled over.
Even with Alec’s aggressive outburst, the two of them instantly calmed his ravaged soul. The settling peace was immediate and thorough, the mounting weight of the evening’s emotional toll lifted off Keyes. Instinctively, Keyes lowered his face, rubbing his bearded cheek against Alec who brought his hand up to cup Keyes’s cheek, turning him to better look him in the eyes.
“Tell me you’re all right.”
“Of course.” He let a deep sigh out as he moved to kiss Alec’s lips. He stayed in Alec’s face, staring at this perfect man, basking in the soothing comfort that was Alec Pierce. “He just pissed me the fuck off and I lost it.” He let out another lengthy sigh then dunked his hand under the running water.