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  “Then be a man for once in your life and stand up to the consequences of your actions.” Lisa dared him. “Twenty years ago that was on Pitch but this today, is on you. Do what’s right here. Show these men and your son what kind of man you could be.” Then she turned and walked back into the shadows.

  Blazer stayed and crossed his arms over his chest, almost daring his father to do the right thing.

  Everyone stood there waiting. The next few minutes were tense as everyone waited for Ripper to make his move.

  In the end, it was Quinn who made her move. She took a step away from Ripper. Just one step. His arm was still around her neck and as she stepped away, his arm loosened and finally fell away from her.

  Six more steps brought her close enough to Sam that he could grab her and hold her close then he pushed her behind him as he stood to face Ripper.

  Sam slowly reached back and grabbed his gun from the back of his waistband. Pulling it out, he aimed it at Ripper. “That was your one and only chance boy. You ever come near me or mine again and I will kill you. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  Ripper dropped his knife in the grass at his feet. Then he nodded. “I understand. But you need to understand something too. Pitch was all I had for family back then. While what he did was wrong he was all I ever had to cover my back. I was wrong to let him do what he did and not try to stop it. I didn’t know he was gonna shoot that kid though. My loyalty to him was misplaced, I see that now. I see a lot of things clearer now that I could never see before.”

  “Another thing you missed back then was the fact we were your brothers too,” Black Jack called out. “We would have had your back if you had stepped away from Pitch but you never did.”

  “I realize it now that the MC would have stood behind me if my mind hadn’t been fucked over by Pitch. I didn’t feel right about freeing myself by turning evidence against my own brother, ya know, the only family I had then.” Ripper shook his head. “I had a whole family I missed out on but he was my blood, I couldn’t turn my back on blood.”

  “We tried to tell you but you were just too stubborn to listen,” Black Jack reminded him.

  Sam shook his head. “You never understood that blood isn’t always right, in fact they can be very fucked up. Family can be just those people who want you in their lives. The MC is family and while family does matter, so does loyalty. You and Pitch turned your backs on the Bastards long before they turned theirs on you.”

  Ripper nodded. “I lost more than Pitch ever did. He used lies and threats to control me back then and he died in a place I never thought I’d be in. He never thought he’d die in that place. Even after he was shived, he never thought he’d die. Then just seconds before he died he finally realized he wasn’t going to make it. He begged me with his dying breath to forgive him. I realized something today. I’d always been afraid of Pitch. I always knew he was crazy. All my life he’s been just a little bit off but I never thought just how crazy he really was until that moment and I couldn’t forgive him for that. I’ve held on to all that anger all these years. Now I realize that I need to find a way to let it go.”

  “That’s the first step and they are often the hardest ones to take.” Sam lowered his weapon.

  “The first step?” Ripper queried.

  “The first step to becoming the man who deserves that young man as his son.” Sam nodded at Blazer. “You’ve got a long ways to go but at least you’ve done the right thing here today.”

  Ripper nodded. “Are we square?”

  Sam hesitated then gave him a brief nod. “Like I said, if I see you again I will kill you and not even the police will ever find your body.”

  Sam and the others watched as Ripper turned and headed back into the woods. No one bothered following him.

  Blazer watched him as well and when he was finally gone, his mother joined him again.

  “He might come back,” he told her.

  “He might but then again, he might not.” She sighed. “He’s got a lot of growing up to do first. Are you gonna be okay with that?”

  Blazer shrugged. “I have a feeling he’ll come back and when he does I want the chance to get to know him. He is my father after all.”

  Lisa smiled. “I did love him once upon a time, you know that. Maybe there’s still a part of me that still loves him I don’t know. We had so many dreams of what could have been.” Shaking her head, she reminded her son, “They just never were.”

  “Come on Mom, let’s go home. Dad knows where to find us if and when he wants to.”

  The pair turned and disappeared into the woods.

  Sam turned to his daughter and hugged her close to him. “Are you all right?” he whispered in her ear.

  “Yeah, I’m ok.”

  Sam watched as the others drew closer.

  Chance walked right up to them and grabbed Quinn from his arms. Hugging her close, he asked if she was okay as he smoothed a finger over her cut lip.

  Quinn nodded and hugged him back. “I’m better than ok now.”

  Black Jack nudged Sam and smirked. “Looks like we could be related someday.”

  Sam growled. “Yeah, I know. It does look that way, dammit. You don’t have to rub that shit in.” He paused then glared at Black Jack. “You know I’m just getting to know her don’t you? I sorta might’ve wanted a little time one on one with her before some asshat stole her away from me.”

  Black Jack laughed out loud. “Cheer up old man, family really does matter, and right now, you’re already part of my family. But I beg to differ on who’s the asshat here, Bones.”

  “You got that backwards old man,” Sam grumbled. “You’re part of my family now Jack. I mean I’m not one of your mountain sized sons or nuthin—”

  “Knock it off the two of you,” Deke warned them both as he rolled his eyes at their antics. “Damn, when are you gonna grow up, dad? Everyone here is family and that’s what really matters. It isn’t your family or his, it’s our family.”

  LOOK FOR…

  RAINE BOOK ONE

  Sin’s Bastards MC Next Generation

  HELL FIRE RIDERS MC SERIES IN ONE SET

  By

  K.J. Dahlen

  Satan’s Spawn MC

  SIN’s Bastards MC

  ABOUT K. J. DAHLEN

  K.J. Dahlen

  Author of the bestselling Bratva Brothers Series & The Satan Spawn MC Series…

  I live in a small town (population495) in Wisconsin. From my deck, I can see the Mississippi River on one side and the bluffs, where eagles live and nest on the other side. I live with my husband Dave and dog Buddy. My two children are grown and I have two grandchildren. I love to watch people and that has helped me with my writing. I often use people I watch as characters in my books and I always try to give my characters some of my own values and habits.

  I love to create characters and put them in a troubling situation then sit back and let them do all the work. My characters surprise even me at times. At some point in the book, they take on a life of their own and the twists and turns they create becomes the story. Of all the stories, I could write I found I like mystery/thrillers the best. I like to keep my readers guessing until the very end of the book.

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