Runaway ✔

102 • Kozik

For a moment the thought crossed his mind that she had gone mad. It was a mystery what had happened to her in the years they'd lost sight of each other, but Happy'd told him things hadn't been easy for her. That she wasn't stable, was something he'd already noticed the past days, even though she'd been more emotional than anything else. Nothing however could have predicted she would lose her mind, that she would experience hallucinations leading to Opie's death.

And even though that might be the most obvious explanation for all of this, he knew deep down Dana wasn't delusional. More than anyone, he knew what Maddox was capable of. He had been there in that house, when cops swarmed inside and arrested his friends for a murder they didn't commit. He had been there, when the cops started to fire out of the blue because someone had whispered lies in their ears.

Damn it, he'd almost died that day.

The scar right above his collarbone stung. 

Maddox had figured it out so perfectly, they'd entered his trap with eyes wide open. 

Just like Dana had done this time.

Maybe Maddox had recorded Elly's voice a while ago, or maybe it had been a completely different child. He could imagine Dana's fear had changed the tone of the girl's voice. 

It wasn't hard to see why that psycho had done this. Giving her a dilemma to choose between the life of a father and that of his two children was gruesome itself. But the idea that the lives of the kids never really had been in danger made it even worse, not the mention the way this would affect the club. 

Grief and anger easily pushed people to their limits. He knew not everyone would be so understanding. There was no doubt Maddox was hoping they would all turn their backs to Dana, so she would be alone again. 

"Clay can't know this, Dane. That it was you." He wiped away the tears from her cheeks and stood a bit over her to look her in the eye. "And neither can Jax."

He knew for sure the president wouldn't take the death of one of their brothers so lightly and vengeance would cloud his judgement. From Jax he wasn't expecting a different reaction. Usually he could keep his head cool, but Opie was his best friend. They'd grown up together.

Dana nodded. Her lips were quivering.  Of course she'd drawn that conclusion herself, that was the reason she'd called him instead of one of the others.

"You trust Juice?" Kozik asked. He knew the boy had serious feelings for her. But how he would deal with the knowledge his girlfriend had killed his friend, was hard to predict. Juice was already on the edge, only a light breeze seemed to be enough to unbalance him. In that respect, Dana hadn't chosen the most stable partner.

"I do." She wiped her eyes. "But... I dunno... I didn't know if he could help me with this. I was afraid... I was afraid he would freak out. And you..."

With a grim face he nodded. Yeah, he knew what to do. 

"You'll tell them you needed to leave town for a while. Just like we did, a week ago. Then you were forced off the road and a man tried to take you. Opie tried to protect you, caught a bullet and you shot the man in his leg, where after he fled." 

Kozik took the gun that was on the ground and put it away in his inside pocket. Then he searched Opie's body and gave his weapon to Dana. 

"You shot the guy with this."

Dana didn't raise her hand. She stared at the blood that was on it.

"This... This ain't gonna work. I... I threatened a waitress in the diner because Opie forbid her to give me the phone. At least fifty people have seen me." Her shoulders started to shake again. "If I... If I'd listened..."

"Hey. Not now, Dane." Kozik laid a hand around her upper arm and cupped her cheek with the other. He brought her face close to his. "You have to keep it together now."

While he said that, he thought about her words. 

That was a problem. 

"Okay. New plan. You got a call while you were having dinner and you were told to get to this place. His life in exchange for that of his kids. You panicked and couldn't do anything but cry, Opie was the one taking the initiative. You blacked out for a lot of it." He ran a hand across his face. "Same story. Maddox's henchman was waiting for you, killed Opie and wanted to take you. You defended yourself, grabbed Opie's gun from the ground and shot the asshole in his stomach. Then he took off."

"In a car?" Dana bit her lip. "Shouldn't there be tire tracks? Blood on the ground?"

"No detectives will look into this," Kozik answered. He wished he'd taken the car instead of his bike. "They have no reason to doubt your story. Nobody will think you shot Opie, Dana. And bringing in the cops will only cause more trouble." He took his phone. "I call Skeeter, he's working at the morgue. He knows when to keep his mouth shut."

While he instructed the man to pick up the body, he watched Dana from the corners of his eyes. Again and again her eyes shot to Opie's body.

Poor girl... He suppressed a sigh. He could hear her think. 

"Listen to me, baby," he said after ending the call. He grabbed her arm and looked her in the eye. "Don't think about going back to that asshole. That will be of no use to any of us. Juice will do everything in his power to get you back. As will I. And then it's just a matter of time before we die." He showed a wry smile. "So we're fucked either way. And it's more worthwhile to die when your with us than when we're looking for you. Okay?" He squeezed her arm when she stared at the ground. "Okay?"

She looked up and nodded quietly. "Okay," she whispered.

"Good." He let go of her arm.