I held back a laugh as Bear took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. “Right. We still need to get that sorted. Don’t worry, kid, you’ll have a bed tonight.”
“I wasn’t fucking worried,” he mumbled through a mouthful of hot fries.
“I’m giving you a pass on account of your major life adjustment, but that pass expires tomorrow. We’ll call you in when we’re good and damn well ready, so you will sit here until then.”
Bear ripped the door open and stepped inside, then stepped back out. “And don’t give Lexie any shit,” he added before slamming the door behind him.
I couldn’t hold the laughter back anymore. “Geez. You really know how to get under his skin. I haven’t known Bear long, but I’ve never seen him this riled up.”
Michael shrugged, slouching into the couch. “It’s a gift. Adults can’t stand me.”
Oh, my poor, sweet baby. My heart clenched as my trauma recognized his. “So, uh, major life adjustment? What’s that about?” I asked, reaching a hand toward his hot fries.
“Nothing you would understand.” He tilted the bag in my direction.
“You think so?” I grabbed a couple of hot fries and crunched down, trying not to make a face. They were nasty, but I was trying to make a connection.
Michael rolled his eyes and handed me one of his unopened water bottles.
“Thanks.” I took several gulps to clear out the taste. “I have a feeling we have more in common than you’d think.”
“Oh yeah?” His eyes narrowed. “Was your mom a skanky club whore who abandoned you at an MC clubhouse, only for your president dad to ignore you for years until he finally got put in the ground?”
I blinked and my mouth dropped open. Did I just find my spirit animal? I scooted over next to my new friend and patted him on the knee. “Not exactly, but pretty darn close.”
21
BEAR
Icrashed into church and tossed Balthazar’s cut on the table. There was no way the man I met could have fit into it, so it must have been an old one he’d abandoned in his car. Sloppy, but I wasn’t going to complain.
Mav stopped mid-sentence and everyone turned to look at me. I swiped my hand through my beard, taking a second to run through everything that happened. I already had a full report about the Diablos before the whole Lexie situation. But now? Fuck. I needed one of Lexie’s binders to keep it all straight.
“That’s quite the souvenir from our newest ally.” Mav jerked his head toward the screen. “Can you see that, Sinner? He brought us Balthazar’s cut.”
Sinner laughed from the TV. “Can’t wait to hear how that happened.”
I took a deep breath. “When I got to Lexington, I went straight to their bar and took a seat wearing my cut. Balthazar didn’t have a choice but to show his face. Although, I guess Iunderstand now why he was keeping a low profile.” I snorted. Maybe it shouldn’t have been funny, but this was the life we all chose. “There was a bit of a mutiny in the bar, and the VP, Lucifer, shanked him and gave himself a promotion.”
Sinner shrugged. “Probably for the best.”
“Yeah. According to Lucifer, Balthazar had been slacking off for years. Their clubs are in disarray and he’ll be putting people to rights for the next several months. There’s no sanctioned club operating in North Carolina. The folks we’re dealing with are either a rogue club or some other group that knew the Diablos were descending into chaos and chose their name as a cover. Either way, we have his blessing to use any means necessary to handle the threat. No retaliation on their end.”
“Nice work. What did you have to agree to?” Sinner asked.
“Um, well, nothing too bad. I got Balth out of his hidey hole, so in a way they owed us. But we can get into the specifics later.” I thought about Michael sitting on the other side of the closed door. Fostering a teenage boy wasn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things. “Something more important came up as I got back into town.”
“Yes.” Mav clapped his hands. “I am eager to hear more about how the caterer has somehow managed to get herself into the middle of our business. Again.”
“Mav.” I turned toward my VP. “I’d like to bring Lexie in here to share what went down tonight. I don’t even have the full story, but it involves the prospect, Jordan, and his involvement with the Diablos.”
“The fuck?” Mav jumped to his feet.
“Like I said, the only person who knows the full story right now is Lexie.”
“Malone!”a voice rang out behind Sinner.
“Ah fuck, give me a second, boys,” Sinner said and muted his side of the video.
