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That morning, he’d dropped Jazz at the diner before heading to his own house for a shower and change of clothes. Sweetheart that she was, Jazzy hooked him up with a steaming cup of coffee and a muffin the size of his head. Since they were the only ones in the diner besides Thunder, who’d been taking a piss, Screw had paid for breakfast with a toe-curling kiss.
Just before he walked away, she’d whispered six words in his ear. Six words that had been ping-ponging around his head ever since she’d uttered them.
Your brothers trust you. Trust yourself.
Trusting himself meant no jokes, no quips, no bullshit. He made his decision and had to own it as well as deal with the consequences.
He had to be a fucking adult.
And he could do that. He could be what his brothers needed in an enforcer, and he could make Jazzy proud.
Wait...what? Make Jazz proud?
What the hell did that matter?
But it did. It mattered a lot for some insane reason. He wanted the next time he saw her to be with a smile on her face because he’d done well. He’d done what was right. He didn’t have much experience making people proud and fuck if he didn’t want Jazz to be pleased with him even when he had his clothes on.
Fuck, what the hell was going on with him?
“Screw you think you could actually pay attention since you’re the reason we’re all fucking here?” Copper said.
“Yeah, of course. Sorry, just running through things in my head.”
Copper blew out a long slow breath, and Screw’s nerves flared. Same damn feeling he’d had each and every time his mother had been called in for a meeting with his principal. Jesus, he was a twenty-six-year-old man feeling like the fourteen-year-old chump who’d pantsed his gym teacher.
“All right,” Copper said. “Everyone here knows we got an SOS call from Screw last night. He was at a CDMC party with Gumby, who is Jazz’s friend from an MC in Arizona.” He looked at Mav as he said that last part. Catching the guy up.
“Well, fuck me,” Mav said, eyes on Screw. “You’re a ballsy motherfucker, ain’t ya?”
“Ballsy or stupid,” Jig added. “I mean what the fuck did you think was gonna happen besides getting your ass shot or fucking tortured?”
His heart sank. He’d been hoping some of his brothers would have had his back without question. Looked like he’d be digging out of a hole for all of them.
Copper lifted a hand. “Trust me, I’ve already ripped him a new one. Let’s hear him out because I was told he has some promising information for us.”
“Come on, guys,” LJ said. “This is our brother. Give him the fucking benefit of the doubt. Screw may fuck around a lot, but he always acts in the club’s best interest.”
Thank you. He and LJ had prospected together. The guy knew him better than anyone.
“Except that time he fucked that girl who slashed my tires instead of his,” Mav said with a chuckle.
The other guys laughed and much of the tension in the room dissolved, taking with it the brick in Screw’s gut.
“Start talking then,” Copper said as he leaned back in his seat.
“’Bout a week ago, I met Squirt, a CDMC prospect at the gas station where Jazzy ran into a bunch of their club members. I wasn’t in my cut and we started shooting the shit about bikes and his club. Told him I lived in Knoxville but came out here on weekends to get away from the grind. He invited me to their party.”
“You met him on purpose,” Mav said.
Screw nodded. “I needed to do something proactive. We can’t just sit around and wait for them to make the next move. You all know one is coming. After all they went through making Lindsey trick Shell and Toni, they’re not gonna fucking forget us.” The CDMC had used the thirteen-year-old girl to lure Toni and Shell into a trap that nearly got all three of them killed. Lindsey hadn’t wanted any part in it but had no choice in the matter. Thankfully, everyone survived with only minor injuries, but the incident had lasting negative effects on the girl.
“Well, he’s right about that,” Zach said. “They want us out.” As he spoke, he rotated his shoulder. Was he even aware of the move? By now, it was mostly healed, but Zach had told him it ached like a motherfucker pretty frequently.
“So, even though you told me not to go to the party, I’d planned to go.” Screw held up a hand. “I knew it could have been a trap. There was a chance Squirt knew exactly who I was and planned to fuck me up. It’s why I took Gumby. Backup they for sure wouldn’t recognize. We needed eyes inside there, Cop. We needed to see their dynamic. How they operate. Who’s at the top of their food chain. Hell, even what their whores are like. Any information could be useful because we had nothing.”
