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As Thunder gave Copper the run down, the prez stroked his fiery beard. “I’m done,” he said with a definite note of finality in his voice.
Beside Thunder, Zach nodded. “It’s time, prez.”
Thunder cleared his throat. “Time for what, exactly?”
The glare Copper laid on him would have had him shitting himself if the anger had been meant for him. “Time to end the CDMC. The Feds aren’t watching them any longer, and we’ve been dicking around for too long.” He glanced at Zach. “We do this for Viper. Exec meeting tonight at six. Church tomorrow morning at nine. I want a solid plan by then. Tired of fucking around.”
Fuck yes. A taste of blood was just what Thunder needed.
Thunder preceded Zach out the door. “Shit’s about to get real, isn’t it?”
With a nod, Zach checked his phone. “Yeah, we may be looking at a lockdown. Might wanna prepare your woman.”
Thunder’s stomach lurched. “Uh, yeah. I’ll do that.” Christ, was it possible to miss her already?
“Can you do me a favor?” Zach asked.
“Of course. Name it.”
“I’m supposed to head to the gym and run the front desk for a few hours. Do you mind taking my place? I wanna call in the exec board and get some ideas flowing before we have to meet with Copper this evening.” Even as he spoke, he typed away on his phone.
“No problem. I got it.” A few hours of work would help keep his mind off Makenna.
Hopefully.
Zach slapped him on the back. “Thanks, brother. Owe you one.”
With a snort, Thunder shook his head. “Pretty sure you don’t.”
Turned out, a few hours at the gym did nothing to keep his mind off Makenna. What it did was plant his ass in a seat behind the front desk and give him the perfect opportunity to stew and obsess. Every so often, Lee walked through his line of sight, bringing thoughts of Makenna back to the forefront of his mind.
With each passing hour, his heart grew heavier, and doubt settled deeper into his bones. By the time he was getting ready to leave, he full-on hated himself for losing his shit over Makenna being married. His fucking issues exploded all over her when she didn’t deserve it in the least.
“Hey man,” Lee said, as Thunder walked outside. He stood by the piece of junk car he drove.
Shit. Had Makenna told him what happened? Thunder really wasn’t in the mood to be torn a new asshole by an eighteen-year-old kid, especially not when he’d been ripping himself apart for the last five hours. “Hey.”
“Just wanted to say thank you for getting me the job.” Lee stuck his hands in his pockets and shuffled back and forth as though unused to expressing gratitude. “And, uh, sorry if I’ve been a bit of a dick to you.”
Thunder nodded. “Appreciate it, man, but I think you might have been more of a dick to Mak than me.”
Lee grunted a half laugh. “Yeah. It’s just…I worry about her, you know?” He shrugged. “She’s been through some shit.”
Thunder glanced around. They were the only two in the lot. No one to overhear. “She told me all about where you guys come from.”
Lee’s eyes nearly fell from his head as he laughed. His dark hair stuck out in spikes, a new style he’d been trying apparently. “Shit. You have no idea how many lectures I’ve sat through about not telling anyone, even girlfriends. She always told me she didn’t care if it was true love, the info stayed secret. Too dangerous otherwise. Then she goes and blabs. Well, man, guess she’s the one in love.”
Fuck. Lee was the second person to mention that to Thunder, which only had him feeling worse.
“It was bad, huh?”
“Oh yeah. Really fucking bad. I worked the farm and had military training. Long, hot as fuck days, starting when I was way too young for hard labor. The girls worked as seamstresses. Also, insanely long days way too young. But it was the marriage that changed her. The light just…died. I try not to think about it much. It’s fucking over. But, uh, Mak never fully came back to who she was. Since then, she’s been single-minded in her focus on taking care of everyone but herself. She forgot how to have fun. Won’t rock the boat. Refuses to do anything that makes her happy unless we’re right along with her. Until you.” Lee tapped Thunder on the shoulder with his fist. “So, thanks for that, man. It’s good to see her smile.”
He just might vomit all over again.
Lee’s phone started to ring. He frowned at the number then answered. “Hello? Yes, this is Leif.”
Right before Thunder’s eyes, Lee paled to the color of death. “W-what?” he said, gripping the phone so hard his knuckles whitened. “Uh, y-yes. I-I’ll be right there.”
