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I exhaled out my nose. "The only thing I want to give him is a one-way ticket to the seven hells. Remind me again why we don't kill him."
"Because if it's not him, it will be someone else from the Onyx Ridge pack," Jake said. "Some of them are worse."
Right now I was having a hard time picturing anything worse. "If he pushes my patience any further, I might have to change my mind. Have someone keep an eye on him. I want to know what he's doing before he even knows it."
"Someone like Hutton?" Jake asked. "He wants a chance to prove himself."
Hutton wouldn’t like it, but I nodded. "Do it." Whatever it took to get one up on Alistair Dagen.
12
I was right,Hutton didn't like it. At first I thought he would give us a flat no. That he would walk out the door and disappear again. Hide like he had for nearly a decade.
"If I look like I'm going back, then everyone will hate my guts," he said finally. "They'll assume he," he nodded towards Jake, "is right that I'm a traitor."
"Iamright," Jake said coldly. "That's exactly what you are. If you want a chance to convince us you can be more than that, here it is. Take it or fuck off. Better yet, Cooper over there is looking for an excuse to tear your heart out with his claws. Right, Cooper?"
Cooper cocked his head at Hutton and spoke like he was explaining why he had a favourite flavour of ice cream. "Notspecificallyyour heart. Your head or throat would work too. I mean, not just yours either. People who aren't on our side in general. Y’know? It’s nothing personal."
In spite of his words, I had a feeling he didn’t really want to kill Hutton. The two shared the same brotherly vibe Cooper and Jake shared. He’d still do it if I asked.
"You really enjoyed killing that assassin, didn't you?" Jake asked him.
Cooper grinned. "Watching him die made me feel powerful. It was a rush. Almost as good as sex." He turned his smile on me.
Thank the gods his only sexual experience was better than killing someone. I still had it. That was gratifying to know. Better than murder. I should get that on a t-shirt.
"You're a bloodthirsty little prick," Jake said approvingly. "We have that in common."
"That and other things," Cooper said. His eyes were still on me.
"Anyway," I said. I turned to Hutton. "If you can help us, I will make it absolutely clear to everyone whose side you're on. The same will happen if I see any sign that you’re planning on betraying us. You'll have more to worry about than Cooper."
Hutton nodded. "It seems like I don't have a choice."
"You don't," I agreed. "You said you would do anything. This is what we need you to do."
"Dagen is going to take some convincing that I want to work with him again," Hutton said.
"We've already put the word out there that Ivory thinks you're a traitor," Jake said. "It won't take long for it to reach him. Once he knows we rejected you, the Onyx Ridge Pack might try to contact you. The enemy of my enemy and all that."
Hutton bared his teeth at Jake. "So you already put my head on the chopping block. It's a fucking miracle I wasn't murdered on the way here."
Jake shrugged. "That was a risk I was willing to take."
"You really don't like him, do you?" Cooper asked.
"I can't think of a reason why I should," Jake said. "He's a lowlife."
"I like him," Cooper said. "Maybe you should give him a chance."
"Maybe you shouldn't be so fucking naïve, kid," Jake snarled. "You have no idea what it was like back then. You don't want to know."
"But I—" Cooper started.
"Enough," I snapped. "We have enough shit going on without fighting amongst ourselves. The past is in the past, leave it the fuck there. Focus on the present and future. That's all that matters right now. Got it?" I looked around at all three guys.
Jake's jaw was set firm, but he nodded. "Yeah, boss. We'll play nice." As if he wasn't the one doing the provoking.
