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“Clever,” I say and stand over him menacingly. “What else can you tell me?”
“Please,” he says and starts to cry. “I really don’t know.”
“Pathetic,” Eric says.
This is the pivotal moment. If I push harder and see what else I can beat out of him, we might end up killing him by mistake. I promised Cora I wouldn’t do that, and I’m the kind of man that keeps my promises.
But I really dislike this biker prick.
“Here’s the deal, Jaxson. You’re going to leave this barn, get on your bike, and ride. You’re going to ride a long time, a real long time. You’re going to leave Marietta, leave Georgia, and never look back. When your brothers start asking about where you are, you’ll tell them you’ve got a sick old aunt out in California you’ve gotta go look in on. You tell them whatever you want so long as they don’t start looking into your story for a while. If we catch a whiff of anything suspicious, I’ll hunt you down and kill you if your little ORB biker buddies don’t do it for me first, understood?”
“Understood,” he says, sniveling. “Thank you.”
I kick him in the face one last time for good measure.
Eric joins me as we walk outside. “What do you think?”
“He’s a low-level player at best. I doubt he knows much more than what he told us.”
“A cache of guns is pretty good. You really think they’re there? Hiding in some fucking brewery?”
“I think we’ll have to go find out. If they’re real and we can rip them off, that’ll save the bosses up north from having to make a shipment. It might win us some favors.”
“All right then, I guess we’ve got our next target.” He stops once we’re a few feet away and grabs my arm. “Kill him next time.”
I give him a long look. “Let go.” He hesitates but releases me. “I make the calls on that. You understand?”
“You’re compromised. Any other ORB asshole and you would’ve put a bullet in his head, no questions, but that’s the one fucking your girl’s sister.”
“Eric. Leave it alone.”
“No, Nolan, you listen to me. I haven’t been subtle about how I feel and I understand you don’t like it, but I’m not the only one saying shit. The other guys are wondering why the hell that girl’s hanging around when she sent your ass to prison. They’re all starting to think you went soft, and that’s the last thing you want in the middle of a war.”
I take a deep breath and slowly let it out. I know Eric thinks he’s doing the right thing for the crew but he’s about to break my patience and I’m not a kind man when I get angry. I give him a lot of leeway because he’s my friend, but now it’s getting to be a problem, and I’m sick of him pushing back against all my decisions.
I step forward, getting closer to him.
“I’m done with talking about Cora. I’m finished with hearing your complaints. I need you to get the fuck in line, soldier.”
His face tightens. “I’m not your soldier.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. We’re brothers, but you’re forgetting how things work around here. I run this crew and my word is the final word, which means you need to stop second-guessing my every move. Do you understand me?”
He glares but nods once. “I hear you. I’ll shut my mouth and kiss your ass from here on out.”
“Good.” I walk past him and head back toward the truck. He stands there staring at me and I feel his eyes following as I pick my way through the field. I’m pissed off and I hated doing that, but I can’t lose control of this situation, and I definitely can’t let Eric keep pushing until everything falls apart.
Something’s nagging at me though as I slow and pause by the driver’s side door. Cora’s looking at me with an anxious expression and I return her gaze, head tilted to the side.
Someone in my crew’s the problem, and Eric’s the one that keeps on trying to get rid of the one girl that might be able to smoke that traitor out.
It hits me like ice in my veins.
But I have no proof. Only a bad feeling tingling down my spine.
I pull open the door and get inside.
“Everyone okay? You look stressed.”
“We’re all good.” I start the engine. “Jaxson won’t be a problem anymore.”
“Did you kill him?”
“No, but I gave him the same choice Ben gave you. Jaxson’s taking a long ride today and he won’t be back anytime soon.”
Cora sighs and leans back in her seat. “That’s better than killing him, I guess.”
I say nothing as I pull out, my mind filled with thoughts of traitors and thieves and blood in the grass.
Chapter 15
Cora
Another night staring at the ceiling. This is turning into a habit. It’s like this house has gotten under my skin, or maybe it’s the guy that owns the house. I try to count sheep but that doesn’t help. I try to mentally sing every lullaby I know, but that only wakes me up more. Finally, I get out of bed, sneak across the hall, and check in on Kady.
