“Good,” I said. “Bring it on, brother.”
“I’ll fucking shoot both of you,” Trev said. He pulled me away from Jasper. His gun was then at my chest, right at my heart. “I want you inside and find Harlee. You get your time with her to see what she comes up with. If I don’t get what I want, Trent, I’m taking her.”
“You have a pregnant old lady, Prez,” I said.
“I’m not looking for a fuck.”
“Hey,” I said. “If she doesn’t give us what we want, I’ll take care of it.”
“You were supposed to do that already,” Trev said. “You’re moving into an outlaw mindset.” He rubbed the barrel of his gun against my Back Down Devil MC patch. “You want to give up that patch and run on your own?”
“If I wanted that, I’d be gone,” I said.
I walked away from Trev and Jasper. I looked at my hand, blood on it. The cut wasn’t deep. It would heal. That’s just how things went. Either you healed up or you bled out and died.
I went into the clubhouse and stepped up between Cash and Austin at the bar. I lifted two fingers for two beers.
“Heard you brought us all a present,” Cash said.
“Yeah, right.”
“At least Duke is alive,” Austin said.
“We’re going to bury those assholes in Night Soul,” Cash said.
“Think about it,” I said, feeling irritated as shit. “They were promised something. Probably paid for it too. This isn’t going to slip away.”
“Exactly why I said we’re going to bury them,” Cash said. “Anything Ripper dealt with needs to get buried.”
“You’re going to take on the big families too?” Austin asked.
“I’ll take on anyone,” Cash said.
I got my two beers and shook my head. “You two work this out. I have someone to interrogate.”
“You going to show her the monster?” Austin asked.
“Hopefully the right one,” Cash said. He winked and pointed between his legs.
I walked away, not in the mood for jokes.
When I got to my door, Xavier and Kye were inside with two prospects outside the room. Kye had Harlee tied to a chair and stood next to her with a gun in his hand. Xavier leaned against the wall, arms crossed, looking bored.
“Was this necessary?” I asked.
“You never know,” Kye said. “She tried to kill a brother. She’s lucky she’s alive.”
“Okay, everyone get out,” I said.
“What are you going to do?” Xavier asked.
“Take care of things,” I said. “Go talk to Jasper and Trev if you need to. She’s all mine right now. So fuck off.”
Kye bent down and looked at Harlee. “It was fun hanging out. See you on the other side of hell.”
I squeezed the beer bottles tight. Man, I wanted to rock one of them off the bridge of Kye’s nose and watch him writhe in pain. But the truth was that he and Xaiver - and the rest of the goddamn MC - were all right. If I hadn’t gotten to the game when I did, Harlee would have served that glass of whiskey to Duke and he’d be dead right now.
The door shut behind me and I looked at Harlee. I tossed the two beers to the bed. I heard a noise behind me and turned, ripping open the door.
The two prospects were still standing there. They were young, in black t-shirts with their all black leather cuts on. They had earrings, tattoos, and tried so hard to look cool and fit the fuck in. They had no idea the decision they had made.
“Get out of here,” I said.
“We were told to stay,” one said.
I gritted my teeth. “Did you just talk back to me?”
“We’re doing what we were told,” the other said.
I nodded. “Doing what you’re told.” I grabbed my gun and put three rounds across the hall into a wall. Inches from the prospects. “Want to talk back again?”
One of them grabbed their left ear and bent over, yelling. I wasn’t sure if I tagged him or it was just the thundering sound.
“Do I have to say it again?” I asked.
The two prospects hurried away.
I slammed the door and put my gun on the dresser.
“Are you always like that?” Harlee asked.
“Like what?”
“Abrasive.”
“They call me the monster for a reason, darling,” I said. I pointed to the gun. “Now… I don’t plan on using that… but I would like to.”
I walked around the bed and right to Harlee. I towered over her. She looked up at me and I fought to not be captivated by her eyes and natural beauty. The worst part of it was that she wasn’t trying to use her looks or body to get out of this. That made it even more tempting.
“The President and VP want you dead,” I said. “I should have killed you. I was supposed to do it. But then shit got crazy. Now you’re here. I need to know everything, darling.”
“Fine,” she said. “Whatever you want.”
“That easy?” I asked.
“I’m the one tied up.”
“Yes you are.”
I reached forward and touched her chin. I tilted her head back all the way. I felt her exhale a shaky breath through her nose, the air hitting my hand. I started to draw a line along her jawbone, my mind wanting to know what the fuck I was thinking, and she winced and pulled away.