“You fucking touched her. You hit her, you cocksucker.” I seized his middle finger and bent it all the way back.
Catch howled, his body flinching. The loud pop and snap filled my ears as a loud moan broke from his throat. I twisted the loose digit and then shook it.
His skin drained of all color, his lips loose, his sweat and blood splattering at my feet. Warmth spread through me, and the room slowly came back into focus. Butler against a wall, Kicker and Dready against the door. Lock at my side.
Lock punched him, and Catch collapsed with a satisfying crunch to the floor.
Jump approached the douche bag. “Now that we’ve all made our points real clear”—he shot me a look, and I pushed back from Catch’s heaving body, my hand flicking out in a take-it-away-Prez gesture—“why don’t you tell us what this is really all about? This has to be about more than *.”
Catch coughed and spit on the floor. “Tell me you all haven’t sweet-talked her into telling you shit.”
“Like what?” asked Jump.
“’Bout the Flames of Hell.”
“We don’t strong-arm chicks unless we really have to. And, as far as I know, shit between our clubs is good. Isn’t it? Or maybe you got cause for what I see as this fucking out-of-control paranoia?”
“The Broken Blades have been shitting on us lately. We’ve had deals and agreements in place for years. Suddenly, they’re reneging on ’em. That shit with Creeper kidnapping my kid a few months ago was only the beginning. He thinks I owe him more than what I paid him for doing some side work for us. Then, he goes over to the Blades and does shit for them, too. Bottom line, Creeper was a Jack once upon a time. What do you want me to think? Jill—”
“Eh!” Kicker shoved the point of his cowboy boot into Catch’s ribs.
Catch choked. “I mean, Boner’s old lady.” He coughed and swallowed hard. “She comes up here, gets cozy with you, and it would be the obvious choice for the Blades or you to get to me.”
“Finger okay this bullshit you pulled tonight?”
“He only knows I came to see my kid. When I saw—”
“Boner’s old lady is a good girl,” Jump said. “She’s real special to us. Last thing we’d want to do is put her on the spot, make things uncomfortable for her. We don’t do that to one of our own.”
Lock made a noise in the back of his throat, and I threw him a glance. I had to agree. Jump could twist shit when and how he liked. He’d done it with all of us at one point or another, most recently Grace. The mark of a fine leader.
“The Blades have been assholes for a long while now. Sounds like we have a few things to talk about. But I ain’t in the mood now, for some reason.” Jump moved toward the door, followed by Lock and Kicker.
Catch’s head sank back on the floor. “You should make the time.”
Jump slanted his head. “Oh, yeah?”
“You ever heard of the Calderas Group?”
“New tacos from Mexico?” muttered Jump.
“No, asshole.”
Dready shoved his boot into Catch’s side. I lit a cigarette.
Catch coughed up blood, and a gob of red slobber fell from his mouth. “They’re from Denver. Gangbangers gone upscale. Been playing footsie with the Blades, and Notch has been licking their brown dicks. Finger ain’t happy. You should check ’em out and then come lick my dick.”
Dready punched Catch hard across the jaw, and his head fell to the side, his eyes snagging on mine. I spit on his face.
“Who’s running their show?” I asked.
Catch jerked his head at the sharp sound of my voice. “This ‘Spic. Calderone. Alejandro Calderone.”
My breathing suspended for a split second at the sound of that name. My muscles locked, my head stiffly drawing back.
I motioned at Dawes and Tricky, and they picked up Catch and dragged him from the cellar, through the kitchen, out the lounge, down the hall, and out the door. They dragged him across the dirt and gravel, past the gate that lay open just for him. The boys dumped him on the road, and Led crouched over him.
I tossed my cigarette by his sorry ass. “You have a good night.”
I charged back into the clubhouse and poured myself a whiskey. I stretched my arms against the bar and struggled for air.
“Bro, you okay?” Dawes asked.
“Go away.”
“You sure?”
My body shook. “Go!”
A running soundtrack of screaming voices and spurting blood and cracking bones filled my ears.
Promises broken.
Oaths sworn.
Curses invoked.
Dreams destroyed.
Alejandro’s fucking voice jumped in my head. “One day, I’m going to come for you, and I’m going to take it all away.”
Then, I’d had no dreams left, my dreams had petered out, drained away.
Once I became a Jack, my only focus had become survival and a good time doing it.
But now I had a dream.
Now, I had Jill.