Then he turned his back on us and walked back down to his bike. There was something almost cocky about the way he moved. Like he was taunting Deke. The Portland president pulled me into the house, shutting the door behind us. I tried to pass through to the kitchen, but he blocked me.
“Your dad know you’re fuckin’ the enemy?”
I swallowed, but I held firm.
“I’m an adult, Deke. What I do is my business.”
He crossed his arms and eyed me, something almost like disgust in his face.
“You’re a spoiled brat,” he said bluntly. “You and your sister both. I’ve never given a shit about that because you’re not my kid and you’re not my old lady.”
I gasped.
“Here’s the thing, though,” he continued. “You do anything—anything at all—that puts Cookie and Silvie in danger, I’ll kill you myself. We clear?”
I’d never had anyone talk to me like that. I knew my eyes must be wide and I had no idea what the hell I should say to him.
“Em!” Cookie called, running into the living room. Her face was red, like she’d been crying. She pushed past Deke to catch me in her arms, hugging me tight. “I can’t believe what’s happening. When Picnic called because he couldn’t get hold of you … I was terrified.”
“It’s all right,” I said, watching Deke over her shoulder. His face was still blank. Had I imagined what just happened? “I’m safe now. No word from Kit, though.”
Cookie pulled away.
“Shit,” she muttered. “I hoped she’d be in touch by now. You know anything about the guy she took off with? Your dad is nervous. He’s thinking it might be one of them … whoever they are. The shooters hit a pipe at the clubhouse, flooded the whole place. That’s why the guys are all here tonight.”
“It wasn’t the Devil’s Jacks,” I said firmly, and I believed it. The look of shock on Hunter’s face had been too real.
“We don’t know who it was,” Deke said. “And you don’t need to worry about that right now, anyway. Jumping to conclusions gets people killed. We’ll figure it out and then we’ll take care of business. Em, you keep trying to get hold of your sister, okay? Cookie, you might as well go to bed. Doesn’t matter how much drama we have tonight, Silvie’ll still be up at the crack of dawn and she’ll need her mama.”
“What about work?” Cookie asked him. “I’m supposed to open the shop tomorrow morning. I have a sitter coming over.”
Deke shook his head slowly.
“Either call someone in to cover for you or I’ll have one of the boys put a note on the door.”
Cookie got a funny look on her face.
“I’m a business owner, Deke,” she said. “I can’t just close up for the day.”
“You can tomorrow,” he said. “Until I know what’s goin’ on, you’re staying where it’s safe and I can have my guys watching you.”
Cookie crossed her arms, her face growing wary.
“I’m not an old lady anymore,” she said slowly. “In fact, I’m not attached to the club at all. Just because you guys check in on me doesn’t mean I’m a target. Or I wasn’t, until everyone parked their bikes on my lawn and made this your new headquarters.”
“Listen to me very carefully,” Deke said softly. “You’re one of ours, and you always will be. But I can’t afford to keep too many men on you. That means I need you and Silvie in one place, where I know you’re safe, so I can focus on what needs to be done. Either find someone to cover for you or the shop stays closed. Your call.”
He turned and walked away, leaving both of us staring at him.
“Fucked-up night,” Cookie muttered.
“No shit,” I answered, my voice subdued. “I think I’ll try calling Kit again. You going to do what he says?”
She nodded slowly, her eyes thoughtful.
“For now. They shot Swinger in Boise. He was a friend of Bagger’s, you know. Best man at our wedding.”
I looked over to find her twisting her wedding ring around her finger absently.
“I’m going to bed,” she said suddenly. “But come and get me if you hear from Kit, okay?”
“Okay.”
HUNTER
The ride down to Salem the next morning was fucking cold. It’d started raining right on the edge of Portland. Not bad. Just enough to make the trip utterly miserable. Some asshole in a Hummer nearly took out Skid on the freeway, which almost got ugly, seeing as we were both trigger happy and paranoid as hell.
Dickwad came damned close to getting shot.
When we pulled up to the Salem clubhouse, I saw a good fifty bikes parked outside. I’d known officers would be coming, but this was a bigger turnout than I’d expected.
Guess war will do that.
Skid and I backed our bikes into the line. He glanced over at the prospects standing guard, then gestured at me to wait before going in.
“Kelsey says you were with Em last night?” he asked. I bristled.
“I put Kelsey on a plane at six this morning. Picked her up at her place, and she won’t land for another hour. When the fuck did you talk to her?”
He just looked at me, and I clenched my teeth.
“I knew it,” I muttered. “She deserves better than you.”
“It’s none of your business,” he said.
“What I do with Em is none of your business, either.”
“Different situation. Fuckin’ Kelsey doesn’t put anyone in danger but me, and I’m pretty sure you won’t kill me outright unless I knock her up or something … But this shit with Em hurts the whole club, bro. You need to go in there and tell Burke.”
“Don’t lecture me, asshole. I know that. Or are you saying I can’t handle myself?”
“So long as you put the club first,” Skid said. “Burke needs us. Remember that.”
“Trust me, I never forget,” I snapped. “And don’t hurt my sister.”
Skid snorted.
“I wouldn’t worry about that if I was you.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Ask her,” Skid muttered. “Trust me, she’s not the victim here.”
The atmosphere in the clubhouse was darker than I’d ever seen it. Burke sat in the back, talking to several of the chapter presidents. His eyes caught mine as I walked in, and he gestured me over. I realized this was it—decision time.
Might as well get it over with.
“I need a moment, Burke.”
He tilted his head, considering. Then he nodded.
“In my office,” he said. He stood and I followed him down the hallway, wondering how the next ten minutes would play out. You never knew with Burke. He’d been like a father to me … But he’d also taught me to kill.
He couldn’t afford to show mercy, especially not right now.
“Shut the door,” he said, sitting back in his chair. “What is it?”
“It’s Emmy Hayes,” I said, figuring it didn’t make sense to be anything less than direct. “I fucked her last night and I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing it again in the near future. Hopefully on a regular basis.”
He studied me, eyes cold like a snake’s. Sometimes I wondered why Burke helped me kill Jim all those years ago. At the time I thought he was saving us, that he didn’t like seeing two kids suffer. In retrospect, I wasn’t so sure.
Burke was always ten moves ahead of the rest of us. Had he seen an angry teenager and decided I might suit his purposes some day? The chance to shape a valuable asset for the club? I’d probably never know.
“You with her last night?”
“Yup,” I said, holding his gaze. “That’s why I’m convinced it was the cartel that hit us. I talked to Picnic right after it happened. He had no idea I was with her and no time to put together a story. He played tough, but the man was scared shitless for his kids—scared enough to give me safe passage to take her home. Her dumbass sister was still missing, by the way.”
“Interesting,” he said, betraying nothing. “I know when we started this, you thought keeping her around would work out for you … That was under very specific conditions. Apparently those conditions have changed—you’re obviously emotionally invested—and that’s not so convenient for my plans. How serious are you about this?”