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“Okay.” I answer and nod at the same time.
He likes my words, and when the first tear falls, he reaches forward to wipe it away with his thumb.
“Come on, let’s get some sleep.” He lies down on his back and holds out one of his arms.
Without question, I lay my head on his chest, my new favorite pillow, and I sigh happily when his warmth wraps around me and he kisses the top of my head.
I must have fallen asleep because the sound of his phone ringing makes my eyes pop open and it’s suddenly daylight, the sun peeking through the crack in the dark curtains.
“Yeah?” I didn’t even realize he had moved to answer the phone. Somehow, he barely jostled me. We’re in the same position as before with me wrapped in his arms, my head against his chest and my palm softly resting on his stomach. “Oh, you have got to be fucking kiddin’ me.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Bear
“Wait!” Psycho freezes the instant I slam my big hand against the door to the basement. When we take people down there, chances are slim to none that they walk out. “Are we sure about this?”
“I don’t wanna be, if that’s what you’re askin’.” That same cloud that darkens Psycho’s gaze, I can feel it in my gut. Nothing about this feels good, but our job is to protect the club and the people we love.
In fact, I should kill that fucker just because he interrupted some serious cuddle time with Athena. Leaving her all wrapped up in my sheets and comforter was the hardest thing I’ve had to do in a long time. Maybe ever. I just wanna get this shit over with and go back to my girl.
“What proof do we got?” I can’t kill a brother without some solid fucking intel.
“For starters, someone saw him leave seconds after you and Athena went for fresh air.”
I scoff. That’s hardly proof that he tried to have us killed.
“Maybe he needed to take a piss.” I state the obvious and Psycho nods like he’d argued the same thing at first.
“That’s what I was thinking, could have taken a piss outside for all we know. Except, you would have seen him, right?” Psycho raises a brow, like his argument is flawless.
“To be honest, a tornado could’ve gone past I probably wouldn’t’ve noticed.” Ain’t that the truth?
“Bear. He showed up after everyone else but looked like he'd been close enough to the explosion to get dust and shit all over him.” Okay, that’s weird, but maybe he was coming back from somewhere, like… takin’ a piss. Or maybe he was fucking a Khunt somewhere.
“It’s weak at best. That ain’t enough proof to end a brother. It just ain’t.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I frown down at Psycho, footsteps sounding behind us. When I look over my shoulder I notice the scowl on our president’s face. That can’t be good.
“Sledge was suspicious because of what Ophelia and Jarrett said on the plane so he questioned him. Took his phone.” Psycho barely acknowledges Hoops as he joins us, too consumed by the fuckery of it all. If the traitor is still down there then that means they found something rock solid.
Hoops clears his throat. “I got a call from your new friend Ophelia and spoke with Caliope, thetech diosa. That’s how she refers to herself, by the way.” Slicing a glare filled with rage and regret toward the door leading to the basement, he continues. “Once the idea of a rat was out there, Caliope did a deep dive and found two offshore bank accounts. Now, that could just be him putting money away but those deposit dates were awfully close to shit happening in our club and the amounts didn’t correspond to anything we divvied up from our earnings.” He takes a breath, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans and delivers thefinal blow. His rage morphs into deep-rooted sadness for just a brief moment, then it’s gone. “She traced the money back to an account in Texas. Guy’s name is Adrien Crawford and the woman your friends took when you found Athena sang like a fucking bird. She confirmed he was part of The Firm.”
“I’m gonna kill that motherfucker.” I speak so low I’m surprised anyone hears me.
“You’ll get the honors, but I wanna get a good punch in. I’m the enforcer, after all.” Crazy fucker.
“Don’t worry, brothers, he’ll get what’s coming to him.” Hoops nods toward the door behind us, giving us the go ahead.
With a shrug, Psycho opens it and we jog down the cement stairs until I see my brother—my chosen family—sitting on a chair with his arms tied behind his back, his legs spread open and his chin set high, like he’s proud to be here.
My sights are square on Diablo, his cut laid out on the nearby table with his patch gone and cut into pieces. We all spread out, joining our VP, who is leaning against the side wall with a straight-up murderous glare on his face. I can do whatever I want to him, no one will stop me.
“You wanted to kill me?” My question is a low growl, but when I think about Athena waking up terrified, her eyes glazed over like she didn’t know what the fuck was happening, a surge of pure, unfiltered rage rushes through my bloodstream. “Well here I am, motherfucker.” This time, I can barely hear myself roaring the words out because of thewhoosh, whoosh, whooshing in my ears.
For a beat, it’s like I’m watching myself from outside my body as I lunge forward and wrap my fingers around Diablo’s throat, the power of my movements forcing the chair to scrape along the cement floor until the cinder block wall stops us. I crave the fear in his eyes, I want more of it. I want to hurt him tenfold. No, hundredfold. I want to kill him with my bare hands.
With my face mere inches from his, I speak through clenched teeth. “You know what we do to traitors?”
“I ain’t no traitor.” His answer disgusts me. Real men don’t fucking lie. Leaning back just a little, I scrape my phlegm from the back of my throat and spit all over his face.