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“What point?”
“You’re too damn close to this one,” he explains. “If I let you stay, we’re gonna end up with a stack of dead bodies because you’re gonna see the Phantom in everyone. I can’t have that.”
“I’m not the serial killer here!” I shout, annoyed that he doesn’t seem to trust me.
“I know, but?—”
“But nothing, Matt.”
My president jerks back at my use of his given name, and the crease in his forehead becomes more pronounced. Jez, his twin, has dubbed it the worry crease, and she gets the same one.
Soul stares at me, and I can practically see the wheels turning in his head. I’ve been around the man enough to know when he’s caving. He might not like it. Hell, he fucking hates it. But he’s gonna cave.
“You’d really give up your patch for this bastard?” he finally asks.
“What do you think?”
He smirks. “I think you’re just crazy enough and determined enough to do it.”
“Then don’t send me packin’, Pres.” I take a deep breath. “Please.”
“Fine. But you’re on lot duty.”
I nod. “Okay. I can handle that.”
The parking lot is the perfect breeding ground for a serial killer, so I’ve got no problem being banished there. I’m more likely to catch the freak in the act than my brothers on the inside.
“I’ll give you Knuckles, Zippy, Possum, and Mark,” he says. “Do you think the five of you can handle the entire lot, or do you want more?”
“Can you spare Frenzy and Animal?”
“I can make that happen.”
“Then yeah, we’ll be good.”
Soul stabs a finger in my chest. “Don’t make me regret this, Thorn.”
“I won’t.”
“Yo, Soul!”
We both turn toward the stadium’s main entrance where Spike and Grim are standing. Grim lifts his hands.
“We need to run through each security checkpoint one last time. It’s gonna take a few hours since there’s so many so we need to get started.”
Soul signs his response. “Be there in a minute.”
Grim nods, and Spike says, “We’ll meet you by the bathrooms on the second level.”
Once they’re gone, Soul levels his gaze on me. “I mean it, Thorn. Don’t fuck this up.”
“I won’t,” I repeat and shrug. “I’m gonna say the same to you.”
Soul chuckles. “We won’t fuck shit up, brother. I promise you that.”
CHAPTER 11
DELANEY