Page 24 of Chaos & Carnage

Caleb.

“I’d better get this,” I pointed at where the screen shone neon green light against the black leather of my jacket.

Alice nodded. “Good night.” Her voice trailed off, soft and gentle, into the night, and then she pushed through the door, clutching her box of kittens.

“What?” I grunted as the red door closed.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

“Busy, Caleb. Been busy.”

“Busy doing who? And why wasn’t I involved?”

I sighed, and he heard it down the phone.

“Need you, brother. We got that date with some hot nurses tonight.”

“Nah, mate. Not for me.”

“You sick or something?” Caleb asked, surprised.

“I just can’t be bothered.”

“Shame. Cos this isn’t about you. We need those CCTV images, remember? You’re doing it for the club.”

I exhaled, my breath pooling in front of me in a big, white, pissed off cloud.

“For the club,” I muttered.

“Good. Get your arse home cos I need some pussy to sink into.”

I pushed my thumb against the red button, ending the call. Above me, a light shone in the big bay window. I watched for a few seconds, my mind full of disorganised thoughts. And then I moved away, back to where I’d left my bike so I could attend to club business.

Chapter Ten

“Where you been?” I shouted over the heavy rumble of the Harley I sat on as Cade turned his off.

“The vets. Been checking the dog.”

“Again? You’ve been there every night.”

“Yeah, well, someone has to. Ciara’s barely left the hospital. Indie’s there every waking moment. Who’s going to look after Kinobi?”

“The vet?” I rolled my eyes.

“She’ll think she’s been abandoned. She needs to see a familiar face….”

“Fuck’s sake, Cade! When did you care about the dog?”

“Demon made me promise I’d keep her alive. Until she’s discharged…”

“From doggy hospital?” I jibed, my voice sounding like I was speaking to a small child.

“Yes, from fucking doggy hospital. Till she’s discharged. Or died and then I’ve failed. And there’s no fucking way I want Demon holding a grudge against me.”

Now that was more like my brother: self-preservation. But even though his tone had hardened, and his words toughened, there was something softer in his eyes than I was used to seeing. Something not quite him.

“Get some of the brothers to take a shift. Shouldn’t just be you keeping Demon’s dog company.”