Page 22 of Cinder (MC Fables #2)
L ars
The kitchen empties, but I stick around because I want to make sure Ella is okay.
She was cool and calm as the situation with Stone unfolded, but it could have been adrenaline that kept her unaffected, and as that adrenaline wears off, I want to be around to calm any fallout.
“So what happened?” she asks, removing the latex gloves and disposing of them in the trash. “How did Stone get shot?
“We were ambushed.”
She washes her hands in the sink. “Does that happen a lot?”
“We’re tracking some uninvited traffic through town. The people responsible don’t like that we interrupted some of their deliveries.”
She nods. “I see.”
Which surprises me.
I expected more questions.
But it’s almost as if she already understands that I can’t say anything more.
Which makes me think she’s not as new to this side of the tracks as I thought.
Which makes me even more curious about who she is.
Instinct stirs in my gut.
But I can’t put a finger on it.
I walk around the counter so I’m standing in front of her, and when she looks up at me, I have an urge to put my arms around her. To protect her. Which makes no sense. I don’t know this woman.
But I do know she wasn’t rattled by what happened, and I want to know why. “It didn’t scare you?”
“It was a surprise. But I wasn’t scared.”
Okay, interesting.
“Most people would be a little rattled,” I say, meeting her gaze.
“I guess I’m not like most people.”
I search her eyes. Her face .
Who are you?
“No, I can see that,” I say.
Her eyes drop to my lips.
And there’s that urge again. The one I have whenever I’m with her.
To take her in my arms and devour her lips until we’re both breathless.
“So what happens now?” she asks.
“Beast will retaliate.”
She nods, as if in agreement.
Again, she doesn’t ask questions.
And again, my instincts stir.
But I don’t have time to question her.
Because Beast sends me a text.
In my office now.
“Who the fuck tipped them off?” Beast growls.
It’s just the two of us standing in his office in the clubhouse.
And I know why it’s just the two of us. It’s because he knows we’ve got a rat, and while neither of us believes it could be a Knight, we need to take precautions until we figure it out.
Beast trusts me. Probably only me. Because he knows I would die for him and my brothers.
It will cut us both deep if one of our brothers is a rat.
No, that’s not an option.
There’s no way one of our brothers sold us out.
Beast is agitated. “The only people who knew about our pending visit to the warehouse were the faces present in church?—”
“And the informant who gave you the information.”
“That’s why we’re going to Jacksonville.”
Jacksonville is a day’s ride away.
Making it a three-day turnaround. Two days at best.
“Jacksonville is a long way to go for a chat,” I say. “Who is this informant?”
“Hamashuto.”
Otherwise known as The Hammer.
Otherwise known as the president of the Devil’s Rattlers, an outlaw MC who run the east coast of Florida.
The Knights and the Rattlers have always been tight.
“We have a strong alliance with the Rattlers. Hamashuto has no reason to set us up.”
“No, he doesn’t. But I want to be looking at him when he tells me that.
” Beast’s phone buzzes, and he checks the message.
The small smile that tugs at his lips tells me it’s from Belle.
But his smile quickly fades. He holds up the phone.
“I want to leave Belle alone to deal with a teething nine-month-old as much as I want a fucking hole in the head. But it needs to be done. You know the old biker doesn’t trust talking over the phone.
Not to mention, Hamashuto doesn’t say much about anything unless it’s in person. And I’ve got questions.”
So do I.
He starts for the door. “We leave tomorrow.”