Page 24 of Deception (Deranged Drifters MC #22)
Chapter Twenty-Four
Griffin’s Beach Lex
“ H ey, baby, can I borrow you for a minute?” Colt asks.
“Borrow me for what?” Lex asks with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
She can’t seem to get enough of Colt lately, and she doesn’t hate her constant state of desire. It did have her taking a pregnancy test because it reminded her of how she was with both Noah and Calla. It came back negative, but the craving to get naked with her husband hasn’t subsided a bit.
“Later,” he says and winks. “Come into the Chapel?”
She saunters in, half expecting him to toss her onto the table and take her, but she sobers up when she sees Ky and Venom at the head of the table with all of their predecessors on the other end.
Colt shuts the door behind them, and he takes his seat at the head. She stands by the door staring at the six men in front of her. It feels as though she’s standing in front of the firing squad, and her stomach jumps nervously.
“Is this because I didn’t tell you about Gracie? I swear, I just found out this morning.”
“Yeah, you could’ve given me a heads-up,” Ky says, “but that’s not what this is about.”
Jennings smirks. “Why don’t you sit down, Lex?”
Taking a seat in the middle, she looks around. “This feels like I’m being called into the principal’s office.”
“We have to talk to you about something serious,” Colt says. “We have a rat in the clubhouse.”
“Another one?” she asks. “Geez, what number is this? Three? Four?”
Ky chuckles. “Right?”
“How do you know? Because of Julian’s raids?”
“Grayson told me,” her husband says. “He was tipped off by Alex McKenzie.”
Her eyebrows lift. “Oh, I thought you had her in here with Brian because you found out they were… You know what? Never mind.”
Blinking, he gapes at her. “You knew Brian and Alex were fucking?”
“No,” she says with a grimace, but nods her head yes.
“Is there anything you don’t know?” Venom asks.
“Who the rat is,” she says with a shrug. “Wait, why are you telling me? You’re not planning to use me as bait again, are you? Because I lost a gall bladder the last time I was bait. Or maybe it was a spleen. I lost some internal organ.”
Venom tilts his head. “I have so many questions.”
“Okay, first of all, that organ loss was your own fault,” Jennings says. “You carried out your own plan that made you bait.”
“And second, we’re not using you as bait,” Colt says.
“Okay, so why are you telling me? What’s going on?”
“We don’t think it’s a member talking to Julian,” Ky says.
Leaning back, Lex looks around at each of them as it dawns on her, and her eyes widen. “You think it’s an old lady?”
“Yes,” Colt says.
The second realization feels like a thousand knives to the chest, and she snorts as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Fuck all of you.”
“Lex—”
“You think this is just my diabolical plan? Something I’ve been cooking up since I was, what?
Fifteen? Yeah, I figured it would be best to wait until my husband became the fucking President before finalizing the details.
Now, I get the luxury of raising three kids alone because I’m locking all of your asses up in prison for the rest of your lives. Yeah, you caught me.”
“I never thought it was you,” Venom mutters and crosses his arms over his chest in the same manner she does. “It was the rest of ‘em.”
They all stay quiet, and she can’t stop the hurt and overwhelming offense of being suspected. “Wait, you don’t really think it’s me, do you?”
“You know more than most,” Jennings says.
“So, what’s the plan, then? You need my phone? Want Brock to look through everything electronic I have access to? Or maybe you’ve had someone trailing me to make sure I’m not meeting up with Julian after I fuck my husband. Tell me, how goddamn boring was that surveillance?”
Tears sting at her eyes, but she refuses to cry. Not in front of them, and certainly not in front of her father.
“Lex—”
“I have almost died for this club more than once. I bleed Drifter blood, and you think I would ever betray this club?” She turns and looks directly at Colt. “You think I would betray you ?”
“I don’t think it’s you, baby. Never did.”
Relief fills her. If her husband thought she was capable of something this heinous, he should have just pulled out his gun and ended it right then and there.
Colt stands and walks around to her, but she jumps out of his grasp and moves towards the door, keeping the chair between them. “Lex—”
“Don’t,” she says, leaning against the heavy door. “I get it. I’m the obvious choice to look at first, but that really fucking hurt, Colt.”
“I’m sorry.”
Nodding, she looks at the table. “So, was that what this is? To make sure it wasn’t me? Did I react the way you expected? Did I pass the test?”
“It’s not a test,” TK says. “The truth is, we need your help. We have no idea who it is, and you have a better handle on the old ladies.”
“And some of the members, it seems,” Ky says. “I mean, you knew about Brian and Alex.”
“No one and everyone looks suspicious to us,” Jennings says. “We went around in circles trying to talk it out and find one person.”
She can’t meet any of their gazes because she’s not certain she won’t burst into tears. It’s a lovely side effect of the therapy that she hates with a passion. “What makes you think it’s one of us?”
The pain in Colt’s sigh almost makes her look, but she can’t. Not yet. He runs through the facts they’ve clearly discussed ad nauseam based on the annoyance in his tone. The hiding places Julian’s aware of that only someone from the inside would be privy to.
“What about Zane?” Lex asks. “Could it be something he’s giving up?”
“Zane isn’t ratting out the club,” VP says with such conviction that it feels like he twists the knife still sticking out of her chest. “My son would never do that.”
Her eyes snap up, this time filled with anger instead of tears. “But your daughter would?”
“Lex—”
“Fuck you, VP. Like, seriously, go fuck yourself.”
“You have more of a reason to fuck us over than Zane does.”
Stepping forward, she slaps her hands on the top of the table and leans forward to look into his hazel eyes. “He got his ass kicked to the curb by this club. That’s more of a reason than I will ever have.”
“Just admit it, Lex. You hate us.”
“No, I hate you ,” she spits and stands back up. “If it were only you getting locked up, yeah, I’d probably be the prime suspect.”
He looks taken aback, but her anger only intensifies. “Is that right?”
“You will never see me the way you see him because I was born with ovaries instead of testicles, but I have done everything for this club. Even if I died saving him, I would still not be good enough for you. You’re angry with me because you blame me for Zane getting kicked out. Your legacy disappeared with him.”
“It was your people who brought it up,” VP says.
“My people? He can never do anything wrong in your eyes, can he?” she asks and crosses her arms over her chest. “He could kill you, and your last breath would be spent defending him.”
“Do you honestly believe Zane would turn against the club like that?” VP shouts and stands up. “Do you?”
Locking eyes with him, Lex keeps her expression deadpan. “Yes. I believe it as much you believe he wasn’t going to kill me in my own front yard.”
“This says a lot about you, Alexis. You have never been able to let grudges go.”
“No, I think this says a lot about you, Nash,” Jennings says. “You know what? It might be better if you go and sit in the main room while we finish this conversation. You’re not helping.”
“Fine,” he says, pushing his seat back and lets it slam against the wall. “Guess you have everyone against me, too. Happy?”
Venom’s up in a flash and slams her father against the wall.
“You need to get a reality check real fucking quick before I put you in the goddamn ground. Your son ain’t shit, and I’m starting to see that whole shit about the apple and the tree is pretty fucking true.
His bitch ass clearly takes after his daddy. ”
“Get off me,” VP says, struggling to shrug him off. “Go feed into her bullshit. I don’t care.”
“That’s fucking obvious,” Colt says. “Let him go, Venom.”
Growling, he does as he’s told, but he glares at the older man. “I get the all clear, and I will be the last face you ever fucking see.”
The door slams shut behind him. “Lex—”
“No one jumps out at me,” she says and interrupts Colt as she stares at the carpet. She needs to gain control of herself again. “I haven’t heard anything. I would’ve told you if I had. Assuming you believe that.”
Venom reaches out to touch her arm, but Lex slides away from him. “Lex, I’m sorry. We needed to get your honest reaction, but I never believed it. I don’t think any of us did. Well, except maybe your dad, but he’s a fucking idiot.”
She nods and focuses on a stain under the table. “It has to be someone who’s been around for a while since they’re all old spots. Marnie, for example, wouldn’t know about them. But Tess, me, Karmen…”
“What?” Jennings asks as she trails off. “You think it’s Karmen?”
Shaking her head, she looks up. “No, I… Can you give me a day? I think I might know how to find out.”
“How?” Colt asks.
“I need to talk to someone. But we’re on the same page, right? Veteran, not newbie?”
“Yeah,” Ky says. “Lex, what are you thinking?”
“I need to work it out first,” she says and furrows her brows.
If her plan works—assuming Karmen agrees—they’ll get the information directly from the source. But past experience tells her that sharing her plan will only have the men interfering and ruining it. Besides, they needed to be certain she wasn’t the rat. She’s entitled to a bit of payback.
“I have to go, but I know the drill. I’ll have to tell the one person I need for my idea, but they won’t say anything. And I’ll either have a name for you, or it failed.”
Turning, Lex heads out to the parking lot to the SUV. Right now, she wishes she had her Mustang to drive. It always made her feel better when she was upset.
She releases a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as she leans against the driver’s side door. Her defense mechanism when she feels hurt and attacked is to run.
“Lex!” Colt shouts, his loud boots running after her.
She turns and shakes her head. “I’m not saying anything until I know—”
His lips crash onto hers, effectively shutting her up. She gives in and kisses him back, momentarily pushing her feelings of betrayal to the back of her mind.
“I never thought it was you,” he whispers into her ear. “I just had to explore it so I didn’t look biased. I’m still figuring out how to navigate this President thing.”
“My father thought I could be doing it,” she says and wipes her eyes. “But it could never be Saint Zane.”
He cups her face and presses his forehead to hers. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“Why can’t he just love me?”
“Because he’s clearly defective.”
“So… Did I pass?”
He sighs. “You never should have had to. I should… I should have pushed against it. I knew it would never be you.”
“Did I pass?”
“Yes,” Jennings says from behind them.
Her lip trembles, but she will not let the fresh tears fall. “You got what you were looking for?”
“This isn’t because we doubted you,” he says. “Colt, I’m sorry for not letting you in on the plan your father and I had.”
She looks at Colt who drops his hands only to wrap Lex into his arms. “What are you talking about?”
“We wanted to test Nash. But we overlooked how it would make you feel, Lex, and we’re so sorry.”
“I don’t understand,” she says and looks at Colt staring at Jennings. At least it’s not just her who has no idea what’s going on.
“You will. Soon,” Jennings says. “We’re all sorry. I hope you can forgive us, Lex.”
“I forgive most of you.”
“That’s fair,” he says with a sad smile.
Colt shakes his head. “What game are you running, Jennings?”
He just smiles. “Trust me, this is one instance where being able to plead ignorance will benefit you.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Lex mutters when he heads back inside.
“No idea,” Colt says. “Are you okay?”
Shrugging, she sighs. “Any meeting that involves my father is a crap shoot on how well I am afterwards. But I have to go. I need to talk to someone.”
“Not ready to share it with me?”
Lex shakes her head. “No, but if I’m right, I’ll have an answer for you by tomorrow night.”
“Forgive me?”
“Always,” she says, kissing him even though it still stings. “I gotta go.”