Page 55 of The Vows We Keep

“But,” King says, as if my words don’t matter in the slightest, “there is a chance that, given she was born and raised within Los Reyes, and given that she has a very obvious set of skills, she’s playing all of us for some reason. This could be the classic wooden horse of Troy.”

“That old lady of yours been spinning you stories again.”

King glances down at the photograph frame on his desk. I’ve seen it, the image of King on his bike, Rae on the back, ready to ride out. His head is turned to look at her, and she’s smiling back at him. “Don’t know where the story came from. Greek, definitely. Nothing to do with my old lady, so keep her name out of your mouth in this context. Your ... woman could be just that. She gets access to us, to the club, to you, and we end up with trouble.”

“You know when I messaged you and told you that Henley had been dealt with?”

King nods.

“Yeah, well, Cat killed him.”

King stands suddenly. “She did what?”

“You heard.”

“What the fuck were you thinking?”

I stand too. “Bates was busy losing his bowels in the shitter. And the mission needed doing. And Catalina, you can call her that by the way, was there and willing to help. She was cold. Threatened to cut his dick off with a knife. She thought it would help build trust with the club.”

King slams the table. “She’s not a fucking prospect, Niro. I don’t need to trust your bitch as far as I can fucking throw her. You had no right to bring her in on club business. There’ll be sanctions for that.”

“Even though I don’t know what those sanctions are, I’d still make the same decision. She could be so good for the club. She can get in places we can’t.”

King lets out another exasperated sigh before stabbing his half-smoked cigarette out in his ashtray. “You don’t get it, do you? Look.” He tugs his hand through his hair. “I know you process the world differently than most of us, so trust me when I say you’re not processing this right. You’ve known this bitch for three—”

“Call herbitchone more time and you’re gonna need help pulling me off you.”

King’s eyes go wide with shock. “You’re threatening me over pussy you’ve known less than three days?”

“If I started calling Rae a bitch and pussy, what would you do? You’d beat my ass. You turn the other way every time I say something the brothers don’t like, you let me get hit all the fucking time. And I take it, like a man. It’s my turn now. You speak out of line about Catalina one more time, I’ll go nomad.”

There’s a knock on the door, and Halo walks in without asking. “Could see things getting heated from the bar. You need help in here, Prez?”

King keeps his eyes on me. “Get Clutch and Bates for me.”

“Oh, goodie. A group lecture,” I say.

“Sit in your chair before I knock you down,” King says. He reaches for his pack of cigarettes and puts another to his lips before lighting it.

“Aren’t you wearing a nicotine patch?” Clutch says as he walks in. “Thought Rae had made you quit.”

“If I die from a nicotine overdose, it’s this fucker’s fault.” King points in my direction.

Bates follows shortly after and takes his seat next to me. “What’s going on?”

“Is it true you were too busy shitting your pants to stop this idiot from taking Catalina with him to deal with Henley?” King says.

Clutch’s head snaps in my direction. “You did what?”

I shrug. Whatever.

“I was. Should have told you I wasn’t fit to go. Thought I could deal with it. Clearly, I couldn’t.”

King looks at me. “How did you shake Bates?”

“Waited until he was in the bathroom, hid his keys, then left without him.”

Clutch tugs at his hair. He’s been growing it longer. Gwen says it makes him look like a Viking. Guess she’s got a hard-on for Nordic dick. “How bad is it?” he asks.