Smokey (Hell's Bastards MC 2)

“How’s Hanson?” Ugly Beast asked.

“He’s doing good. The doctor believes he’ll be home in a couple of weeks. Nothing was severely damaged. Were you able to get any kind of surveillance?” He turned toward Hunter.

“Nope. Everything from that night has been taken or wiped. Not a single security tape. They were all useless. All we’ve got to go on is Hanson when he wakes up,” Hunter said.

“I want round-the-clock security on him, starting now.”

Kinky got up. “I’m on it. Whoever takes over from me can give me the rundown.” He turned on his heel and left.

“I think you need to postpone your meeting with the asshole,” Vice said.

He looked toward the brother in the corner. Vice rarely said anything at these meetings. “Why?”

“We can’t rule him or his club out.”

“It’s settled then,” Ugly Beast said. “You don’t go.”

“We haven’t taken a vote.” Smokey wasn’t going to be a coward. “You think not turning up to meet him will help our situation?”

“I think if you turn up, it could be a bloodbath,” Elijah said, leaning forward. Brick, Hunter, and several other brothers agreed.

“This meeting is arranged,” Demon said. “It’s a certified trap. We all know it.”

Smokey sat back, not in the best of moods. “I don’t like this.”

“We’re not going to get you killed,” Hunter said. “I don’t give a fuck what they think of us. Let them claim us to be pussies. They’ll be the ones in the fucking wrong. Not us. I’m not having you go out there and get yourself killed.”

“I always knew you loved my ass.” Smokey blew Hunter a kiss. “I already called off the meeting. Any time I meet up with the asshole of the Twisted Bastards MC, it’s going to be a surprise one so he doesn’t see me coming. I haven’t been running this show for them to take the fucking piss. You all should know that by now.” He shook his head.

“Have you considered your piece could be a plant?” Ugly Beast.

“Ava is no plant.”

“Is that because you’re sticking your dick in her?” Ugly glared right back at him.

Smokey’s hands clenched into fists. Anger rushed through his body, but rather than let it spill forth, he stayed perfectly still and stared right at him. “My judgment isn’t impaired. You worry about your wife. Why not knock her up again? It will only help to cement more ties to the mafia.”

“We’re out of the mafia, and you know it.”

“With a little declaration, you’ll be right back in.”

“Enough,” Hunter said. “Ava’s been checked out.”

“Yeah, well, until we’re sure where her loyalties lie, I don’t want her hanging out with my wife.”

“Ava’s a good person,” Raven said, finally speaking up.

All this time, it had surprised him she hadn’t said something sooner. Raven wasn’t exactly known for keeping her mouth shut. She liked to be involved. Even though she was a patched-in member, he sometimes believed she tried to make up for the fact she had tits and a pussy rather than a dick.

“And you think you can make a judgment call?” Ugly Beast asked.

“What gives you the right to question my judgment?” Raven asked, stepping away from the wall.

Ugly Beast stood. “Since your judgment call got my woman hurt. Think hard, Raven. If you hadn’t sent her off with a prospect that wasn’t even one of ours, my wife wouldn’t have lost our first child. She wouldn’t have had a concussion, and she wouldn’t wake up screaming some nights, terrified.”

“One mistake that anyone could have made.”

“Yeah, but it was you who made it. No one else.”

“You fucking prick.”

“Enough!” Smokey slammed his hand down on the table.

Ugly Beast and Raven still glared at one another.

“Ava’s not up for discussion. She’s not part of the club. She’s a woman I’m fucking. Nothing else.”

“Wow, does Ava know that?” Raven asked.

“Ava knows what she needs to, and I don’t need you sniffing in my business. Sit the fuck down.”

Raven stepped back and Ugly Beast sat down.

He had to wonder how Raven was friends with Abriana. The woman was like a puppy in comparison to Raven.

“I hate to take sides, but Ugly Beast is right. It’s a little suspicious how Ryan does a runner, our boy gets hurt, and Ava arrived in town.”

“She’s been in town longer than a couple of weeks. They’ve been raving about her baked goods for months,” Raven said.

Smokey ran a hand down his face. This was getting them nowhere.

“For now, the Twisted Bastards meetup is off the table.” He looked at Ugly. “I need a word with Drago. Arrange it.”

Ugly nodded his head but didn’t look happy. Smokey didn’t give a flying fuck about making his boys happy. “Until then, I want you all to keep an eye on everything. Don’t turn your backs on anyone. Stay fucking alert. Do I make myself clear?” he asked.