In the Arms of the Beast (Kings of Hell MC 5)

Beast’s life was finally making sense. He had a man he loved. They would soon become parents. It was his job to make this world safe for his family, even if he hadn’t planned a kid.

He remained contemplative until the hangarounds started collecting plates and only spoke when the last of the girls neared the door. “Close it behind you. You can finish cleaning later.”

The woman nodded, and Joker waved at her with a grin. She had to be one of his new conquests. Then again, he was with Blackstar. But it was hard to say if their relationship was open or not, and to be fair, Beast hadn’t seen Blackstar in a while. He didn’t keep up with this stuff anymore. For all he knew, the petite girl at the door could be Rev’s new girl. He liked them young and blonde.

Knight put his feet up on the table and leaned back. “What’s up, prez?”

With Laurent, Elliot, and Nao still present, this couldn’t be considered a club meeting, but they were all in on the secret harbored by the old walls of the clubhouse, so he wanted them to know what was going on.

“We voted that the trees need to be dealt with in one way or another. I say there is no time to waste. Let’s try to target one tonight,” he said, and leaned back to have a better view of everyone left at the table.

Vars, who was still finishing his meal, stopped chewing and put the spoon down. “I know we voted on this, but are you absolutely certain we shouldn’t talk to Magpie before we act?”

Beast shrugged. “Magpie’s wasting time on choosing colors for my kid’s bedroom instead of getting us the papers and machinery we need. Meanwhile, we’re partying as if we had no idea the ground is burning under our feet. Baal is getting stronger every day. I say it’s time.”

Knight nodded, twirling his thumbs. “They might not be of this world, but they’re still trees. Any damage we can do should slow down Baal’s ritual.”

Elliot sat up straighter, his eyes glinting with hope. “Can I film it for my YouTube channel?”

The sound of several voices saying ‘no’ made his head drop, but he crossed his arms on his chest and leaned against Knight, who patted his arm, with a shake of his head.

Jake shifted uncomfortably, his brows lowering. “All this paranormal stuff is still a mystery to us.”

Beast’s instincts hadn’t failed him then, his men were getting cold feet. It needed to be nipped in the bud. Beast knew Jake had reasons to be sceptical—his own curiosity had been punished when a gargoyle had taken over his body, but they would achieve nothing if they always chose to err on the side of caution. They weren’t doing their taxes. This was literally about life or death.

“Yes, but we don’t know what’s gonna happen if we go with Magpie’s idea either. Tonight might at least give us an idea of what we’re dealing with here. And it’s not like we’re gonna fall any of them. Let’s start small.”

Fox nodded with a grim expression. “I want to at least feel like I’m trying to do something.”

Joker nudged him, grinning wolfishly. “And our prospect will be cannon fodder.”

Jake ignored the two men arguing. “Maybe we could at least wait for Shadow to come back. He can see the flow of Baal’s energy. It would have been an asset.”

Even the mention of Shadow had Rev pushing the other way. “He knows shit. His brain’s the size of a pea. I say we do what we decided on earlier. And why not kill two birds with one stone and make this Nick’s initiation.”

Joker knocked on the table. “I’m in. Nothing’s gonna happen if we cut one branch. At the end of the day, it’s just a tree.”

Laurent’s silence struck Beast as unusual, but he was glad his plan had gone down well overall. He glanced at Joker and Fox, who still eyed one another over crumbs of bread they’d all eaten with the chowder.

“I think this would make a decent trial for Nick. He’d have to follow orders even when they don’t make sense to him. That’s the first thing a prospect needs to learn,” Beast said.

Fox rubbed his forehead, as if he were trying to smoothen out his early wrinkles. “I don’t know. What if he does something stupid?”

Rev snorted. “You vouched for him. You gotta accept he’s no kid anymore.”

Knight slid his feet off the table. “I say that’s way safer than having him mule something for us or get into the middle of a gunfight like I had during my initiation with the club.”

Laurent stood up, his chest expanding as he inhaled a large gulp of air. “Who would be the best person to look after Marcel when we go?”