Beatrice wrote on her notepad, took their drink orders, and left.
“How was your date the other night?” Bull asked.
“Huh?”
“The no-show?”
“Oh, yeah, it wasn’t going to work out,” Maddie said. “I’m done with the whole internet dating.”
“Did the guy give a reason?”
She nodded. “Not one I want to share.” She wasn’t about to tell her boss that her date had decided her size was a problem and he didn’t think she was pretty enough. He said he wasn’t going to fuck her by the end of the night, so he figured there was no point in wasting either of their time.
Maddie hated that he assumed she wanted to get laid. There was more to life than sex. It probably didn’t help that the one and only time she had ever had sex was on her prom night with her date. The pity fuck.
Just the memory was enough to make her cringe.
Bull kept staring at her, and she felt this overwhelming need to check to make sure she hadn’t gotten anything stuck between her teeth.
“So, er, how is everything with you?” she asked.
“You haven’t been on many dates, have you?”
“Is this a date? I thought we were just … you know, er, having some food as colleagues.”
“We are, but I’ve got kind of a proposition for you.”
****
Two days later
“Do you want to tell me again why we’re doing this?” Grant asked.
Bull ignored his brother’s annoying question. He didn’t need to tell anyone anything.
Lifting Pat’s military-grade binoculars, he saw all the kennels. It sickened him.
The club had never invested in dogfighting. For all of his father’s piece-of-shit ways and desire to earn quick money, the bastard had loved animals. Had even owned many dogs. It was one of the things he was known for, taking in strays, of any breed, even if it was a mongrel.
Bull, himself, had always loved dogs and cats.
“Bull, people are pieces of shit. They are not worth your time. They will stab you in the back, but dogs, man, dogs are better than everyone. They are loyal, grateful, and will never turn on you.”
The memory of his father’s words haunted him. Taking a deep breath, he moved the binoculars across the compound, and seeing the pile of dead bodies was enough to make him sick.
After seeing Maddie crying because of a deceased animal, he had made it his mission to find the local dogfighting ring to put an end to it.
He had no idea one was in Carnage. It was far out on the outskirts of town. They were near an obscure farm that had been abandoned many years ago. No one came by to check on any activity, and there was a shit load of it. Kennels lined the walls, and there were so many dogs. Some of them were cowering in the kennels as men passed. They had come to fear them.
He lowered the binoculars and handed them back to Pat.
“When did I have to tell you my reasoning for doing anything?”
“You’ve never cared about any of the shit that’s going on in our backyard.”
“I care about this, or did you forget what Dad taught us?” he asked.
“Dad is dead, and the last time I checked, he wasn’t exactly high on the whole moral compass thing.”
He couldn’t argue that point.
Their dad was a piece of shit, but that didn’t stop him from having good points, and Bull refused to ignore the good the man had done for them both.
“What’s the plan?” Pat asked.
Rusty, Sweet, Rip, and Bud were all happy to come and check out the dogfighting ring. Most of them were dog lovers themselves.
The only one who was being a little pussy was his brother. It might have something to do with Bull disturbing him mid-fuck, but he didn’t care. His brother needed to learn to keep it in his pants, and seeing he was happy calling Maddie names and making her life miserable, Bull was more than happy to make his life just as bad.
“I go in,” Bull said. “I’m going to want to talk to the guy running the shop. Once I do, I will give you guys the signal.”
“Are we keeping them alive?” Rusty asked.
The brother sounded bloodthirsty, and Bull wasn’t going to deny him.
As far as Bull was concerned, the bastards who had set this up deserved to die. All he saw was Maddie’s tears. How upset she had been, and he’d been there. Losing a dog you loved was the hardest thing in the fucking world.
It was the only time his dad had allowed him to mourn, otherwise, his sons were never allowed to show pain or weakness. Tears were a weakness. Thinking about it now, Bull couldn’t help but think of ironic it was.
“I’ve told Dylan about what’s happening, and he isn’t happy. Anyone who dies, I don’t think will be mourned, but those who live, we’re going to make sure has an even worse time of it in prison.”