“Maybe you should be looking at the fucking Snakes before coming to us,” Larkin said.
Things were beginning to feel tense. Jetter held up his hands, a conciliatory gesture. “I hear you, Larkin.” He put his hands back down. “Word is, there’s a girl involved in all this.”
I narrowed my eyes. “How did you know about that?” I asked.
Larkin gave me a look. I shouldn’t have spoken out of turn, but fuck that.
“Ford,” Jetter said. “Good to see you.”
“How do you know about the girl?” I repeated.
“As your leader here said, we did in fact speak with the Snakes. They said they found the boy dead when they arrived, and they found her I.D. card in his riding bag.” He shrugged, smiling. “We put two and two together.”
“Why do you think we have anything to do with the girl?” Larkin asked.
“Frankly, I was going to ask for your help in finding her,” he said, smiling. “But our messenger fucking saw her sitting in your damn clubhouse earlier today.”
Larkin grunted at that. “Okay. We got the girl.”
“What’s the fucking deal, Larkin?” Jetter said, losing his genial way of speaking. There was an edge to him.
Jetter was a funny, smiling man most of the time. He was older, in his forties, and was quick with a drink and a joke. He was maybe rounder in the middle than most leaders, but he could still ride, shoot, and fight.
Despite his smiling, Jetter was a killer at heart. He used his personality to blind people to that fact, but I never forgot it. Back when he was a Demon, Jetter was known as a cut-throat motherfucker, and that was the man I’d always remember.
“Girl came to us for protection,” Larkin said. “She claims the Snakes killed your boy.”
Jetter frowned. “Sounds unlikely.”
“It’s the truth,” I said. “I know the girl from way back. She’s not a club slut, not a part of this. She wouldn’t lie.”
Jetter nodded, looking at the shorter man. He just shrugged. “Say you’re telling the truth,” Jetter said. “This could mean war, you know.”
“Not our war,” Larkin said.
“Could be. You’re holding the girl.”
“Not our war,” he repeated.
Jetter sighed. “I want her,” he said.
“I claimed her,” I said. “She’s fucking mine now.”
Jetter looked surprised. “Claimed her? You’re fucking kidding me.”
“It’s true,” Larkin said. “The girl is Ford’s, like it or not.”
Jetter laughed, shaking his head. “This is some fucking bullshit, Larkin.”
“Here’s the deal: We’re leaving now; you can figure out your own business.”
Jetter sighed. “I’m not so sure about that.”
I felt Clutch and Spoil tense. I put my hand on my pistol, staring down the short man, who only gazed at me and smiled softly.
“No need for bloodshed,” Larkin said. “We’re protecting the girl, but you can speak with her.”
“Tonight,” Jetter said.
“Our place. Bring your boys. You can speak with her as long as you like.”
Jetter stared down Larkin for a minute and then nodded. “Fine. We’ll figure out this shit then.”
“Fine.” Larkin nodded at us. “Boys.”
We turned and walked out.
It was never easy to turn your back on bikers, but I knew they’d never shoot. The Demons would crush them like fucking bugs if they ever tried to step out on us, and they knew it.
But it concerned me that Larkin was letting Jetter speak with Caralee. I didn’t want her anywhere near some murderous fuck like Jetter. She really wasn’t a part of our world, and she had no clue how to act around a man like that. “Girl will be fine,” Larkin said as we got on our bikes, looking at me. “You’ll be with her the whole time.”
I nodded at him. “Yeah, I will.”
“Come on.”
We kicked our bikes into gear and headed back toward the clubhouse.
My mind was spinning faster than my tires. I hated that Caralee was going to be around Jetter, but I knew I could keep her safe if I was around for it.
What worried me more, though, was the relationship between the Snake Spit and the Rebels. We hadn’t known they were dealing with each other, and that was a problem. We needed to know what was happening with our neighbors at all times, and this felt like a huge fucking mess.
Things were getting complicated, and fast. I needed to be on my game if I was going to keep Caralee safe.
Fortunately, this was the sort of shit I truly fucking loved.
Chapter Thirteen: Caralee
It was a tense hour while the guys were gone. None of the other Demon members acted like it was a big deal, but I could tell there was a ripple of concern beneath everything they were doing. There was a tension in the room that nobody was acknowledging.
And it would have been pretty awful if it weren’t for Janine talking my ear off.
“And anyway,” she said, “that was how I ended up stripping for a year.”