Wolf didn’t miss the irony of the fact that those words had been said to him twice tonight.
“You promise you can stay away from her, then prove it.” Mack paused to point the hand that held the cigar at him. “Don’t go running over there tonight like I know you want to.”
When Wolf glared at him, Mack continued.
“Yeah, I know you. You think I don’t?”
Wolf ground his teeth and let his eyes drop to the table. If he had to grovel to his President to make sure Crystal stayed, he’d fucking do it.
“You do,” he confessed.
“Damn right, I do.” Mack shifted in his seat, relaxing a bit. “You stay away from her, and maybe I’ll let her stay.”
Wolf nodded. “Done.”
Mack nodded toward the door. “Get the fuck out of here. I’m gonna have a chat with Crystal.”
Wolf’s eyes slid closed for a moment. Shit. Then they opened, and he stood up and walked out.
****
Crystal stood behind the bar, pulling a beer for Cajun who was teasing her about the whole show she’d put on, when her eyes were drawn to the conference room, and she saw Wolf walk out. He looked at her, and then turned away as if he was done with her. And she felt her heart breaking all over again.
Mack followed him out a moment later and approached the bar. He took a seat right in front of her, his eyes drilling into her.
“As entertaining as all that was, we’re not going to have any more little displays like that, are we?”
“No, sir.”
“Good.”
She felt her eyes getting glassy with tears.
“Why don’t you take the night off? In fact, take the rest of the week off. Get your head on straight. Okay, darlin’?”
Crystal swallowed and nodded. “Sure.”
Then she moved to the opposite end of the bar to grab her purse. Her eyes connected with Red Dog, who still sat at the end. Grabbing her purse up, she noticed him frown at her. She lifted her hand to him, waggled her fingers and gave him a wink. He relaxed back onto his bar stool, apparently convinced she was okay.
Then she moved through the crowd and headed out the door, desperate to get to her car before she broke down.
****
Mack looked over at Cole, who sat at the end of the bar. “Send Wolf somewhere for a few days.”
Cole nodded, taking a hit off his cigarette. When he blew the smoke out, he offered, “He can do that Temecula run we were talking about. Seventy miles from the Mexican border far enough for you?”
Mack nodded at Cole’s sarcastic attempt at a joke and looked meaningfully at his VP. “This is the last time I’m dealing with this shit.”
“Understood.” Cole tamped out his cigarette and moved off his barstool to find Wolf again.
CHAPTER FOUR
Wolf rolled up at the meeting place where he was to meet two of his brothers from the club’s Chapter in Temecula, California. The place looked inconspicuous enough for a drop. Not much traffic, out in the middle of nowhere. A lone roadhouse with two bikes parked out front.
But still, he had a bad feeling, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. A feeling that Wolf had learned a long time ago not to ignore. He glanced up and down the road. A lone tractor-trailer lumbered past, kicking up a trail of dust in its wake. As the sound of its motor faded into the distance, Wolf dropped his kick stand and shut his bike off.
He strode inside. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim bar. When they did, he took the place in. A long bar at the back wall, a busty blonde bartender leaning against it, smoking a cigarette and flipping through a magazine. She looked up when he entered. His head swiveled. There was a pool table on either side of the door. His eyes located his brothers at the table on the right. Not another soul in the place.