The Confession

“Surgery.” Seth frowned. “There a problem?”

Jericho shook his head. “No. I was just going to give him some information.”

That sounded ominous. Seth knew damn well that Beck was worried about the elders’ sons hunting Zach down for revenge. Heavenly looked concerned, too. The last thing he wanted was for her to be distressed.

“Angel, why don’t you get yourself a plate? I’ll be there as soon as I talk to Jericho.”

Heavenly obviously didn’t like it, but she nodded. “All right. Do you want me to get you a plate, too?”

“I’ll get it. You pick a spot to sit and I’ll join you.”

“If you don’t mind, would you save me a seat, too?” Jericho asked.

“Sure,” Heavenly confirmed, then dashed to the food table.

Seth looked around for privacy, then nodded toward the pool house. The agent followed.

Once they were out of sight and earshot from the others, he turned to Jericho with concern. “You know Beck and I are”—shit, how did he explain their relationship?—“friends with a common interest.”

The agent raised a dark brow. “In Heavenly? Dean told me. You guys are lucky. She seems like a keeper.”

“She is, but…” He winced. “My twin brothers are here tonight. They’re the two jackasses with Zach. They don’t know about the three of us.”

“No worries. Raine already told me to keep quiet.” Jericho shrugged. “Your brothers might be jackasses to you, but they’ve definitely helped Zach. Whoever thought of putting those three together was a fucking genius.”

Guilt for not stepping up and helping Beck’s brother acclimate warred with the pride of his own brothers providing the real-life experiences Zach needed. “It just kind of happened, but I think it’s turned out for the best. Anyway, if you need me to pass some information to Beck, I’ll be happy to.”

“Sure. I was going to call, but I thought I’d see him tonight…”

“Is anything wrong?” Seth frowned.

“No. Actually, it’s good news. The elders’ sons who flapped their jaws and vowed revenge? Turns out they were all full of hot air. Most of them, when faced with the prospect of figuring out how to make their own money to live in the real world, couldn’t hack it. Instead, they decided to join a sect in Idaho. The two who didn’t? These class A idiots picked up a couple of hookers in Vegas. After the sex, they beat them up and took their money. Their pimp didn’t take kindly to having the merchandise damaged. They’re both in the county hospital and probably heading to jail as soon as they’re medically cleared to stand trial. But reports are that they’re both eating through straws and one is in traction, so it’ll be a while, if ever, before they bother with Zach.”

“That’s great news. It should set Beck at ease.”

“Exactly. It’s better than I expected,” Jericho admitted. “Now how about we get some food? My stomach is eating itself.”

“Same.”

As they stepped out of the pool house, Hammer met them with a smile. “Sorry I haven’t had time to welcome you guys. Glad you both could make it.”

“Thanks for the invite.” Jericho extended his hand.

“I appreciate you, Liam, and Raine for hosting the party.” Seth clapped Hammer on the back fondly. “The twins were dying to see Liam and to meet you and Raine.”

“Based on the stories Liam has told me, Jack and Connor are wild as hell…in a good way.”

“Well, it’s not all good,” Seth refuted with a fond grin. “I still think it’s a miracle my mom never killed them.”

After chuckles all around, Jericho skimmed the yard to see if anyone was nearby, then he faced Hammer, his voice low. “Before we return to the others, I wanted to ask you a question, Macen. I’m not sure if this is the right time or—”

“Sure. What’s on your mind?”

“Following the whole Marlie debacle when she implicated you for supposedly exploiting Raine and all that shit…”

Hammer’s face hardened. “You know about that? It was all lies. I’ve been exonerated—”

“I know. After you got arrested, Dean asked me to look at your case. I took a deep dive into your file, especially the info about your club. I knew you were innocent and that your fucking sham of a trial wasn’t going anywhere.”