The Butcher (Ruthless Sinners MC 10)

The words had barely left his mouth when the bar doors flew open, and Viper and the rest of the Sinner men came barreling into the bar like a group of football players who’d just won the big game. They were loud and boastful, clearly pleased with the way things played out with Antonio. I watched as each of the brothers strolled up to the counter, checked in on Kiersten, then grabbed themselves a drink.

I kept expecting to see Billy walk through the door, but there was no sign of him. Worried something might be wrong, I leaned over to Kiersten and said, “Any idea where your dad might be?”

“I’m not sure.” She scanned the room, making sure he wasn’t there, and concern marked her face when she didn’t see him. She gave Country a nudge, then said, “Dad’s not here.”

“Oh, yeah?” He gave the room a quick scan, then stood and said, “Give me a minute.”

We both watched as he walked over to Viper. They spoke for a moment, then Country glanced back over at me. I didn’t have a good feeling as Country gave him a quick nod, then headed back over to Kiersten and me. His eyes skirted over to Matteo, and when he saw that he was listening, he got a strange look on his face. “He’s gonna be a bit... He had some stuff to take care of before he left Antonio’s place.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“Work stuff.”

He didn’t have to say anything more. I knew exactly what he was saying, and while I understood that it was Billy’s job to handle situations like these, I didn’t like the fact that I would have to wait to talk to him. And to make matters worse, I had no idea what I was supposed to do until he came back. “Okay. Do you have any idea what I’m supposed to do until he gets done?”

“Well...” He hesitated for a moment, then answered, “Viper told me to put you up in one of the guest rooms.”

“Oh, okay.”

“He also wants a word with Matteo.”

“Why?”

“That’s between Viper and Matteo.” Country motioned his hand over to Matteo as he said, “I’ll show you down to his office.”

“His office?” Matteo asked, sounding nervous. “Why does he want to talk there?”

“Because he does.”

Without saying anything more, Country started out of the bar. Matteo glanced over at me, looking for some kind of reassurance, but sadly, I had none to give. I had no idea what Viper wanted with him, and I suddenly regretted encouraging him to stay. I didn’t want him to know that I was just as worried as he was, so I mouthed, “It’ll be okay.”

Matteo gave me a skeptical look, then followed Country out of the bar. I was still staring at the doorway when Kiersten leaned over and whispered, “He’s going to be fine. Viper knows he helped us.”

“He also knows that he was working for Antonio.”

“Yes, but Viper’s an exceptional judge of character.” She gave me an encouraging smile. “He’ll see that Matteo’s a good kid who was in a bad spot.”

“I certainly hope so.”

I was a mess. Between Billy not being there and Matteo’s visit with Viper, I felt like I was being torn in a hundred directions. I tried not to think the worst about either of them, but it wasn’t easy—especially when I was at the root of all their woes. I finished off my beer and was about to ask for another when Country returned—alone.

Fearing something might’ve happened, I rushed over to him and asked, “Where’s Matteo?”

“He’s still with Viper.”

“Is he okay?”

“Why wouldn’t he be?” I gave him a stern look, “He’s fine. Seriously. Viper’s hooking him up with a couple of his contacts before he heads back home.”

“Oh, wow. That’s good, right?”

Relief washed over me when he replied, “Yeah, I’d say that’s very good.”

“Thank goodness.”

“You ready for another beer?”

“I think I’m gonna pass.” I glanced around the room at all of his brothers, watching as they enjoyed their drinks and idle conversation, and I felt like a complete Debbie Downer. I just wanted to crawl into bed and forget this day ever happened, so I told him, “I think I’d rather go to that guest room you were telling me about.”