Briar stared at me when I bypassed the sugar and creamer and dropped a dollop of French silk ice cream into my cup this morning. I didn’t explain a damn thing to him. There isn’t one person in this world I owe an explanation to.
That’s a lie, the little voice in my head whispers.
“You could concentrate more on the club if you let her go.”
“Brother,” I warn. “Are you questioning my devotion to this club?”
“I would never,” he answers immediately. “You just seem unhappier than I’ve ever seen you.”
“I’m always unhappy,” I remind him.
That’s a lie, the little voice in my head whispers again. I wasn’t unhappy last night when my cuffs snapped around Candi’s wrists, and her eyes dilated with need. In fact, I was in heaven. Not one single other thing filtered through my mind when she took me to the root, and her cunt fisted my cock like she never wanted me to leave.
“You don’t have to be.” He doesn’t make eye contact with me, and I’m grateful for the reprieve from his scrutiny.
“You are one miserable motherfucker. You don’t have any room to talk.”
It’s his turn to grunt in reply.
At least I have an outlet. I can pick a girl or leave the clubhouse for some new pussy, but he’s just existing, alone, except for the camaraderie of the other bikers and his work.
“I was wondering if I could head down to Miami. Try to build rapport with the Colombians.”
“No.” I reject his request immediately. “We haven’t heard back from Jiménez, and until that happens, we aren’t stepping foot in Florida.”
“I can’t sta—”
“You’ll go where I need you.” My tone doesn’t leave room for argument, and he doesn’t test the boundary. “I have something I’m sure you’re going to want to take care of. I didn’t want things to get derailed for Detroit, but we need to talk about why Molly is back home.”
We are outside in the open, but I feel the air shift around us immediately.
“Prez.” His voice is rough with emotion already. “Tell me she got kicked out because she couldn’t pass Biology.”
“I wish I could.” Avoiding eye contact with him, I keep my eyes focused on the closed basement door in the distance.
“Is she pregnant?”
“No,” I answer immediately. “She’s still a virgin.”
“Thank fuck,” he spits, and I don’t know if he’s relieved she isn’t going to be a teen mother or if it’s an answer to a question he hasn’t asked yet.
“The rape kit from the hospital came back negative,” I add.
The wood of the chair arms groans under his grip.
“She and Candi went to a party a couple miles from school.” I swallow and clear my throat twice before I speak again. “Molly was drugged, but Candi got to her in time. They left, but not before Candi set the house on fire. There were three guys lurking over her by the time Candi made it upstairs.”
“Tell me the sick fuckers didn’t die in the fire,” he begs.
A menacing smile spreads across my face. His mind has gone exactly where mine went when Molly cried through her recollection. After noticing my face and knowing I was already making plans, she’d made me swear I wouldn’t go after the guys. I promised her I wouldn’t lay a finger on them, and I keep my word.
“Smalls did some research, and thankfully all three of them are alive and well,” I answer.
“Perfect.”
“I figured you’d rather head to Andover than Miami. How much time do you need?”
A wicked grin tilts the corners of his mouth. “It’ll take a few days.”
Satisfaction, or as much as I will allow myself to feel, spreads through me. Andover is only an hour away. If he wanted, he could leave now and be back in time for lunch. If Ravens Ruin was a corporate setting, I’d give him a bonus for his dedication to his job, but we aren’t that civilized. Their blood on his hands will be payment enough.
“The police are looking for Candi. They don’t have a clue that she could be here.” I turn my head in his direction. “I can’t let her leave because she isn’t safe.”
“Have you shared this information with her?” My head shakes. “Don’t you think she should know?”
I nod. It’s an agreement to tell her soon because I can’t tell him the truth. I can’t confess out loud that I want her to be here because she wants to be here, that the way I treated her last night is the exact opposite of how I feel.
“She needs to know,” he urges. “She tried to leave here last night. You would’ve felt like shit if she left and got picked up by the damn police.”
“I’ll fucking tell her,” I grunt.
We settle back into our rockers as the sun finally clears the horizon.
“Are we just going to leave the other matter open-ended?”