So Smith clearly was a killer. I just didn’t know if he was the killer. But I really fucking hoped so.
Apparently, he didn’t leave the house much. The lights were all off inside, from what I could tell. But his vintage Indian was sitting outside. I wondered what the fuck he was doing in there. Probably playing with dolls and knives. Or wearing someone’s skin suit, like the sicko from The Silence of the Lambs.
I shuddered at the thought.
As much as I wanted to run over there and bust in, I didn’t want the blowback to land on the kid. Whether I was right or wrong, if I didn’t kill the guy, he’d be a risk to Parker and anyone else in my sphere. Especially the kid.
I couldn’t stop worrying about him. It was like he was always there, sitting on my shoulder. Telling me not to be a dumbass.
Not that Smith needed another reason to hate me. He had never wanted me to take Dante’s place. I was pretty sure he knew that I’d murdered his friend and leader.
Did killers even have friends? I doubted it. It was some sort of symbiotic relationship. Like one of those fish that ate the algae off whales. Except we had two killer whales. And what were the chances of that?
I had a sudden thought. What if Dante had been following Smith’s bloodthirsty example instead? What if Smith was the sick fuck who got the inner circle to do his bidding?
What if he was the ringleader, at least when it came to murder?
Well, fuck.
A chill went down my spine as I stood there, looking at the dark windows across the street.
Chapter Ten
Michelle
“Okay, so, sides are the most important thing you can do to keep things running smoothly. Any time it’s quiet, do sides.”
A guy knocked over a chair and our heads swiveled. A couple of bikers were getting rowdy even though it was the lunch crowd. It happened a lot less often than it used to, but it did happen.
Parker’s eyes were wide when our eyes met again. The kid was nervous. I instinctively wanted to protect him. I smiled reassuringly.
“Don’t be scared.”
“I’m not scared.”
He puffed out his chest and gave me a bored look. But I wasn’t fooled. The boy was worried about something. He was absurdly cute, with eyelashes that any girl would murder for, huge blue eyes, and a face that would break a thousand hearts someday, if he hadn’t already.
Of course, he was just a kid, even though he claimed he was nearly nineteen. I wasn’t sure what to think, though I knew I liked the kid. I was getting very mixed signals. I shrugged and decided it didn’t really matter. He would let me know what was up when he was ready. I knew from experience better than to push.
“Okay, so take one of the tubs and start bussing. I’ll watch and give you pointers.”
He grabbed the big gray tub and headed out without even a moment’s hesitation. He wasn’t afraid of hard work. That was good.
I had to admit, I felt for the kid almost immediately. And not just because he was ‘boy band cute’. He really did look like he belonged on TV. I had no doubt my daughter Payton would swoon over him when they met. If they met. Was Shane going to be invited to barbecues just because he’d taken in a runaway?
I knew that Mason had changed his mind about the president of the Hell Raisers over the past year. I’d always sensed a soft spot in him myself. The heavily tatted biker was young to be running a club that big, especially one that rough. It was twice as violent as the Untouchables, even ten years ago, according to Mase. Back then, Cain’s club had been much wilder, but the Raisers were a whole other class.
That club was scary. And Shane was the Prez. So it followed that he was equally scary.
But the man had a brain. You could see it whirring behind his green eyes. And he had a heart too. You only had to look at what he was doing for Parker to see it.
Cassandra walked in, both her babies in tow, the youngest strapped to her chest and the eldest in the stroller. She was tugging violently on her restraints, looking like she was in a prison break film.
I almost laughed and waved her over to the bar.
“Need a drink?”
“Oh, God, I wish,” she moaned as she hoisted herself into the barstool next to mine. “I know nursing at least a year is best, but I would really like my boobs back, please.”
I laughed as Jaken hastily made himself busy at the other end of the bar, a faint blush turning his ears red. He’d known Cass since she was a pre-teen. I knew from Mase that it was hard for all the guys to get used to her being a mama instead of a kid herself.