Once they were upstairs, both Judge and Trip took their normal spots at the table with Trip at the end and Judge to his left.
“Somebody better do some fuckin’ explainin’ and better do it right fuckin’ now.” Trip’s voice held a razor edge sharp enough he could use his words to slice Rook’s throat.
At that very minute, Rook would welcome that.
Judge leaned back in his chair, crossed his big arms over his even bigger chest and stared at them, not saying a word. With his expression, he didn’t need to.
Trip slammed his hand on the table. “Someone fuckin’ talk!”
“I…” Jet started, then petered out.
At least she tried, Rook couldn’t even get one word past his tight throat and clenched teeth.
“You two fuckin’?” Judge asked bluntly in his deep grumbly voice.
“Remember what I told you downstairs about lyin’,” Trip warned.
Rook guessed answering Judge’s question would be as good a place as any to start. He ignored Jet’s eyes burning a hole into the side of his head and cleared his throat to loosen it. “Yeah.”
“How long?” his prez asked.
Rook grimaced.
Trip leaned forward and shouted, “How fuckin’ long?”
“Uh… since… a while.”
“How long is a while?” Judge asked calmly. Though, Rook figured the enforcer wasn’t so calm on the inside. Judge was much better at hiding his anger than Trip. But he could also be a lot more fucking scarier when that switch finally flipped.
“It started as a hate fuck,” Rook admitted reluctantly, wishing the floor would just open and drop him all the way to the Earth’s molten core.
Jet made a little noise next to him.
“And now?” Trip asked, sitting back and tilting his head, his eyes now focused on Jet. Almost as if he was seeing her in a new light.
Rook snuck a glance at her. She was staring at him, also waiting for his answer. He was surprised she wasn’t tapping her foot impatiently.
Fuck…
“And now?” she echoed Trip.
Judge barked out a short laugh. “Oh fuck. This is goddamn priceless.”
“This ain’t funny,” Trip grumbled but half-smirked anyway.
Rook agreed. None of this was funny, it was painful.
“Yeah, it is,” Judge said. “‘Cause dependin’ on how he answers, his ass is gonna get kicked either comin’ or goin’. Maybe even both.”
His balls were already going into hiding and he no longer had the winter temps as an excuse. He blew out a breath. “Ain’t a hate fuck anymore.”
Judge cocked an eyebrow. “So, she’s just a fuck now?”
Rook snuck another glance at Jet, who now had her arms crossed over her chest and an eyebrow cocked just like Judge.
His Adam’s apple was now lodged at the top of his throat. “No.”
Judge put a finger behind his ear and bent it forward. “Sorry. What?”
“No, she ain’t just a fuck.”
“Jesus Christ, we already dealt with enough shit tonight, now this,” Trip muttered and shook his head. “Why you here, Jet? Did you tip off the feds?”
“No. It wasn’t me. After he left…”
Rook’s head snapped in her direction and he saw her grimace at her slip-up. He grimaced, too.
“That’s where you were when we couldn’t find you,” Trip concluded.
Shit. Rook breathed out a, “Yeah.”
“She know what’s goin’ on?” Judge asked, his expression now serious.
“No,” Jet lied. “He doesn’t talk about club business. But he got a call and rushed out, leaving Cujo behind and I got worried. So, I got dressed and followed. I saw the task force out on the road blocking in the two Shirley vans and taking them into custody.”
“And then decided to stop on in for a fuckin’ shot of whiskey and to shoot the shit a little bit?” Trip’s question was dripping with sarcasm.
Jet snapped her head up and gave Trip a solid stare. “I badged one of the agents and got some info. I wanted to make Rook… all of you aware of what was going on.”
Judge’s eyes narrowed on her. “Why? Why the fuck would you wanna make us aware of what the feds were doin’?”
“As a thank you for Levi.”
Once again, Rook’s head spun toward Jet. She was making up shit now. To cover her ass and his.
“We owe your club big time for allowing my cousin to adopt their son. You made their family—our family—complete.”
She was spinning some bullshit like a damn pro. Rook was impressed.
Both the prez and the enforcer stared quietly at Jet. Finally, Trip asked, “What else they tell you?”
Rook hoped Trip’s boiling anger being reduced to a bubbling simmer was a good sign.
“While they were picking up the men down here, they had a team up on the mountain doing a raid. They’re pulling the women and children clear of the compound until they can figure out who to charge and who to let go. Apparently, they have a stash of explosives up there along with everything else. They’re planning on having a meeting with Max in the morning to catch him up to speed, but the agent I spoke with didn’t say how they knew what was going down tonight, or even if they did know. It could’ve been coincidence.”