Page 53 of Trick

“You don’t need to thank me for helping you. I want to.”

His phone buzzes, and he reaches into his pocket to pull it out. I watch the irritation ripple across his face before he puts it away.

“Problem?”

“Howler needs me for something, but I’m not leaving you.”

That declaration adds to the warmth in my chest. “Go. I’m probably just going to sleep anyway. Sophia and I will have a nap together.”

He looks torn, but I give him a shove towards the door. “Seriously, go. The club needs you.”

“If you need me for anything, just call or message.”

“I’ll be fine.” He makes his way to the door, still internally arguing with himself. “Trick?”

He stops, turning back to me. “Yeah?”

“I know the day ended on a shitty note, but everything before that was amazing. Thank you.”

His gaze softens and a small smile reaches his lips before he disappears through the door.

CHAPTER 15

TRICK

Ifile into the room we use for church, taking a space against the wall while the other brothers claim seats around the table.

Howler takes his seat as Brewer closes the doors behind us, signalling the meeting is ready to start. I notice Rage is also among the brothers, even though he’s not an officer, which tells me whatever is about to be said is going to have a big impact on everyone.

Rage smirks at me, a murderous twinkle in his eyes, before Hawk nudges him in the ribs. He gives me a scathing glare before he turns towards Prez.

The beatdown, which seems to have smoothed things between me and the other brothers, hasn’t made a fucking difference to him. Rage still wants to kick me in the balls, and I no longer feel like letting him. To get respect, I have to have some for myself.

I roll my eyes before I lower my chin, folding my arms over my chest as I wait, but all I want to do is get back to Heidi and my daughter.

“Four Pioneers are dead,” Howler says without any preamble. “Two more are in the wind.”

I don’t like the sound of that, but soon they’ll all be dead, so what does it matter?

“I’m ordering a temporary lockdown for the next twenty-four hours in case there’s retribution,” Howler says. “We all need to be vigilant and alert. There will be someone on the door at all times, and it will also be locked. All parties are suspended, no hangarounds, no out-of-towners, no guests or visitors until we put this shit to bed.”

I’m not surprised Howler would want to keep everyone close. Considering the number of children and old ladies now linked to the club, our world is more fragile than ever.

“Any news on Richardson?” This question comes from Hawk.

He’s no doubt worried about the safety of his old lady and kids. I understand that fear. There’s not a moment that passes where I don’t worry about my child and Heidi.

“He’s well protected, which is making it hard to find out where he is, but he’s still out there.” Howler moves his gaze from Hawk to Rage, and I know whatever he’s about to say is going to light a fire under the kid. “He’s increased the reward for Skye’s return.”

Rage erupts instantly, his fist slamming onto the table hard enough to break his hand. “He ain’t touching my old lady! I’ll burn the entire city to the fuckin’ ground before I let him have her!”

He comes up in a swift motion, but Hawk clamps a hand on his shoulder at the same time as Socket, both men pushing him back into his seat.

“Fucking calm down,” Hawk snaps at him, sounding more like a father than a brother.

Socket glances at the kid as if he’s a live grenade, and it’s not an unfair assessment. Rage is a powder keg waiting to go up at any moment.

I hold my breath, feeling as if we’re standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down at the choppy waters. A sense of dread ripples through me that I can’t shake.

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