Page 40 of Break Out

Following the brunette. Do you need the address?

I smiled. Then I frowned since I had to meet with Crank, Walker, and Shark – presidents of chapters out west. That couldn’t be put off since I didn’t feel like riding out to San Diego, Dallas, or Las Vegas in the coming months.

I texted Warden back.

Yes. But keep watch on her until I can get there. Won’t be until around one.

He texted back a thumbs-up emoji, which surprised the fuck out of me. I fully expected guff since he’d been up a good eighteen hours now.

Maybe the brothers from Jacksonville weren’t all colossal fuck-ups, after all.

“I think the shit with Corrupt Chrome is just in Georgia, Steel,” Walker said in his deep Texas drawl.

Of all the presidents, he had an arrogance I didn’t encounter often. Most of the time I could overlook it, but it rubbed me the wrong way today.

“That’s great, but I’m ordering you to stay vigilant about it. Shit can change and I don’t want any chapter to be caught unaware.”

He swirled a toothpick in his mouth. “Not often you issue orders.”

Walker and I were sitting under the awning outside my camper. It wasn’t ideal for privacy, but Walker had arrived with a lit cigar and I opted to sit outside before the temperatures rose. I hadn’t smoked in over six months, but the stress was getting to me.

I took a long drag off my cigarette. “That should tell you how serious this is.”

He stared off to the side for a beat. “No disrespect, but if you nip this shit in the bud in Georgia, I don’t have to be vigilant about it in Dallas.”

“You want to tell me how to run the club, Walker? Come to Augusta and take the fall for killing off five or more members of the Corrupt Chrome MC?”

He sat back. “No need to bite my head off.”

I stubbed out my cigarette in the ash tray on the camp table.

“If you think that’s biting your head off, you’ve gone soft. Torque and I will ride out to Dallas in June. In the meantime, you know where to find me.”

Walker blew out a plume of cigar smoke and wandered back to his RV on the other side of the camp site.

Shark, the president of the Las Vegas chapter, should have been here by now. I dug my phone out of my back pocket and saw a text from him.

Hung over, Steel. Got time to meet tomorrow? I’ll pay the fine for wasting your time.

I ran my hand through my hair. That asshole should have been able to meet with me even if he was hung-over. That meant he probably had a woman, or more than one woman, with him.

Part of me wanted to stalk over to his camper and bang the fuckin’ door down, but this worked out. I could go check on Simone.

I wasn’t known as Steel for nothing though. I had a will of steel and I liked to run the club with an iron fist.

Damn right you’ll pay a fine – *triple* the fine, motherfucker. Be here at nine tomorrow morning with breakfast.

Chapter 10

Not All Goddesses Are Good

Simone

Alexandra clapped her hands after zipping her suitcase closed. “How is it noon already and why do all the fun things have to happen the exact same weekend?”

I shrugged. “Murphy’s Law, I guess? I feel like we should offer this place to someone else. I bet—”

She crossed her arms. “Not a chance. You deserve to be here, in a real bed, where you can get some rest. And, you can swim at the beach without dragging your tired self through a hotel lobby or some crap.”

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