Page 54 of Filthy Hot

The backup men are on their way as well, coming from different directions. They should all be arriving throughout the night, but this shit starts now.

This war starts now.

Atomic walks up beside me, clearing his throat as he does. “Do you want to lead this?” he asks.

Turning my head, I look at him, staring at his profile for a moment. He lets out his breath slowly but doesn’t say anything else. I’m not sure he needs to say anything. Jerking my chin toward the door, I begin to walk.

My brothers are at my back. We’re here, and we will be successful.

Because failing is not an option.

It never is.

Instead of knocking on the door the way I probably should, I lift my boot and kick the door. I’m not sure what exactly I expect to find when the door swings open. But it’s not a single man sitting in a chair facing me.

“Well, hello,” he states.

It’s Talon.

He’s staring at me, his lips curved up into a grin. He thinks he’s funny, or maybe it’s more along the lines that he thinks he’s got something over us. He doesn’t. Even if he tries, I’ll just fucking shoot his ass, and that’s that. He won’t get anything over on the Dark Horse MC—not in the end anyway.

“Where is she?” I demand.

“You’re not here for Xavier?” he asks. “I thought you might be seeing as you tracked his phone here.”

I don’t ask him how he knows that. It doesn’t matter. Although it’s creepy as fuck that he knows. I almost ask if he’s been listening in on our shit. What the fuck has been going on here? Maybe it’s not Dennis who is the problem, after all. Maybe it’s a brother.

The thought of a brother being a traitor that way causes my spine to straighten and my mind to spin. Thankfully, Atomic is able to shake it off and continue with the conversation. He takes a step forward, and another, until he’s just a few feet from Talon.

“You know that we don’t give a single fuck about that asshole. We’re here for Kyle. Where is she?”

Talon arches a brow, his lips still twitching as if this is hilarious. He doesn’t say anything, even though he looks like he’s about to burst out into laughter. If he did, I would probably shoot him on the spot.

My patience is hanging on by a goddamn thread as it is. I don’t need to hear him be a fucking smartass.

“I give you this woman, and what?”

Atomic doesn’t say anything, allowing me to take the lead again. My entire body itches for a smoke. Reaching into the inner pocket of my cut, I take out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

I keep my gaze focused on Talon’s. I’m surprised he didn’t even flinch when I reached into my cut. That means he wasn’t concerned I’d pull out a gun. And that is concerning. If he wasn’t worried about that, he’s got someone trained on me—on us.

The smoke fills the air, and I close my eyes for just a moment when the nicotine touches my soul. Slowly, I open my eyes and look across the room to him. My eyes focus on his, and I clear my throat.

“You give me this woman, and I won’t kill your stable.”

“My stable?” he asks, trying to sound confused. It would work, too, if I didn’t know they were his and what they were. But I do.

I nod a couple of times. It’s my turn for my lips to twitch into a smirk. “Yeah,” I say. “Your stable. I got a whole gaggle of bitches that were at your Shreveport house. I would guess thepast few days of having them, you’ve lost some serious cash on their cunts.”

There is a moment of silence, and I can only assume that he’s trying to gather his composure. I’m not sure how he doesn’t know that I have them, especially considering he seems to know just about everything else he’s not supposed to.

“So, you didn’t use them?” he asks, and I can hear that his voice is full of complete confusion.

Rocking back on my heels, I stare into his eyes, making sure he realizes just how goddamn serious I am.

“We do not deal in skin. No part of it.”

He hums, placing his hands on the arms of the chair before he pushes himself to stand. One step, then another, and a third is all it takes to be just a few inches from me. He dips his chin, his gaze focused on mine.

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