Page 70 of Filthy Liar

Walking straight to the conference room, I’m not surprised there are already men here. Atomic is sitting at the head of the table. A few others are scattered as well, but King isn’t here yet, and I know he’s who Nash wants to see most.

Nash tosses his bag on the table, reaches inside, and pulls out some blueberry-looking thing. No clue what the fuck it is, but I know that without a doubt, it is going to taste amazing—which makes me jealous as fuck.

A few people move inside, but then King is behind them. Nash sets his blueberry pastry down and faces his son. We’re all silent as we watch the encounter. Wordlessly, Nash lifts his armsand wraps them around King, murmuring something to him that none of us can make out.

Then Nash releases him and, without responding, lifts his hand to curl his fingers around the side of his throat and tugs on King’s body with a single jerk. “Scare me like this again, and you won’t have to worry about pussies like the Demon Guns. You’ll have to worry about me because I’ll finish the goddamn job,” Nash growls.

King’s eyes widen, he blinks, then he smiles. “Okay, Dad.”

“We ready to begin?” Atomic calls out.

“Fuck yeah, we are,” Nash growls. “Because I got some shit to sort out with this fucking club, and we are not leaving this room until it’s goddamn sorted.”

Fuck.

Also,hell yeah.

DILLION

I chewon my bottom lip as I wonder if I should just pack my things and run now. I don’t think Humble is going to leave me alone. Not that I want him to, because I truly don’t. But at the same time, I can’t just forgive and forget.

I’m in a conundrum.

My phone buzzes on the kitchen countertop next to my glass of water. Reaching over, I notice that it’s Shawn calling me. I don’t think she’s ever actually called me before. She’s texted. But called? Never.

I wonder if this is some sort of emergency.

Sliding my thumb across the screen, I bring the phone to my ear. “Hello?” I know I sound confused because I am just that… confused as fuck as to why she’s calling me.

“This is a big ask, a huge one,” she says, sounding out of breath.

I blink, unsure she’s got the right person. “Okay…” I say, my words trailing off.

She laughs, but it doesn’t sound like she’s finding anything funny right now. In fact, she sounds panicked. I’m not really good in emergency situations, so I’m not quite sure why she’s calling me and not someone else, like Kyle or Spencer.

“Why me?” I ask.

She lets out a laugh, and I press my lips together, embarrassed as hell that I just asked that.

“Because I trust you. You’re one of us, and the baby is sick. Brendan has been throwing up everything he’s consumed. I think he’s got the flu. I have a doctor’s appointment for him, and Kyle is going to watch Chase....”

That sounds gross.

“What do you need me to do?” I ask, afraid that she’s going to ask me to bake something. Which I cannot do at all. In fact, I think I might ruin her business if I tried to bake a single item.

She laughs softly. “Just man the front. Ryan is going to make the stuff in the back. She knows what she’s doing there.”

The idea of working with Ryan at the bakery should not make me as excited as it does. I decide to answer her without thinking about it. Because she’s asking me for help, and I would be a bitch if I didn’t help her when her kid is sick.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes. I need to pack my work clothes, and then I’m on my way.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” she exhales.

Ending the call, I rush around my house, packing my bag for work as quickly as possible. Then I’m out the door, and as I rush toward downtown, I realize that I didn’t leave.

I didn’t tell her no. I didn’t drive toward the West Coast. Instead, I’m driving toward downtown Pineville. What anabsolute trip. I need to leave. I know I do, but I can’t. Shawn needs me, and she’s never been anything other than an absolute friend to me.

What kind of person would I be if I didn’t help her?

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