Page 49 of Loco

“Fuck no!” I snapped, shooting him a scowl. “She takes care of his grandma’s cat. Met him for the first time the day I showed up and gave him a beating and an ultimatum.”

“So how does this tie in with why he’s after her?”

I turned to Cole. “He thinks she snitched on him, and that’s why I showed up at his grandma’s.”

Demon released a harsh sound.

“The fucker approached her at Grinders the other night, too. He got away when we gave chase.”

I narrowed my eyes on Demon and took a minute to think before I spoke. I didn’t want to disrespect my prez, but if we’d taken care of Russ the way that I’d wanted to from the beginning, he wouldn’t be bothering my woman now. I fisted my hands against the tabletop, thinking about how shit could have turned out for Millie last night. “I want to deal with him,” I said coldly. “He won’t threaten my woman again.”

“This is what we get for going soft on dickheads who owe the club.” All eyes fastened on Colton.

I wondered how many other brothers were thinking the same thing. In the old days when someone owed us money and didn’t pay up, they were taken care of swiftly and permanently in order to send a message.

“We don’t fucking kill someone over a few bucks.”

Doc’s comment surprised more than a few of us at the table. Sure, he’d taken an oath to save lives, but when it came to the club there was no question where his loyalties lay. But money had never been important to him, probably because he had it, so hewouldfeel that way.

“It’s not the dollar amount, it’s the fucking principle of the thing,” Happy pointed out. “I agree with some of the changes we’ve made, but no one steals from us and gets away with it. No one messes with our women and families. When that happens, it doesn’t matter if it’s a fucking quarter that we’re talking about.”

I agreed with him. I liked the direction Demon was taking the club in when it worked. Yeah, me, the guy who liked war and shedding blood. But it had to be for a good reason. When I’d first joined Desert Rebels, I’d been fucking wild and full of anger, ready and eager to fight now and ask questions later. Over the years I’d learned the brotherhood and rules set in place were a good solution to what had troubled me as a youth. I’d grown up.

But Russ was a loose fucking cannon, and had proved it more than once. Instead of doing what he needed to do to pay us what he owed, he was threatening my woman. The little fucker was just making shit worse for himself and his gang.

Frustrated, I looked over at Oz. “Why can’t we find the little prick’s hideout?” The only reason I’d been able to track Russ down at his grandma’s house that day was because he’d been sighted in the area. Oz had looked into why he might have been there and had discovered where the old lady lived. I’d gone there on a hunch.

Now the little asshole knew he was on our radar for the shit he’d pulled on Morty at the tattoo shop. He must have been on some serious drugs that day to do something as stupid as stealing from the Desert Rebels. And I was going to burn that fucking tattoo off him when I got my hands on him again.

Oz took a deep breath and released it before speaking. “I’m working on it. You know how it is when someone doesn’t want to be found, Brother.”

“Let’s not forget his cousin is a member of the club,” Reid said from his place at the table.

Another reason we’d been lenient on the fucker. Torch was not just a member, but an officer in LD’s clubhouse. He oversaw security. Not too sure I liked the brother, and I wasn’t alone. He was a hothead and too eager to rile.

“And Torch has no idea where to find him?” There was skepticism in Sax’s voice.

Oz shook his head. “Says he’s never been close to the asshole and could care less about him.” He released a snort. “Sounds about right, coming from Torch.”

I looked at our prez. “I’m going to end him when I find him.” I didn’t care if Demon was on board with that or not. He’d do the same if it were Bobbie.

After a long stare down, he swung his eyes to Cole. “Get on it.”

Cole gave him a chin lift in reply.

At that point, we all knew what would come next. Cole would do the leg work, and I’d do the dirty. It was a silent agreement that we communicated in a single, hard look. There wasn’t a brother in the room that didn’t know what I wanted, and they understood the need that I had to protect Millie.

“So how serious are you about Millie?” Doc asked with a smirk.

I glared at him. “I claimed her, asshole.” He just wanted to see me squirm, put into words what all of us were uncomfortable with saying, revealing our feelings. I couldn’t wait for the fucking day when it was his turn to fall. “And just in case that’s not clear, I fucked her, too.”

Doc threw back his head and laughed. A couple others snickered. All were grinning. I almost rolled my eyes, but then caught myself. That was Millie’s thing.

“We’ll keep someone on Millie until Russ is found.”

I acknowledged Demon’s comment with a nod.

“But let’s not be too obvious about it in case Russ decides to go after her again. Might be the only way we get our hands on him.”

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