Page 65 of Kyle

“Kyle? Come on. Spill,” TJ presses. “Ain’t nothin’ you can’t tell us.”

I consider his words and know they’re true. If I needed a body buried, they’d grab a shovel. “There’s an ex-boyfriend hustling Sutton. I took care of it.”

“Hustling her how?” Billy asks.

“Blackmailing her. Seems he had some nude shots he’d taken of her when they were dating.”

“No shit?” Marcus mutters. “What’d you do?”

“I went and delivered a message. Then I confiscated his phone.”

“And?” TJ asks.

“And he’s gonna be drinking through a straw and using crutches for a long while.”

“Dude,” TJ says, grinning.

“We could have helped you,” Billy offers.

“Nope. Like I said, this was my responsibility.”

“Actually, it was Rafe’s responsibility. He know about this guy?” TJ asks.

I shake my head. “I don’t know if Sutton told him.”

“But she told you?” Marcus asks.

“Yeah, she told me. What of it?” I snap.

He holds his palms up. “Whoa. Chill out, man.”

“Rafe should have been the one to do that,” TJ says.

“Yeah, he should have. Guess he didn’t care enough.” I sound bitter, even to my own ears.

“But you don’t know if she told him, Kyle. You just said as much. He deserves the benefit of the doubt until you know,” Marcus says quietly.

He’s right. “Where is he?”

“It was his turn staking out Joselyn Silver, making sure she didn’t go after Carlo Bianchi,” Billy explains. “He called this afternoon and said she was in her Mercedes headed south on I5. Cole told him to stay on her. She could have been headed to LA. We didn’t know. When she picked up Highway 58 east toward Bakersfield, Cole figured she had to be going to Vegas. He and the other originals went to head her off.”

“She was almost to Vegas when they caught up with her. They should be home tomorrow.”

I polish off my second beer and push from the bar. “I’m tired. I’ll see you boys tomorrow.”

Heading to my bike, I text Sutton.

ME: JUST HEARD RAFE WAS CALLED OUT OF TOWN ON MC BUSINESS. JUST WANTED TO CHECK IN ON YOU AND MAKE SURE YOU’RE OKAY.

SUTTON: I’M FINE. THANKS.

ME: IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, I’M HERE.

SUTTON: I’M GOOD. THANKS.

ME: TOMORROW I’M GONNA OPEN UP FOR LUNCH RUSH DOWN BY THE FARMER’S MARKET. IF YOU WANT TO WORK, I CAN SWING BY AND PICK YOU UP

SUTTON: SURE. I’LL WORK.

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