Page 20 of Butcher

“Fine,” Lock said, the word rolling around the room like thunder. “But if she puts one fucking toe out of place...”

“Heard, Prez. I’ll handle it.” Just the thought of having to dispatch Isla made my stomach churn. I frowned. That wasn’t my typical response to violence and death.What the hell?That was the reason I needed to keep her around. I was using the assassin shit as an excuse. I was havingfeelings. I needed to figure out why there was this connection between the two of us. She felt it, too. I knew it.

Lock pointed at the door. “Get the fuck out.” There was no heat in the words. In fact, he just sounded tired.

I glanced over at Toxic. He looked worried. I was almost as good as Lock at reading people, and right now I knew that Lockout was struggling. He was fighting something, but he was a damn fortress of solitude about it. I used to be like that. If he didn’t let people in and talk about what was fucking with him, he was going to end up going deeper and darker. But I also knew if I brought it up before he was ready, he would bite my head off. I left his office, deciding to give him space for now. I had enough on my damn plate.

We walked out into the main part of the clubhouse and Toxic shot me a grin. “You going to tell me about what else happened last night?”

“You going to tell me how many of those women you fucked?” I countered.

He tipped his head back and laughed. “You weren’t there. Had to make sure the ladies weren’t lonely.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” I pointed out as I went up the stairs. He just waved me off and went toward the bar. My mind focused on the woman currently tied up in my room as soon as he was out of sight.

I was looking forward to interrogating her. This wouldn’t be like any other I’d performed. My dick hardened as my smile turned grim. Lock was right though. I wasn’t about to let anything happen to the families living here. They depended on us for safety and a couple of the women and children had been through enough already. I hadn’t been lying when I told Lock that I didn’t get the feeling that Isla would hurt anyone here. Well, other than me. And even that was mostly for show.

Pausing when I saw Static, Hellfire, Smokehouse, and Ricochet standing in front of my door, I frowned. “What’re you doing?”

“Watching the show,” Hell replied, eyes glued to whatever was happening inside my room.

“Move,” I growled, shoving Static out of the way.

“Why are you in such a pissy mood?” he asked with a chuckle. “I’dthink having a woman tied up inside your room might actually make you smile.”

I just shot him a look, shoved between Hell and Smoke, then slammed the door shut behind me. Their laughter echoed through the wood, making me scowl. It wasn’t surprising that they wanted to get a look at the woman that I announced I wanted to keep. For all they knew, I just wanted to hang onto her short term. To find out who she was working for. Only Lock, Toxic, and I knew, for now, that it was so much more than that. I wasn’t sure I could actually let her go. That was what Lock saw when he’d been studying me downstairs after I announced I wanted to keep her for good. That if he denied me on my request that evenIwasn’t sure how I’d react.

Letting Isla, a trained assassin, stay in his clubhouse was risky. But telling me to get rid of her was even more so. He didn’t want to lose me in the process. I’d never leave for good, but I would for as long as I needed to in order to sort my shit. Didn’t want to, but what I wanted often didn’t matter. The urges inside of me controlled what I did most of the time.

But Lock knew he could trust me and my word. I was going to be keeping a very close eye on her. Well, as much as I could until we found Randal. Finding out about him and meeting Isla on the same damn day was inconvenient as hell.

Isla returned my dark look with one of her own. “I have to pee,” she announced.

My brows shot up and I cocked my head. “Okay. But first, you’re going to answer some questions.”

Her glare darkened further. “I will pee right on your floor.”

“Just a few more minutes. Who hired you?” I asked, getting right to the point.

She sighed and her eyes darted away from mine. “I can’t tell you that.”

“Why’d you take the job?”

Those gray eyes flashed back up to mine and she frowned. “You were a name in a folder.”

“And now?”

She scowled at me. “You’re the man holding me hostage.”

I grinned at that. I didn’t want her to lose that edge. I liked it. Walking over, I pulled the knife—her knife—from where I had it tucked inside my boot and released her bonds.

She hissed as she brought her hands forward, then stared in shock as I moved in front of her, squatted until we were eye level, and grabbed her arm.

I massaged from wrist to fingertips, helping the blood move back into the area. She didn’t say a word so I moved on to her other hand. Her lips were parted as she stared at me and the confusion was back in her eyes. Great. I didn’t want to be the only one who couldn’t figure out this feeling between us. At least I knew it wasn’t only me who was shook by it.

She put her free hand on my chest. Her touch burned through my t-shirt. Then she shoved me hard enough that I almost ended up on my ass. I managed to move my foot backward and catch myself just in time. She didn’t pause, just made a beeline to the bathroom.

I chuckled as I stood and went over to my closet. My eyes moved over the myriad of guns, knives, grenades, and landed on the pile of handcuffs. I grabbed two sets of leg shackles, one pair of handcuffs, and more rope and brought them back. I clasped one end of each leg shackle to the posts on my headboard, tossed the handcuffs onto the bed, pocketed the key, and sat down in the chair to wait for her.

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