Page 16 of Rex

“Cockatoos suck birdie balls,” he spits out before ruffling his wing and tail feathers.

“Except for yours, right?” I question while Gunner barks out a laugh.

When Mac lets out a growl that sounds surprisingly just like Loki’s, I put some distance between his face and mine. He’s been on the edge for a while now, and when he goes off again, I want it to be on Axel and not me.

“Ignore them, Mac. You want to ride the bike with me today? I have some errands to run, and then I was going to stop at thebakery. I got your boggles with me,” Chubs says, stopping next to me.

“Boggles?” I ask.

“Bird goggles. Boggles. I had a pair made with shades in them,” Chubs answers in a tone that suggests I should have already known this.

Mac screeches loudly in what I’m assuming is delight and steps up on Chubs’ hand. As they walk out the main door, the kitchen door swings open and in walks Axel. He’s looking at his phone and walks past without even noticing me and Gunner. Curiously enough, in his other hand is what appears to be decorations of some sort and a string of lights. He disappears in the direction of his room, and I look up at Gunner in confusion.

“What’s up with him?” I ask.

“No idea and I’m sure I don’t want to know. I’m picking the kids up from school and then heading out to the ranch so they can get some more horse and Ivy time. Their words, not mine. Catch you later,” Gunner answers before walking away.

Before I can finish my beer, Craig walks in. Spotting me sitting alone at the bar, he strolls over and climbs up on the stool next to me. As usual, the kid is filthy. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Pippa and Pooh never bought soap.

“So, it seems we have a little issue to discuss, Rex,” Craig says casually before he sprawls across the bar top and opens the cooler beneath it. When he stretches too far and starts sliding headfirst toward the floor, I grab his waistband and pull him back to safety. I should have known what he was doing when I see the bottle of root beer in his hand.

“Nice save. Thanks,” Craig states as he opens his bottle and then takes a deep swig. “Awww. Needed that.”

“You’re welcome. What issue do we have?” I ask.

“You know how I see and hear things that people don’t know about?” Craig questions while turning to look me in the eye.

Seeing the look on his face, I know I’m not going to like what he’s about to say. He’s got an evil, gleeful look glinting in his eyes, and he’s smirking at me.

“Yes, I do, but I’m not buying any more info from you. I’m still on Ava’s shitlist from the last time,” I answer.

“I’m not here to sell secrets. I’m here to get paid to keep them,” Craig responds and then rubs his hands together.

“From me?” I ask, bewildered.

“Yeah, from you. I’ll probably hit up Reeves next,” Craig answers. “Not going to hit up the women, though. That would just be wrong, I think, and might put me on Candy’s bad side. I don’t want to be on her bad side.”

“Nice to see you have some morals, you little rat,” I mutter and then listen to his laughter.

“I’m not a rat. I’m an entrepreneur,” Craig states, then tips his bottle back and finishes it off.

“What’s it going to cost me for you to forget whatever it is you think you know?” I ask, resigned to the fact that I’m going to have to sell a kidney to maintain this kid’s silence.

“You, Reeves, Aria, and Lisa is what I know. For shame, Rex. Chubs would be so mad and disappointed in his club brothers. Keep that in mind while we discuss price,” Craig warns.

When the price is set, Craig walks off with a little more swagger than usual, and I drop my head to pound it several times against the bar. Can a body survive without a kidney and a portion of its liver gone?

A few weeks have passed since the night I got too drunk and did dirty things with my club brother’s sister. I still have flashes of the night, but nothing solid, and it’s frustrating. I’ve never been so drunk that I couldn’t remember the things I did. While I should be concerned about my loss of memory, I’m actually pissed because of the good things I don’t remember. If all I’m ever going to get with Aria is that one night, I really would like to have the memories of it.

“Halston’s security system is installed and up and running as we speak,” Reeves says from the doorway of my office.

“That’s great. Any problems with it?” I ask.

“No, it went smoothly,” Reeves answers before turning to walk off.

“Hey,” I say, stopping him.

“Yeah?” he asks.

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