Page 90 of Through The Woods

“The fuck do you want, Blade?” I bit out, refusing to turn around.

He took another step closer and I fought the urge to launch myself at him, knowing it was an unwarranted attack on a fellow club member. I needed his club and the numbers; pissing him off now would destroy everything we’d worked toward.

“I was going to volunteer to sit with Neve if you wanted to head back to the clubhouse. I know you’ve got a shitload of work to be done.”

I instantly shook my head. I trusted Neve with only seven other men and despite the oath he pledged to my MC, I didn’t want him near her. “Work? I’m stayin’ here. Doc’s runnin’ things back home and, as soon as he gets shit squared away, he’ll be up here too. Now, you wanna tell me how you ended up at my clubhouse right after it happened? You were supposed to be with me.”

Blade had a great poker face; it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. “I overheard Axel mention something about Neve a few nights ago on the phone to someone—”

I’d already heard about that from Rooster, but it didn’t settle with me. Axel was someone I’d known most of my life; even before he became a prospect, I never would’ve pegged him as the violent type. And what had been done to my girl most definitely spoke of violence.

“And you never thought about reaching out to me about that shit? I never would’ve left her had I been made aware that someone was after her. And Axel? He’s been with her from day one. Why now? Why wouldn’t he have made his move months ago?” My voice remained calm, but my hands remained clenched at my sides, as if I was expecting a fight to break out at any second.

“What the fuck was I supposed to say to you? Huh? That Axel might’ve been planning something to do with your bitch or he could’ve simply been noting how great her tits looked in the dress she wore at the gathering—”

I had him pinned up against the wall before the sentence was even finished. “You talk about her like that again and any alliance we have is fuckin’ done. You hear me, motherfucker?”

My words came out in a growl as rage pushed me past the point of rationality, begging me to end him right here in this stairwell.

Blade nodded before shrugging out of my grip. “I got it, but you’d better remember who showed up in your time of need, asshole. Not any other MC, but mine. And right now, I’m your best chance at finding the guy who did this to your ol’ lady.”

I fell back into the cinderblock wall and leaned over, clutching my thighs. Why was I so hellbent on taking this out on him? He was right—if his club hadn’t shown up, the Scarred Savages and Kasselhessen would’ve been sunk. “I get it, Blade. Your club’s been good about showing up when we need them.”

He shook my hand and offered to head back to the clubhouse to see if there were any updates. Maybe he and his club could dredge up something we’d missed.

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