Page 4 of Trident: Mayhem Makers

That didn’t mean I slacked off in keeping an eye on the whole room, all entrances and exits. It’d been a damn long time since I hadn’t kept track of everything going on around me at all times. I’d learned that lesson the hard way a long damn time ago. It wasn’t one I’d ever forget.

When Animal came barreling down the hallway, I cursed. Looked like Jacie had gotten all the alone time she was going to get. It was either me or Animal, and he hadn’t gotten his road name because he rescued critters in his spare time. Taking a sip of my drink as I rose from the stool, I shook my head and took a bigger mouthful. Damn, this shit was good. Maybe I’d been missing opportunities to actually enjoy drinking all these years by just doing shots of cheap crap. They hadn’t taken her long to make, so it couldn’t be that hard for me to learn how, right? Might be nice to finish off a day with one of these out on my porch.

Be even better if she were there with me, making them for us both.

“Fucker.” I muttered under my breath in response to that invasive thought that had come out of nowhere. Like I suddenly had some sort of white picket fence fantasy for my future that I’d never wanted before.

I’d only made it a few steps toward her when Animal caught up to me, gripping my shoulder with his large palm to stop my progress. “Hey, Trident.”

While I’d monitored his approach, I hadn’t attempted to move out of his way. There was no avoiding this conversation, and I’d prefer have it over this side of the room, rather than in front of Jacie at her booth.

“What you doin’ with my little sweet butt? You pissed you got left outta our bet, old man?”

I took another mouthful of my drink before I responded. Letting the mellow flavor help level me out so I could resist the urge I had to knock my club brother out.

“She ain’t your anything, Animal. And she ain’t a sweet butt. You know full well I won’t allow you to chew up and spit out a Charon Daughter of the Club. Viper will have you by the balls if you do. We need this club and access to their bunker.”

I would have stepped in to save any woman from him when he was jazzed up like he currently was, but he wouldn’t understand that. The fact that our club needed the Charons on our side so we could use an old bunker on their land to help run shit through was something he should understand. Animal scanned the room until he spotted Jacie in her hiding spot, then he grinned like the fucking lunatic he could be. I turned to see her frowning our way.

“First up, she ain’t wearing no patch, so she ain’t shit to the club, and second, they’d never know it was me.”

I shrugged his hand off my shoulder, getting his attention focused back on me.

“You’re lying to me and yourself if you believe that shit for a second. She’s a brother’s sister. That makes her club property, regardless of what she is or isn’t wearing. You’re thinking with your ego, wanting to get even with Flick and her old man, Taz. To do that, they’d need to know it was you who fucked up his sister. You go through with this, and it’ll spiral outta control in a fucking heartbeat. You wanna be the one to explain to Viper why we can’t run our gear through their bunker anymore?”

He bared his teeth my way, an unnatural fire in his gaze that confirmed what I’d already suspected. He’d taken something and was tripping hard. “You just want her tight little pussy all to yourself. Selfish prick. Wait till I tell the others. Don’t want me to chew her up and spit her out? Fine. I’ll do it to you instead.”

Fuck my life. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe and follow the club’s rule of Brothers First, Brothers Forever, but Animal was way outta line here. The fact he was flying high on something didn’t help. Fucking drugs, man. I’d never touch them. They stole your control. I was doing more than just protecting Jacie. We’d been losing shipments left and right before we’d started using the hidden bunker here in Bridgewater to break up theruns. I blew out a breath and shook my head, not taking my gaze off my club brother.

“You might have the brute strength, Animal. But we both know I got more skill and can take you. You want me to hand your ass to you again? Tell me the time and place, and I’ll happily vent some frustration by knocking you down a couple pegs. But it ain’t gonna be in the middle of the Charon’s clubhouse, yeah?”

With a growl and his body vibrating with a rage I knew I’d have to deal with sooner rather than later, he spun on his booted heel and stormed back down the hallway. Watching him go, I took the final mouthful of the drink Jacie had made me.

Deep down, I knew this shit was already on a path that was gonna spiral outta control. While Animal was riding his high, he could do anything. The fact no one else had followed him inside after their earlier trash talk meant no one else was actually gonna play his game. But that was of little comfort. Especially with how my need to keep Jacie protected grew with every passing minute. I probably should just say something to Viper and Scout. Let the two presidents deal with this situation. But that’d have me branded a rat, something I’d never been. It would also have me cut out of the loop from that point on.

And I wasn’t allowing that to happen. Not for a second. Anything that might be a threat to Jacie was something I needed to know about. Because that woman was mine to protect.

At least, she was gonna be. And soon.

Chapter Two

Jacie

Sipping the last of my Old Fashioned, I kept my gaze on the guy who’d zeroed in on Trident. From the moment the large man with shoulder-length messy hair came storming out of the hallway, the hairs on the back of my neck had risen. That bloke was trouble, and not the fun kind.

He scanned the room and when his dark gaze zeroed in on me, my breath stilled in my lungs at the crazed look in his eyes. He was either high or unstable. Or maybe both. Without looking away, I set my empty glass down on the table. If I was going to have to make a run for it, I’d need to be bloody fast about it. While I technically knew how to take the guy down, he was a big bastard. And if he was hopped up on drugs, it was just safer to get away rather than tackle him head on. Especially when I knew I only had to make it to the rear yard for back-up. Then Trident’s dark eyes focused on me with a hard glint in them that had me clenching my jaw. As much as I hadn’t caught a vibe earlier that he’d meant me harm, I couldn’t be sure he’d back me up if shit went sideways with his club brother.

When the men turned to glare at each other and started talking too low for me to hear, I quickly glanced around the room in hopes a few Charons had snuck in. But I wasn’t that lucky. Internally cursing the timing of me needing alone time to drink and lick my wounds, I shuffled over and out of the booth, moving silently deeper into the shadows, staying close to the wall as I headed toward a doorway. Reaching behind me, I pushed on the handle, but it didn’t budge. Of course, it was locked. Dammit.

While monitoring both the men and the rest of the room, I continued to quietly move toward the second hallway, the onethat led back to the club’s offices. Surely, I’d be able to find one that was open that I could lock myself in while I decided my next move.

Seconds felt like hours as I crept my way around the perimeter of the room, holding my breath in anticipation of the men spotting me. When I made it down the hallway enough to be out of sight, I nearly tripped over my own feet in relief as I sucked in a few deep breaths. But I wasn’t safe yet and wouldn’t be until I was locked inside an office.

I nearly laughed when I struck gold on the third door I tried. Until I rushed inside and shut the door. That was when I realized my luck wasn’t so great after all. There was no fucking lock! Closing my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose. What should I do? Going back out into the open hallway didn’t seem like a great idea, but if they caught me in here, it would be even worse. I could call Taz, but then he’d come raging in here on the warpath and end up causing some massive thing between the two clubs. And while I was still learning about how MCs worked, I’d been told more than once that it was vital that the Charons stay on the SCMC’s good side.

Chewing on my lower lip, I hoped that me bitching out Trident earlier hadn’t already ruined that. Surely not? I couldn’t be the first woman to put a SCMC bloke in his place. And anyhow, I wasn’t wearing a Charon patch. Any insult would be from me personally, not the club. I groaned. That was worse! Surely, Taz and club would still have my back though, right? I was his sister, a blood relative.

Deciding my personal safety trumped inter-club politics, I went for my phone. I’d just tapped the screen when a shadow covered the upper glass half of the door. Then before I had time to do a damn thing, it slammed open, causing me to drop my phone with a squeal as I jumped back out of the strike zone.

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