Page 71 of The Devil's Scars

“Really?” Zoe asked, thinking that explained their Enforcer roles. “Anyone else ex-army types?”

“Nope. Holt was a bouncer in New York’s worst dive bars, and did some moonlighting on bodyguard duty. Jinx was a lawyer, a public defender. Rebel was a drug dealer from age fourteen, and he knows what the inside of a prison cell looks like, for damn sure. You know that Viking was a doctor. Arrow was a teacher. As far as I know, Saint’s like you, and has always been into tattoo design and artistry. Cowboy was a pro football player.” He shrugged, laughed a bit. “We’re kinda all over the place. Saints and sinners, educated professionals and street thugs. Lots of jail time, I guess, but not everyone has some. Wolf does, and Cole. Dux does, but not Drake. Ice does too.”

She screwed up some courage to ask, “And Scars?”

“Ah, he came to the club young. Barely twenty. Never been anything but a club man, really, and never seen time behind bars. Too smart to get caught, really.”

“A bit like Wolf, then,” she said hollowly. “This is the only life he’s ever properly known.”

“Yeah, that’s true. And the fact is that between the two of them, Wolf and Scars built up the club to what it is today.”

“Since they became President and VP, you mean?”

“Nah, gorgeous. I mean – they joined within five years of each other, and even though they didn’t really work together directly much because Scars was into deliveries pretty early, and Wolf was more about backing up the Enforcers, they independently did great work. Gave the club a good rep because they got jobs done, and they were tough, and they came through every time. They didn’t shirk their duties, and were damn hard workers, no matter what they were told to do. You know? They made the club their family, and that kind of loyalty gets noticed. It gets rewarded.”

“I know that Wolf moved up the ranks quickly.”

“Sure did. Got tapped for management pretty early. Scars too. He was running all club deliveries within five years of prospecting and patching in, and believe me, for a twenty-six-year-old kid, that’s a big goddamn deal. He basically gave the MC financial security and stability, and I don’t think he was in Denver more than a month a year for a while there. He was out dealing with suppliers and clients directly, setting up distribution chains, negotiating prices and partnerships. Because of Scars Innis, I think we can say that The Road Devils have one of the healthiest bottom lines of any MC in the country, and I know that he benefitted personally in terms of cash.”

Thatstartled Zoe. “Wait… you mean that Scars is the one who set up all the Kirk Jensen deals? Not – I don’t know. Not any former Presidents before Wolf?”

“Hell, yeah, sweetheart. That was all him. His idea, his initiative, his network. He’s one hell of a savvy businessman, believe me. Ruthless, money-oriented, cut-throat.” Silver glanced through the sliding porch door to the clock on the wall. “Damn. Gotta motor, Zee, I’m sorry. Thanks for the wine.”

“Sure,” she said automatically, her mind still whirling with the new, disquieting information that Scars was even worse than she’d thought, that his past was even shadier than she’d imagined. “And thank you so much for fixing the sink.”

“No problem, and you know that.”

She stood with him, gave him a hug. Silver grinned at Keira and told her to run Zoe ragged for the rest of the day, if not the rest of her life, and then he was off, leaving Zoe more upset than she thought she would be, or could be, or should be.

And as she gazed at her perfect, beautiful, innocent daughter, a little angel and her personal sunshine and entire reason for living now, Zoe resolved – yet again – to keep the dark, dank shadow of Scars Innis away from Keira, and herself. Out of their lives.

To hell with those amazing hands.

Just then, her cell beeped, and she jumped about four feet in the air. She took it out of her jeans pocket, then smiled at the text from Willa, and the incredible photo of the desert at sunset that she’d attached. Seems that she and Jimmy were having such a good time, they were extending their vacation another week.

She sighed a bit, staring at the image of golden-pink sand and rugged, wild cliffs. Well… at least one of them had their love life together, Zoe thought. Hell, maybe she should flirt a bit with the grocery store guy when she and Keira went shopping that afternoon. And who knew, really? Maybe this time next year, she’d be the one watching an incredible sunset with a good man, maybe on this very back porch. Why not?

‘A good man’ is the key phrase here, Zoe. Not one who goes courting assholes like Kirk Jensen. Not one like that. At all.

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