Page 5 of Scorched King

I’d hired her knowing she was the perfect mix of sweet and sass to appeal to our customers.

And keep them at the gambling tables with her at their side. However, before anyone could work in the ultra-exclusive poker club, they had to prove themselves in one of the other club businesses. It just so happened she’d auditioned to dance.

My stomach clenched again, remembering those nights of fucking torture. Of course, I’d been right about how people would react to her. I had an ability to read people that I’d honed to damned near perfection over the years. And Sasha had done extremely well. She’d quickly become our most popular dancer.

Unfortunately, she’d gotten entangled with one of our regular clients who didn’t like to be told no. He never crossed the line, but there had been more times than I could count where I wanted to take him out back and cut off his fucking balls and shove them down his throat.

What I hadn’t seen coming was the effect she would have on me. At least that’s the lie I continued to tell myself.

“I’ll talk to her.” I caught Axel’s side eye at that and clenched my jaw to keep from barking at him. We both knew that since she’d woken up in that damned hospital with no one by her side, she’d refused to see me, let alone talk to me.

“Is that going to work?” He sounded as skeptical as I felt.

“It fucking should. I’m the club president, and her boss.” Axel shook his head, and that pissed me off more. “Look, she’s a sweet girl. I know how much everyone likes her and I also know that everyone’s got it in their head that she would make a good old lady. But it’s not going to be with me. You know better than anyone that I have no intention of ever going there again. I’ve already got enough on my plate and I need to keep my head in the game. I’m not going to let anyone get as close as that Mazzeo fucker did ever again. Which means we have to find the traitor in our midst and to do that I need to stay focused.”

“And you’re sure it’s one of our guys?” He sounded skeptical, and I completely understood. After everything we’d been through as a club, it was hard to believe. So far, there’d been no whiff of who it might be.

“One hundred percent. The way our security was compromised, the information had to have come from the inside. No other option.”

“That’s a pretty short fucking list.”

I nodded. I’d thought of little else since the violation. My blood boiled with rage every time. When I found out who it was, they were not only going to regret turning on us but regret their whole fucking life. I’d finally have an outlet for all this pent-up anger.

“It makes me sick too,” I admitted. “But I’m going to figure it out, and If I have to step on some toes and backs on the way—so be it.”

Axel pulled into an available parking spot at the front entrance of the hospital and cut the engine. But neither of us made a move to get out. We were both angry, and the tension of it swirled thick in the cab.

“I’ll do whatever you want me to. I just hope the guys will forgive us when it’s all over. I fear this is the kind of thing that can break a club.”

I shrugged. I’d been in this position before and as much as I swore it would never happen again, here we were. I’d brought the club back from hell against their will once before, and I’d do it again if that’s what it took. And if experience had taught me anything, it was that therewouldbe casualties.

The club would not be the same again.

But taking down the fucker who’d blown a hole into the side of our clubhouse and burned our poker room to the ground was not enough.

CHAPTER THREE

Sasha

“Hey, babe.”

I jolted at the deep voice at the door of my room as a smile crept slowly across my face. When I turned to look, my joy deepened at the sight of Bear filling the doorway. Big, cuddly and fearsome.

“Hey yourself,” I returned. “I hear you’re going home today. That’s awesome.”

A small, tight smirk tightened his lips. In these last weeks at the hospital, I’d gotten to know this club brother a lot, and I’d learned he never smiled. Although I had caught his eyes sparkling with what looked like humor at least once or ten times.

“Yep. They’ve deemed me healed enough to escape this popsicle stand. How about you?”

I shrugged. I wasn’t about to admit that I was on the verge of being kicked out against my will. Only my stubborn refusal to leave had bought me some extra time. Well, that and my claimof emotional damage. Although those were not my words. The fancy psychologist they sent in here every day to talk to me, batted them around so much they seemed meaningless at this point. But if they worked…

“Maybe soon,” I said noncommittally.

Bear stepped into my room and approached the bed, his giant body taking up all the visual space in front of me. Honestly, before getting to know him in the hospital, every time I’d seem him I’d been afraid to talk to him for more than a second. Whether it was his size, or the constant scowl he wore on his face, he intimidated me.

But with his room next to mine in the burn unit, and with days on end of nothing to do but watch television, we’d gravitated towards each other and were now close friends. I was so happy to see him healed enough to go home, but a piece of me was sad too. I was going to miss his company—and his comfort.

“I could stay here today until the doctor comes in, and find out what the deal is. You look a hell of a lot better than I do, so I don’t understand why they haven’t released you.”

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