Page 74 of Scorched King

She followed him to the front door as he stepped out onto the porch, digging his phone out.

“JD?” Sasha’s voice was soft. “Come back inside. Whatever it is, it can wait until after breakfast.”

He hesitated, the obvious war between the club and her waging across his face. If he didn’t choose her…

She was right. The hunt for who this asshole was could wait. Right now, JD needed to remember what he was fighting for.

“You’re right,” he said, shoving his phone away and pulling her out into his arms.

To say I’d sighed with relief would be putting it mildly. Our chosen way of life was hard as fuck. But it was moments like these that made it worth it. Even if it was their moment and not mine.

I turned towards the back door and slipped out quietly, only to come up short when I found Jeanne sitting in a chair, reading a book.

“What the hell?”

She didn’t look up. “They done yet?”

“No, and if we don’t get out now, we’ll both be listening to the sounds of them fucking.”

She slammed her book closed and quickly stood. “Well, as fun as that sounds, I think I’ll pass this time.”

I nearly choked on my words when I tried to imagine what she’d meant by ‘this time’.

She looked at me sideways. “You okay?”

“Fine.” I clipped. “You need a ride?”

She looked out at the empty yard as if my bike might appear in front of her, instead of being parked down the hill at the clubhouse.

“Nah. I might as well hang close until, you know, after. But I could use a cup of coffee.”

A grin spread across my face. “That I can definitely do. Let’s go to the clubhouse and I’ll blow your mind with the best damn coffee you’ve ever had.”

Her eyebrows raised, but she bent to grab her book and started walking. “Okay, big boy. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

And with that, I was pretty fucking sure that my shittastic start to the day had just taken a new turn…

JD

It was the middle of the night and I couldn’t sleep. Cash’s fucking surprise had me on edge. While it made sense that he’d create a dead man’s switch, considering the shit he’d gotten into, the point of having one was to use it as leverage to stay alive. He’d said nothing.

There was something we missed. Had to be.

Which is how I ended up digging through the file at three in the morning. And why I had Tel in here with me doing his thing.

“Anything?” I asked, scrubbing my face.

“No. It’s as if Frank Mazzeo’s secret son was a figment of our imagination. There’s no trace of him anywhere.”

“Except we killed the son of a bitch so we know he existed.” The knot in my stomach tightened. “I don’t like this. A man doesn’t erase his existence from the grave.”

Tel didn’t respond, and when I glanced in his direction I found him squinting at the screen.

“We should stop for the night. Get some sleep. We can regroup in the morning with the rest of the club.”

Tel ignored me and leaned closer to his laptop. “Uhh…”

“What is it?” My back stiffened.

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