Page 12 of Bullet

“What about your fancy new lawyer? You gonna call her and let her know about this? It seems like something she should know about.” He has that spark in his wild blue eyes that gives me immediate caution.

“Lynette George took me on as a client because she felt she owed it to her sister. She’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to be involved with me or the club in any other way.”

Smoke whistles. He has that full to bursting look about him. I swear he’s worse than a high school girl who loves gossip. Theguys sometimes call him Motormouth, always affectionately, but he does love to talk. I can’t let him latch onto this.

“I appreciate that she’s taken me on as a client. She put herself at risk, going to those cops and telling them they had no right to arrest me. It implies corruption, and I hope she doesn’t get in trouble for it. Her firm won’t take on anyone as a client who is involved with organized crime. It’s going to be a hard sell for her as it is.”

“This directly impacts your day in court. The guy who is pressing charges razed your fucking property.”

“I know, but good luck proving it. That’s what courts are for. Proof.”

“Really? Because I thought they were there to let rich, guilty fuckers go free and condemn the—”

I shake my head, not wanting to get into that. “I extended the offer to come to Hart. Lynette George declined. I want to leave it at that.”

Smoke surges forward. He’s tall and lanky, in his late twenties. His age probably has something to do with how obnoxious he can at times. He has that single-minded determination of a junkyard dog with a steak. Something in my voice or my face, no matter how careful I’ve been to mask it, tipped him off, and now he’s like a bloodhound.

“The range is gone and you were holding yourself back, I could tell. You’re always so fucking calm, so what the fuck am I’m hearing in your voice when you say her name?”

I don’t visibly retract because that would just be confirmation. I maintain that famous composure that Smoke just mentioned.I can speak when I want to speak, but I can equally be as quiet. I don’t know that I’ll ever give even half of my full self or my innermost thoughts to anyone, even the guys at the club. I’m just not made that way.

“Annoyance, probably. Or could be grudging respect.” I can’t help but tense, hoping that Smoke sees my body’s stress as a response to all that’s happened this weekend.

“What the fuck?” Smoke pokes me in the shoulder. It’s only because we’re as close as I’ll ever allow anyone to get that I don’t shove him back a few steps and break his tall, lanky body in half.

It’s not just guns that I’m good with. I can disarm a threat in a few seconds.

“What the fuckwhat?” I growl ominously. I thrust my hands into my pockets and keep them there so that they’re not tempted to act of their own accord and wrap around his damn throat.

“I looked her up and she’s pretty enough and all, but seriously? You’re actually interested in her?”

“I think you’re misreading the situation.”

His eyes lock with mine and the truth must be written all over me because his face splits with a shit eating grin. “Holy fuck! I never thought I’d see the day that you took a liking to anything you couldn’t load. Not that you can’t load her. I’d wager that she’d—”

My hands lash out faster than I can stop them. I have Smoke by the throat, one hand wrapped around his neck, squeezing, before he has time to take a step back or try to stop me.

He tries to stop me plenty now, clawing at my hand with both of his.

I let him go as soon as his eyes start racing back and forth, bugging out of the sockets. He folds over at the waist, gasping for air, but as soon as he gets it, it transforms into a laugh.

“Tell me you’re in love with her without telling me you’re in love,” he wheezes between strangled bursts of laughter. He gets himself upright, another grin smeared across his face. “That’s good. That’s seriously good. I know you’re all Mr. Deep Waters and everything, but, god, it’s good to know you’re as human as the rest of us.”

“Next time I throttle you, I’ll be sure to cut off your ability to talk.”

“That’s wonderful, darling. Getting choked in my favorite kink.” He shoots me two thumbs-up, an asshole to the last, but I have to admit, Smoke’s ribbing doesn’t catch me in my murderous spots. It’s hard not to give in and allow a small amount of amusement, which I sorely fucking need right now.

“I’m always telling you that you should get laid. I’d say go for it.” He puts out both hands, warding me off as I take a menacing step towards him again. “I’ll be respectful about it, I promise.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but remember. She’s done me a solid at risk to her career and maybe even her own safety. If Harold burned down this place…”

Smoke finally drops his grin and takes this seriously. “Then what else is he going to do?”

“Right.”

“I’d be surprised if they don’t call church,” Smoke muses, glancing over to Crow’s shadowy figure at the far end of the lot, standing just behind Raiden and Tyrant, who are still talking to the firefighters. He’s watching their backs. “I just hope we’re not going into another lockdown.”

“They likely will. I’m going to ask them for protection, or at the very least, extra security for Lynette and her sister. They’ve become involved in this without truly knowing the depth of it.”

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