Page 26 of Property of Chaos

“Two months ago at church.”

I drop my head, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Since then, Crow. Has he said anything about it since then?”

“Not that I know of.”

Jesus fuck.They’re loyal, and they’re weapons in the right hands, but they sure ain’t smart some days. “I’ll ask him about itwhen he gets here. What else happened overnight that I should know about?”

Crow’s lips curl into a wicked grin. “You tell me.”

“What the fuck you saying?” I shake out a cigarette. Between Selena’s fit at my absence and the legwork required to collate the documents we need for the bank loan, my head pounds as it is.

“Heard the trench was the one who showed you the farm.”

“And?”

“You were gone all night.” His fucking pec twitches. “Have fun?”

Fuck me dead.The assholes think that’s where I was. “I wasn’t with Marianna.”

“Sure you weren’t.” Our tail gunner, Highway, saunters out of the small trailer door, making the porch creak under his weight. “Uh, oh, uh,” he taunts in a high-pitched voice. “Yes, Chaos. Fuck me harder. Stick your dick in my ass.”

I attempt to flat-palm the fucker in the side of the head.

Bastard ducks, laughing, his mess of blonde and brown hair tumbling into his face as he doubles over.

“You’re all assholes,” I mutter, lifting the lighter to my cigarette. It takes three tries to get it to spark, further souring my mood. “I go there once, and you all rail me for it for life.”

“Shared trauma,” Highway chuckles. “Got to make light of it; otherwise, we’d all cry about it, right?”

Crow frowns, folding his thick arms across his chest. “Don’t understand what you’re all crying about. I didn’t have any trouble getting rid of her.”

Highway hitches an eyebrow. “That’s because you have trouble getting girls to stay, you scary motherfucker.You’rethe reason they run.”

He shrugs, dismissing the issue.

I stare at the ground and suck back on the smoke, memories of girls with tear-streaked faces running half-naked through theclubhouse to get away from him ghosting through my mind. They all want the crazy until they get the crazy—then reality sets in.

I’m sure his love match is out there somewhere.

Probably awaiting release.

“Where are we at with the sale, anyway?” Highway drops his ass into Crow’s vacated seat. “I don’t understand why we’re fucking around with the bank.”

Crow sighs. “Our legitimate businesses turn over roughly eight hundred thousand annually,” he details. “Now tell me what the issue would be if we dropped two and a half million on a property—cash.”

Highway twists his lips, lifting one ankle to the opposite knee. “So, we saved for a while. What of it?”

I snort. “You tell me who the fuck in these parts has millions in cash just sitting around to be spent. We paid half and got a loan for the rest. It keeps us looking legit and gives us a place to sink some funds should we need to move it around if you know what I’m sayin’.”

“Sure.” He shrugs. “I guess I get it.”

“Once the mortgage is approved, the funds will go into escrow, and then all we need to finalize the deal is confirmation from the council that there are no issues with the land or existing structures.”

Highway lifts his brow, eyes wide. “Cool story, boss, but how long does that take?”

“Hopefully, no more than a week.” The heat is on us where we currently operate out of the town center. The sooner we get distance between us and the so-called random vehicles that drive slowly past the clubhouse all hours of the day and night, the better. Our only saving grace is that this property—the loading dock, as we call it—sits behind a scrap metal yard on one side and a lumber yard on the other. They can’t see it from theroad, and the busybodies of Temperance aren’t brave enough to dare come down the long drive.

“I still stand by the suggestion I tabled last week,” Crow mutters. “A few broken bones and torched buildings would remind them who’s in charge.”

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