Page 128 of Outlaws of Tulsa

Guilt slicks through me like oil on a lake.

I know this looks worse than it is.

“Wait until the guys hear about this.” He grins at me, pride in his eyes. “Like I said. Right-hand man.”

Stormy whimpers in her sleep. I know she’s in pain from all the shit she went through last night, but I’ll deal with that later. Right now, I need to get my brother out of her room before she opens her big mouth and earns that bullet from Koyn’s gun fair and square. If she uttered the shit she said to me about his family to him, there’s no telling what he’d do to her. And even though she pisses me the fuck off, I won’t let him murder her.

Her blue eyes flutter open and the moment she sees Koyn, terror gleams in them. She truly is scared to death of my brother, which makes it impressive she managed to be a mole under his fucking roof for so long. I give her a slight shake of my head, warning her not to speak, but since I don’t trust her not to, I know it’s time to bail and quick.

“Coffee’s getting cold,” I grunt, nodding at him to follow me.

Koyn stares at her for a long beat before turning on his heel and walking out of the room. I close her door and then make my way back to the kitchen. We drink our coffee in blissful silence.

Once we’re caffeinated and my head doesn’t feel like it’s going to explode, I make my brother help me round up my dogs. We begin the painstaking task of bathing them. Gretel is a baby who loves being pampered in the bath while Hansel always tries to make a great escape. Normally, I have to do this shit alone, so I’m thankful I have my brute of a brother to help. Eventually, we manage to get them washed and dried. They beg for treats since it’s always a given after a bath. As soon as I’ve rewarded them, even Hansel’s bad ass, they plop down on a sunny piece of real state in front of one of the big windows in the living room where the sun pours in.

“Stay for breakfast,” I tell him as I start pulling stuff out of the fridge.

Like old times, when we were kids, we work together in the kitchen. He handles scrambling eggs while I work on the bacon. I’ll eventually need to feed my prisoner and give her a bathroom break, but for now I’ll let her salivate over the savory bacon scent for a bit. That’ll be torture for any-fucking-one.

Koyn perches at the bar, a mountain of food in front of him. After making us some orange juice, I sit beside him. I’ve damn near inhaled it all when I finally get back down to business.

“Any leads on the scaredy cat?” I pop a brow up in question, meeting Koyn’s stare.

His relaxed features harden into his usual grumpy expression. “I’m pissed I even have to look into this shit.”

“You know we’re the only ones who can.” I polish off the rest of my breakfast before pushing my plate aside. “Bizzy is too dumb. If he were scared, we’d see it all over his face. He’s always happy and laughing.”

“I guess Gibson’s out too then?” Koyn asks. “Those two horse around more than they act serious.”

“Maybe, but Gibson always seems a little guarded. Shuttered despite the playfulness he has around his friend. Watch himwhen he’s alone. Gibson is always somewhere else. Keep him on the maybe list.”

Koyn nods, a frown furrowing his brow. He knows to trust me when I do my job. Profiling people is just something not only I was trained to do but something I’m good at.

“Filter?” I refuse to meet Koyn’s glare, but he’s going to get pissed because we’re discussing yet another liar within our ranks.

“It’s not him.”

At his clipped words, I snap my eyes up. “Just like that, huh?”

“You say you’re not wanting to fuck this bitch, but, man, you’re sure acting like a jealous boyfriend when it comes to my VP. I personally vetted his ass before I brought him in under me. He’s been with me since the beginning. Filter’s life has been documented and available for me to see dating back to his first run-in with the police in high school. He was a pretty boy who liked to fight, bulked up during college, lost his football scholarship, and nearly got his ass sent to prison for underground fighting. The guy was drinking himself to death by the time I found him. Nothing in his past alludes he’d be hiding from anyone.”

I know he’s right, but I can still detest the guy. “Someone who lost money on a fight? I mean, can you really rule him out?”

“Next,” he barks out. “Bermuda’s clean.”

Bermuda is a whiz with not only computers, but numbers too. The man was suited for Wall Street but had the bad luck of growing up in Oklahoma. His ranch hand job near Dallas was his big attempt at a real career, but in the end, that didn’t work out for him. Koyn sought him out, not the other way around like many of the others. Bermuda is definitely clean.

“Payne? Halo?”

Koyn scowls, running a palm over his face. “My first inclination is to say no.”

“But?”

“But Payne has a daughter in college. For all I know, he could be staying away from her if he felt threatened by someone. Anytime anyone mentions his family, he completely shuts down.”

Interesting.

“I’ll look into him,” I vow. “Keep an eye on him. Have Bermuda trace anything he can too. Halo?”

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