Page 77 of Roses Are Dead
“Does he think he’s getting a discount for this?” I stood up and the stool knocked into a cabinet as it rolled away.
KC’s eyes went a little wide.
Right. He didn’t know the deal. Only the brothers who needed to know got that info.
Surprisingly, Fish wasn’t alarmed. He was close enough to Carl to courier money and secrets. That meant I truly couldn’t trust him. And KC shouldn’t either. But that would have to wait.
I faked a smile and held out a hand to slap Fish’s before gripping it and tugging him close. Once I had him trapped, with his gun hand gripped and the other pinned against his body, I whispered in his ear. “Carl’s a nosy fuck who can’t mind his own shit. So, word of advice, reconsider your loyalties.” I let him go with a shove.
KC caught him, but his eyes were on me. I know I spoke quietly enough that he probably didn’t hear me. “Go to the club. Send him home. Then call me.”
There were reasons we made prospects wait as long as we did. Foremost was trust. We had to know whether or not they were all in or not. But another reason was conditioning. When orders were given, they had to be obeyed without question. Even with as long as I’d been in the club, I still did what I was told without bitching about it. There was always a good reason if a brother gave a direct order. And in the hierarchy of it all, KC had to answer to me whether I had an officer’s patch or not.
KC let Fish lead. Right before KC dipped out, he said two words to me that made my blood run cold. “Sketch…Izzy?”
“You forgot to tack yourself onto that,” I grumbled.
He tipped his head. “Well. At least you understand what’s at stake here.”
I lowered my voice. “Which is why he needs to keep a close eye on Carl, but not crawl into bed with him.”
“It ain’t like that.” KC scowled at my accusation.
“For everyone’s sake, I hope not.”
“And what about you with Rose?” He insinuated the obvious hypocrisy.
Maybe not laying his ass out during his initiation was a mistake? “I got it under control.”
“Yeah… right.” His eyes dipped to the side, almost begging me to out myself by looking back to my chair where I’d wrapped that damn glove up.
In the wake of their departure, I relocked the door and sat in silence to sort my thoughts. Wolf and Jackson were right. Carl was playing us. Me.
But what was his game?
That was the biggest question. Were we the targets or someone else? Was Carl doing this to get revenge over something? Was he working for someone else?
There were no immediate answers.
Except one. Get my head back into the game and stop thinking with my dick. I swept up the bundle of waste and tossed it into the trash, ring and all.
Guilt or something like that itched under my skin. Like a fucking hair shirt.
It pestered me as I buried my nose in business.
By the time I finished the last session, I was ready to slice throats. I straddled my bike, weighing my choices. One was clear. Ride.
Ride until my head was straight. Ride until the road and wheels carried me somewhere I could find answers. Maybe even keep riding until all the choices were snatched away.
Of course, I ended up at the club, not my house. My ass hit the barstool and my bottle came off the shelf barely helped along by the pretty little hooker manning the boards that evening.
If she was there, and not on her back upstairs, nothing was happening. Even the jukebox was dark. Instead, someone had the stereo system behind the bar cranked into the speakers. And since there were no prospects in sight, the music was a far cry from usual. “Is this the same fucking club?” I mused aloud.
“It’s a Monday. Everyone’s sleeping it off, or at home recovering from the shock from the start of the work week.” Shauna said as she poured me a glass.
I held my hand up to stop her from filling it to the top. She was right. I should be home. I wasn’t a coward, was I? The old me would have stomped in that door and laid down the law. Feelings be damned.
“You lonely?” She played with the rim of her glass. I hadn’t noticed her slip a dram of my private stock into the tumbler. Shauna’s tone was flirty, but practiced. I’d have fallen for it a month ago. Willingly. But now? The combo pissed me off. Like she just assumed I’d bite, and worse? Share my shit with her.
