Page 99 of Being Us (Next Generation 4)

I looked behind me, no longer seeing the twins’ SUV. Taking a breath and then another, I mentally counted to ten and told myself that I could do this. That Ihadto do this. Not just for me. But for Busy and our baby. For her family. For Meadow, Shade, and Sunny’s baby. For all of them.

For the first time in my life, I no longer wished I was alone but used that to my advantage nonetheless.

Being at the club now, seeing it for the first time in months, left a sour taste in my mouth. Knowing the things that had been done beyond this door was far worse than what had been done to me as a boy. But it never affected me the same way. I didn’t trust these people. I never had. Never would. But I had trusted my aunt and even my uncle at first. They were supposed to take care of me. Love me. Keep me safe from the evils of the world. But they didn’t. They were worse than evil. They were the very reason I didn’t sleep at night. I was far more terrified of them even though they were dead and gone, than the people who put a price on my head.

Sucking in a deep lungful of air, I adjusted the collar of my hoodie. My gaze flicked to a rusty steel pipe standing in the corner against the brick wall. While I had the two pistols in the back of my jeans, this was better and would be far messier.

Grabbing the pipe, I slapped it against my open palm, itching for the taste of blood.

Tugging open the door, I pulled a pistol from my pants and stepped inside. The scent of depravity slammed into me. I almost forgot what it smelled like. It was death mixed with copper. Add a dash of sugar and you had yourself a recipe for evil.

“Honey, I’m home,” I called out, banging the steel pipe against the wall as I walked down the long hallway to what was once considered my office. I had every intention of bringing the club back to the way it was. But I wouldn’t be president. I didn’t want the job anymore. When I had that title, it wasn’t as satisfying as it would be for most. No, instead, it made me moodier than usual.

The further I walked down the hall, the more eerie the place felt. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t have anyone greeting me.

The door at the end of the hallway opened, revealing Tommy West. A guy I used to bounce ideas off of. A guy I had considered possibly even a friend. Or someone I could put up with anyway. We had a mutual understanding. For whatever reason, we trusted each other but not enough. Something had happened where he needed more. He was greedy for power. Hungry for people to do his bidding. And I stood in the way of that.

“Miss me?” I asked him, resting the end of the pipe on the floor and leaning my weight on it as if it were a walking cane.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, his brows furrowing in the middle. He looked back into his office. “Where the fuck are my men?”

I ground my teeth together. “Aww. No welcome home party?” I pouted. “Too bad.”

“What do you want, Tanner?” he asked, looking past me.

The hairs on the back of my neck tingled, that familiar rush trembling through me at what was to come next in only a matter of seconds.

Wrapping my hand around the pipe in a firm grip, I spun around, landing it against the side of someone’s head.

The body dropped to the ground in a bundled heap.

“Didn’t you know it’s rude to sneak up on people?” I asked, nudging the unmoving body with my boot. When it didn’t move, I stretched my arm out in front of me, pretending to check out my nails. “I’m surprised you don’t know what I want,” I told Tommy. “You see. A friend told me that there’s a price on my head.” I started pacing, giving the three remaining standing guys who had joined our little party, a wave. “Five-hundred grand. Really, Tommy?” I placed the pipe on my shoulders, resting my forearms on top of it. “I’m a little offended that you thought you couldn’t get more for me.”

“What the fuck are you going on about?” Tommy shut the door to the office and started walking toward me.

“What the fuck am I talking about,” I repeated, laughing. I glanced at the guys who stood a few feet away. One was a prospect. He had only joined the club a few weeks before I was forced out of it. What was his name again? “Rat, it’s been awhile. How’s the arm? They let you play with guns yet?”

The skinny fucker glared at me. He had given Shade a hard time for being gay. Even though that was true, the way Rat went about it, had pissed me off, so I broke his arm.

“Do any of you know what I’m talking about?” I asked the guys. I didn’t recognize the two larger men standing on either side of Rat.

One actually shook his head.

“Didn’t think so. I appreciate your honesty.” I continued pacing. “You see. I don’t know if you know me.” I looked at them and waited. When they didn’t say anything, I let out a sigh. “What are you teaching these guys?” I asked Tommy. “No matter. I’m happy to tell you. You see, I was the president of Devil’s Rejects. Before Tommy. Actually, while Tommy was gathering all of you to be his little minions, I was still running this club. Or I thought I was anyway. But while I took care of a personal matter, little did I know that Tommy here was convincing all of you to kick me out.”

When the guys shifted, I grinned.

“Looks like you know who I am now.” I stopped in front of them. “Isn’t that right?”

“We’ve heard of you,” the larger of the group said. Tattoos lined the side of his buzzed head, traveling down his neck and disappearing into the collar of his black long-sleeved shirt. He was a big fucker. His piercing charcoal eyes looked directly at me. He rose an eyebrow. “Checking me out, Tanner?”

“I think he likes you.”

My gaze flicked to the smaller guy standing beside him. Something about him was familiar but I couldn’t make out exactly what it was. He was younger. Baby faced. I would give him early twenties at the most.

He chuckled. “Maybe he likes me too.”

The bigger guy scratched his jaw. “Hmm…I’d be willing to share.” He made a point of letting his eyes roam down the length of me. “Although, he’s a tiny one. I’d probably break him.”

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