Page 16 of Queen of Anarchy (Dirty Broken Savages 2)

6

Knox

The restof us are standing in the kitchen while River bites Gage’s head off and then storms off to somewhere else in the house.

It’s not really a new sight, the two of them going at it, and we all just kind of watch it play out until she’s gone. They can both have explosive tempers when they want to, and they seem to just feed off each other’s anger.

“You know, Gage,” I drawl, leaning in the doorway with my arms folded. “You should think about quitting the nightclub business. Start giving seminars on how to talk to women. You’re really good at it. You could probably even give Ash a few pointers.”

“Fuck off, Knox,” Gage growls under his breath and then stalks off, going to his library and slamming the door behind him.

Priest doesn’t look amused, but when the fuck does he ever? Ash has a dour look on his face that doesn’t suit him, and I just laugh.

What’s the point in being sore about how things went down? We got the info we needed, and no one got shot in the face. Everything worked out, as far as I’m concerned. If the Diamond Devils didn’t want to end up on our shit list so often, then they should learn to keep their hands to themselves. Judging by how easily that fucker put his hands all over River in their clubhouse, I can see how Reggie thought he could get away with fucking over one of our dancers. That shit seems to be acceptable for them.

Well, too damn bad, because I meant what I said. We don’t tolerate that nonsense, and if it hadn’t been such a tense situation, I would have shown that asshole first-hand what happens when you fuck with one of ours. And no matter what Gage and the others say, River is one of ours.

Priest and Ash head off to do whatever, and after a second of standing in the quiet hallway, I go in search of River like an addict casually seeking out his next fix.

I expect to find her in her room, pacing or glaring or cleaning a gun or something. It hits me that I don’t really know what she does to calm herself down when she gets this pissed off. I’ve seen her painting her nails or taking her frustration out on Reggie that one time, but I don’t know if stuff like that is her routine. I don’t know what she needs when she gets like this, and it doesn’t really surprise me that I want to know.

Her bedroom is empty, but from the window, I can see her outside in the backyard, throwing sticks for the dog and trying to get him to fetch them. He just looks at her with his head tilted to one side, like he doesn’t understand what she wants from him, and I laugh under my breath and head out there to join them.

It’s a nice day, and Slim Shady seems happy to be outside, even if he doesn’t want to chase the sticks.

“Get the stick, you fucking useless—” River bites off whatever she was going to call the dog, throwing the stick again in a fit of frustration.

The mutt just flops down in the grass and huffs out a breath.

That seems to piss River off more. If this was a cartoon, she’d have steam coming out of her ears. I like how her emotions radiate from her, like ripples in water, getting bigger and bigger. She doesn’t make an effort to hold them back or pretend things are okay, and I can practically feel the heat of her anger coming off her in waves. I just stand there and bask in it for a moment, because I enjoy feeling her emotions like this. The good ones and the bad ones. I’ll take them all.

“King Charles over here doesn’t wanna fetch the stick,” I say, stepping forward and jerking my thumb at the dog. “He’s too busy sunning himself.”

“Or he’s just fucking stupid,” she mutters.

I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe. I thought dogs had some kinda… fetch instinct. You know? They see something fly by and they just have to chase it.”

River rolls her eyes and levels a glare at me. It’s not as heated as the one she was giving Gage earlier, but I can tell she’s still pissed the fuck off. “What do you want, Knox? Are you going to tell me off for hitting that dude too?”

I bark a laugh at that, giving her a look. “What do you think? I would’ve hit him for you if I could have. Or more. He deserved it.”

That seems to calm her down enough that she drops the stick in her hand and lets out a sigh.

“Tell that to Gage,” she mutters.

“I would, but it wouldn’t do any good. He’s always looking at the bigger picture. Always like three steps ahead. He had a goal in mind, going to the Devils’ place, and what happened in there could have fucked up the goal.”

Her eyes flash with irritation, and I take a step closer to her, drawn in by the way her dark blue irises almost seem to shift color with her mood, taking on a slight violet hue.

“Well excuse the fuck outta me for retaliating when someone grabs my ass,” she mutters. “Next time I’ll wait until Gage’s precious meeting is over before I knock the fucker in the face.”

I hold up both hands in a gesture of peace. “Hey, I’m on your side. I’m just telling you how Gage looks at it. Thought maybe it would help if you understood where he’s coming from.”

She looks away abruptly, something other than anger on her face for just a second before it’s gone. “It doesn’t,” she grumbles. “It just makes me want to hithiminstead.”

I understand that feeling. I get being so full of anger and pain and raw fucking emotions that you want to lash out at the first person or thing that pisses you off next. It’s like being a living, breathing volcano—simmering and bubbling and just waiting to erupt.

“You know what always calms me down when I’m pissed off?” I ask her, changing the subject a little.

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