Page 41 of Zeke

Savage shrugs. “My best guess is he wants to take me out so he can take over the club.”

“Why would he need to do that?” I ask. “You’re with the Ruthless Kings now. Aren’t you?” I say the last two words dangerously, as though daring him to contradict me. What if his loyalty is still to another club?

“Of course, I am,” Savage says, putting an arm around Eden’s shoulder. Her eyes are still on Wizard, but I see them dart to Savage.

“I know what you told me,” she says to him. “But why don’t you start from the beginning so Zeke knows the deal, too?”

I turn so my back is to the wall and lean, arms crossed, with Wizard’s head right next to my feet so I can get a good kick in if he decides to come to. “I like this plan.” Tension grows in me, which is from the desire to fight, but throwing a punch would be a terrible idea. It might result in my sister blowing a hole in one of my extremities, and there’s no telling which one she’d aim for.

“All right,” Savage says, closing off his posture like mine, though, for him, I get the feeling it’s defensive rather than offensive. “I was telling Eden last night. Wizard was with the club longer than me, since I spent a lot of time as a nomad before I joined. Attila picked me for VP pretty fast, and Wizard was pissed. Spent every second we were in the club together trying to one-up me, to show Attila that he was a better choice than me. Not that it ever worked. Him coming in here half-cocked is proof he never had what it took to be a VP. He’s reckless and stupid and has no idea how things work.

“My guess is no one knows where Attila ended up since we were the last ones to see him alive. I’m sure the only thing he told people was that he was coming to find me. My guess is Wizard either came looking for him because things have gone to hell back in Miami, or he’s here to take me out so I couldn’t come back and claim to be the rightful Prez. Which is fucking stupid because I don’t give a fuck about my old club. I left because I wanted to be here, and Julia followed because the old club was shit.”

Eden looks unsurprised, which tells me she already knew this. Her lack of anger nearly drives me over the edge as mine threatens to overwhelm me.

“And you’re okay with this?” I demand, staring at my sister, who looks back like I’m insane.

“No, I’m not okay with someone coming in and threatening our club,” she says.

“Not what I meant,Prez,” I say with a bite of venom. “I meant are you okay with someone being a member of our club who was willing to up and leave their last club, knowing it was under shit leadership and likely to implode without him?”

“Watch it,” Savage says in a low growl. “I never had loyalty to them the way I do here. Hell, I married into this club. Attila knew that. I always thought that might have been why he made me VP—he figured I wouldn’t bail out on them if I had some power. But that didn’t matter to me nearly as much as the freedom to make my own choices. And I chose the Kings—and my queen.”

Eden looks at him with some kind of twisted look of pride, but I’m not sold.

“You still left a club in the hands of a maniac and, apparently, a second fucking maniac. You deserted people who were counting on you!” I shout at him.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says, stepping toward me. Eden immediately moves between us, and Savage falls back.

I’m fucking done with this.

“You brought this shit into our club,” I say. “Into ourhome, and not for the first time. First Attila, and now this Wizard piece of shit? What’s next when we deal with Wizard? Someone worse?”

“Zeke…” Eden says in a warning tone.

“No,” I snap at her.

Her eyes flare up with the flame that means she’s done with my shit. “Don’t worry. I’ll go.”

“Zeke!” she says, but I’m already out the door, headed for my bike. “Don’t do anything stupid!” she shouts at me.

I ignore her as I climb onto my bike and turn it on, feeling that familiar, comforting rumble. I don’t give Eden any clue that I heard her before I tear out of the parking lot and onto the road.

I have no idea where I’m going. A biker bar to get into a fight or find some cut slut to take out back? Maybe. Could be an option… If I wasn’t committed to being better.

That’s where I’ll go.

I roar into town, going way over the speed limit, passing a few drivers who flip me off and zooming by one pedestrian who yells at me to slow down.

I ignore them all. My objective is clear in my mind, and I won’t let some jackass whose biggest problem in life is that the grocery store is out of his favorite beer derail me.

I pull into the lot so fast I’m almost laying sideways as I turn in, spitting bits of rock to the side, then dismount my bike in one quick, fluid motion. I stride confidently up to the door and pull it open, hearing the gentle tinkling of the bell over the door.

“Zeke.” Kira looks up from her phone. She must see the intense expression on my face because she then asks, “What’s wrong?”

Julia isn’t there, and the lights in the kitchen are off. She’s alone. Good. That’s exactly what I need.

I don’t say a word. I walk right around the counter and grab her by the hand.

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