Page 17 of Hell on Wheels

I shook my head. “Guard, Kane.”

His dark eyes focused on me, but his ears perked up, listening for any hint of danger.

Now that I was alone, I could let the stress of the last few hours release. Picking up a glass from the bar, I filled it with whiskey and tossed the contents back. Three more followed it. My belly burned with the liquor, and I welcomed the distraction.

My thoughts were so scattered that I hardly noticed when the door opened, and I was no longer alone. A sweet, sexy voice brought me back to the present.

“You’re drinking alone.”

My head whipped in her direction, and I leaned against the bar, ticking my head in Lark’s direction. “You’re observant.”

“Aw. Don’t get all offended on my account.” Lark snatched the glass from my hand, poured a shot, and drank the whiskey in one gulp. She hissed as it went down, catching my humored expression. “What? I have plenty of reasons to drink.”

She sure did. No argument there.

“Pretty reckless to shoot Angel. You’ve got a target on your back now.”

“Even more reckless to become indebted to the asshole,” I fired back.

Having a target on my back wasn’t anything new. Shit. Did she forget I was a Marine? Veteran or not, I wasn’t afraid of that prick.

“Maybe I was lonely.”

Scoffing, I shook my head. “No way. You wanted the attention, or you needed it. Maybe you craved the danger like it was some bad romance novel and hoped he’d take you to his mystery dungeon of toys. I don’t get that vibe, though. I’m thinkin’ you got roped into something too deep to dig your way out. Maybe for a family member or friend. Either way, you need to stay as far from Angel Mackenzie as you can get.”

She refilled the glass and drank again, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth before she hiccupped. “I’m stupid, I guess.” There was far too much sincerity in her tone.

No admittance but also no denial.

“Hey,” I chided, crooking a finger under her chin to lift her face toward mine. “Don’t ever call yourself stupid. I mean it.”

For the first time, she let some of the vulnerability she felt rise to the surface. I knew what it meant for her to let me in. Hell, I was the fucking king of pushing people away. Lark didn’t have to open up to me, but she did. She tore down a wall she could have kept there, and I would have understood that too. I could feel her insecurity as she stared into my eyes, and I didn’t like it. She was too fucking fierce to let this get the best of her.

“He’s going to kill me.”

“Why would he want to harm you?” I tried to gentle my voice so she felt comfortable enough to confess the truth. Inside, I growled like a beast waiting to rip free and avenge her.

“I might have flushed his stash of meth down the toilet.”

Uh-oh. “You messed with the man’s drugs?” Incredulous, I couldn’t believe she had the guts to get rid of a known drug dealer’s product. “How much was it worth?”

She closed her eyes and blurted out her words, wincing at the number. “I flushed about five pounds or so. Angel said it was well over $100,000 in value.”

She was fucking screwed. Angel and his thugs had killed for much less in the past. When I first came home after being discharged, the news had covered his suspected involvement in a drug bust, but nothing could be pinned on him. His daddy bailed him out.

Angel Mackenzie was a thug with an ego, and powerful men provided protection. His uncle Salazar was the muscle behind the Guerrero Cartel who moved meth and cocaine into the U.S. from Venezuela. Luis Guerrero was the old Spanish Don who ruled ruthlessly and without apology. He was also Salazar’s father and Angel’s grandfather.

What did this mean for the club? Patriot admitted they helped relocate shipments and provided extra muscle for a fee. I didn’t think it was wise to do business with criminals like Salazar, but it wasn’t my call. All I knew, Grim wanted out and had been trying to find a reason since his son was born.

I had to be careful. Didn’t want to piss off Grim or the Royal Bastards but I wasn’t letting Angel get his hands on Lark again either. Fuck. I had less headaches dealing with shit overseas.

“I won’t let them hurt you,” I responded with conviction.

Bright green eyes shimmered with tears as they opened. “You can’t promise that. You don’t even know me, Flint. We met today, less than eight hours ago. How do you know I’m not lying? Or using you? Maybe I staged the whole thing.”

“You took a beating to ride on the back of my Harley? That’s fuckin’ wild, little firecracker.” The words left my mouth with a seductive purr, softening the truth. I’d do what I needed to keep her safe and away from Angel Mackenzie.

“No. I, uh, shit,” she cursed, distracted by how I stared at her mouth. “You don’t need to worry about my reasons.”

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