Page 62 of Ruthless

I swallowed hard, squeezing my eyes shut. “Because I think I might’ve fallen for him.”

Chapter 26

Axle

She’s gone.

My eyes were fixated on a crack in the wall, running from the ceiling to the door frame of the conference room doors. It had been two weeks since Rachel had been exchanged, and I hadn’t been keeping tabs on her… Not really, anyway. I had a couple of contacts in her area that I checked in with, but that was the extent. I knew if I showed up, I wouldn’t be able to stay away…

And she didn’t want that.

But I was keeping a closer eye on her brother and Victor. I didn’t trust them. However, the last two weeks had been quiet, and it appeared they’d gone back to their normal dealings, letting Rachel go back to living her life.

“Axle?” Viper’s voice cut through my thoughts, and I ripped my gaze from the spot on the wall to my president’s face.

“Yeah, sorry,” I muttered. “I, uh, zoned out.”

“You seem to be doing that a lot…,” Bear, an older biker that we had kept out of the entire mess, said. “We’re gonna figure out who ratted you out.”

“I don’t care,” I admitted, shrugging my shoulders. Ever since Rachel left, I couldn’t bring myself to actually give a shit why someone knew who I was. It didn’t appear that it was used for anything other than to just negotiate her freedom anyway… Maybe a scare tactic?

Viper drummed his fingers on the meeting room table. “I think youshouldcare, Axle. Maybe they were just using it against us, but there was no need… They paid for her release. It all worked out the way it should—well, mostly, anyway,” he added with a grunt, shaking his head.

“I don’t think we should stop,” Will commented, meeting my gaze. “We need to knowwhyher partner knew your name.”

I nodded, the exhaustion coursing through my veins from not sleeping well. The fatigue kept me from arguing with them, because honestly, I wasn’t sure if we’d ever have the answer. Someone who was smart enough to figure out who the hell I was, was more than likely smart enough to cover their trail.

“What about your FBI contact?” Gunner nudged me in the calf under the table when I didn’t immediately respond.

“I haven’t heard from him,” I admitted, my shoulders dropping as I leaned back in the leather upright chair. “He said he would go digging into it, but that can take him time.”

“Well, hopefully he’ll have some answers.” Gunner picked up his water from the table and downed it.

My eyes drifted to the full beer sitting in front of me, probably already warm. I hadn’t had the stomach to drink—and there was a party tonight… One that I had no desire to be a part of. Usually, if I didn’t want to socialize, I would go back to my own damn house, but I had been avoiding it. I couldn’t set foot in the house without feeling the ring of heartbreak…

And it was fucking embarrassing.

“I don’t know what we can do to put the pieces together,” Bear said with a grunt. “Maybe we should give it a little more time, see if anything becomes of it. I think Axle has a point when he said that it could’ve been used as a scare tactic. That partner of Rachel’s, he’s a smart man. It could’ve been a way that he felt he could gain some power in the situation—make us sweat.”

“I think we should look into him deeper,” Gunner countered. “I know that we did a lot of digging and some surveillance… But don’t you think it’s a little strange that he has ties to the mob…”

My stomach churned at that fact. I hadn’t been able to push that nagging little piece of information out of my head. “He’s involved with the Las Vegas bunch. Not NYC.” The reassurance wasn’t much, considering that I knew they were all interconnected to some degree, but it was the best I could do to relieve my already fried nerves.

“I think it’s time to put away all this business and have a few drinks,” Viper chuckled, running his hands over his face. “I haven’t been able to enjoy my wife in nearly a month. We’ll keep working on Lucas Gray, but beyond that, we’re gonna let this all go for a while.”

Everyone nodded except for me, and then stood to their feet. I stayed seated as they all grabbed their drinks and funneled out of the room to the clubhouse lounge, where a whole truckload of people were already there, ready to party. We threw a fucking hell of a party—not that I socialized at most of them. I usually spent them smoking or drinking and staying to myself.

“You can’t mope forever, man,” Gunner clamped his hand on my shoulder. “I know that it’s shit with everything, but you’re not helping yourself.”

“I don’t give a shit about helping myself,” I grunted, shaking my head. “I need to get some fucking sleep though.”

“Yeah, you do.” He rolled my chair back and offered a hand to help me to my feet. “Come on.”

I took a deep breath, wearily eyeing his hand before taking it and standing to my feet. “I don’t know why the hell I can’t sleep at night.”

“Probably because you’re staying here at the clubhouse. Ever since Hallie and I got a house, there’s been no fucking way I can get a good night’s sleep at this place. I don’t know how Viper and Hannah stay here so much.”

I shrugged, hating the mention of anyone’s wife or girlfriend. “Yeah, I don’t know, but I think I’m gonna crash here tonight.”

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