Page 62 of City of Salvation

The womanwasterrifying, though.

“Okay, let’s just cool it so we can finish up and get out of here.” Torque’s gaze bounced between us.

I shrugged a shoulder, crossing my arms over my chest to hide my white-knuckled fist. “It’s okay, Torque. Boe seems to have some grievances he wants to air out, ones that can’t wait for church,” I responded coolly, moving around him to step closer. The last part was a clear dig.

This shit was meant for church. You had issues with someone? Bring it up with everyone present.

Bitch move to do this out in the middle of fuckin’ nowhere.

“So, tell me,brother,what’s on your mind?” I asked, my tone chilling. Boe shifted uncomfortably under the weight of my attention.

“Dex…” Torque called out, sensing the shift in my demeanor.

I lifted my palms in the air, hoping the placating motion would ease Torque’s concerns. “Don’t worry, I’m just askingso I can become a better man, Torque. Go on, Boe,” I encouraged with a curt nod. Maybe I’d finally learn what the fucker’s problem with me was.

“Can you even fucking do your job correctly with your anger issues? Did you get any information out of this one before you killed him?” He used the toe of his boot to nudge the body right where the bullet hole in his chest was. “We’re getting into this fucking war because of you.” His tone was smug, and he puffed out his barreled chest, trying to stretch his five-foot-eight frame. “Beat a man over a bitch, and then they had to send in your friend Greyson, excuse me, Gunner, to keep your ass in line. Like a fuckin’ dog with a handler. Now some other bitch is costing the club problems.”

Ice filled my veins as the puzzle pieces clicked together. Torque caught it, too, and moved back between us, his eyes never leaving me, like I was a wild animal about to attack. He wasn’t that far off.

“Hey, Boe. Let’s drop it, alright. None of this shit is on Dex, the Reapers have been stirring up trouble for a hot minute. And we all put it to a vote, we aren’t turning Nikki over.”

He scoffed at Torque’s suggestion. Dumbass mistook my silence for admission and kept working his fucking mouth.

“Your owner in the room with you when you did this?” he taunted, moving around toward the feet of the dead Reaper. “What did these two tell you, Dex? Huh? They give you any information, or did you kill them before they could answer?” he went on, his tone bordering on almost desperate.

Fucking dumbass didn’t even know that these two died after the car chase.

Burning rage bubbled in my gut, threatening to spill over, but on the surface, I was collected…calculated.

I cleared my throat, tucking my anger away. Boe didn’tknow a damn thing about my anger and ability to control it. “You’re right, Boe. I’m probably not the right man for the job. When we get back, I’ll let Pres know you have thoughts you’d like to share with the class.”

He flinched when I flashed him a smile.

I knew how it looked—unhinged. I gave my subjects the same one when I tied them up in my mirrored room. Nothing fucked with the brain more than watching yourself get tortured.

“Now, let’s get this fucker on the fire, yeah?” I asked, bending down to grab the upper half of the body.

Torque’s questioning gaze itched at my skin, but I didn’t pay him any mind. Murph was a smart fucker and had scurried off toward the bikes when Boe started spouting off.

“On three,” Boe said, eyeing me cautiously. Clearly wary of how easily I’d dismissed the insults.

“You got it, man.”

The rigid corpse flew through the air at the end of his count, and the instant it was out of my hands, I rushed forward, kicking out the back of Boe’s legs. His knees slammed into the desert sand. A pained yell echoed in the night as I wrenched his hands behind his back, gripping the hair at the base of his skull. The light of the flames bounced off his face as I thrust it close to them.

Heat licked at my skin like a lover’s caress, inviting me to fall further into chaos, but I reined in the impulse to add Boe’s body to the pile. The killing of a brother was forbidden unless voted on by the club. Hell, this would have consequences as it stood, but I’d take the fucking punishment.

My lips brushed his ear, relishing the erratic pulse pounding in his throat and his pained cries. “Boe, maybe you should do some better research before you mouth off tosomeone so much bigger than you,” I taunted as he flailed in my grasp, calling out for help from the other two.

Neither moved to his aid.

“Thatbitchthat I beat the fucker’s head in for, that was my sister. The one he’d sold to the Russians. So, you’re damn right I’m not going to turn in another woman in my life to them.” The snarl that slipped from my lips sounded more monster than human. He stilled at the admission, his shouts turning into whimpers. “And if you ever call Nikki a bitch again, brother or not, I’ll beat your fucking head in with a bat. Got it? Now, admit you’re a piece of shit who runs his fucking mouth too much.”

He hesitated, attempting once more to free himself from my hold. All it did was piss me off further and rip free some of his greasy locks. I pushed his face closer to the flames, and he blubbered like a baby within seconds.

“I’m a piece of shit who runs his mouth too fucking much. I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

I didn’t believe him.

---