22. Rex
She was sleeping in another brother’s bed.
I gripped the 45lb weights in each hand, and curled. I barely felt the strain as I stared at the wall, lost in my thoughts.
We were brothers, we shared most things. But this… sweat poured down my neck, and I pushed through the pressure… she was sleeping in another brother’s bed.
I hadn’t even touched her yet, and she had me pissed at my own brother. And now I was pissed at myself for being angry at Kannon.
“What the fuck is this, Rex?” I dropped the bells with a loud clang, and reached for the towel beside me.
“Working out, Prez.” I wiped the sweat away.
“Don’t be fucking smart, boy.” He growled, his arms crossed over his chest. “Why are those women here?”
I leaned forward, my elbows digging into my knees. “The younger one, she’s seen the guy who’s been screwing with the drugs and selling it on our streets.” He nodded. “Not to mention with what happened to Margot, I couldn’t risk them dying before I had her ID him.”
“That’s not the only reason. Don’t forget how long I’ve known you. You were just a scrawny pup trying to steal my shit when I first met ya, I practically raised you T-Rex.”
I huffed at the nickname I’d been given years ago, a moniker to highlight the skinny arms and gangly legs that had been my physique. I’d got the ‘T’ removed the minute I had my patch, a road name to be worthy of—it was just Rex now, and Cal and the old-timers were the only ones who knew why I got this name… I wasn’t about to share that with anyone. But now, he was bringing up the past and my whole reason for being here. It was because of him that I sat here right now, with a brotherhood at my back and a patch on my chest. I wadded up the damp towel and dropped it on the bench beside me, letting out a long sigh as I considered the ramifications of bringing the women here. “I can’t have them flying back home yet.” His eyebrows raised, waiting for me to add more. “And… I like her, ok?” I sighed in frustration. Mia’s blue eyes haunted my every waking moment, and even my dreams were shaded in a vibrant blue reminiscent of that damn woman. Not even getting my dick sucked by the resident vacuum got that woman outta my head. It just made me want her even more.
I shook my head, trying to clear the infuriating woman from my thoughts, and Cal chuckled. “Does she know why she’s here?”
“I told her it was for their protection, they saw Margot?—”
“And I’m still not sure why they had to go to the shop,” he interrupted, his pinched expression had disapproval all over it.
“It got them here, didn’t it.” He lumbered toward me and collapsed on a bench beside me, his knees giving way and he groaned at the slight crack in his joints. “I’m getting too old for this shit, Rex. Honestly, you lot do dumb shit and I have to sort it out. It’s like having a bunch of preschoolers running around.”
“Who else has done dumb shit… and just so we’re clear, Prez, I don’t think what I did was dumb, more a… strategic choice.”
He snorted in response but ignored my question completely. “Women like her will not appreciate being kept in the dark. She’s like my Jenna, she’ll want answers and you’ll have to give them to her—within reason. Give her enough that it doesn’t become a problem.”
I nodded at his sage words, the man had been married for years and it was a ‘real’ marriage, one filled with love and trust. I would be foolish to not heed his advice.
“But if she wants to leave, you can’t keep them here. There’s only so long that excuse of protection will last. She needs to stay because she wants to, not because you’re making her. She won’t like not having a choice… And for God’s sake, stop getting your dick sucked by club pussy now she’s here, she will most definitely not stay around if you have sluts in and out of your room,” he grumbled, his dark eyes glinting with distaste. He’d wanted to get rid of the hang-arounds for years, but Jenna refused to be on clean up duty and Cal refused to hire an outside source to keep the place clean. Neither did the brothers want to go out and chase down women who knew the score, it was a win-win keeping them around. The men got easy pussy who didn’t whine about getting a ring, and the women kept the place tidy. But with Mia and her sister here, the brothers would have to tone down their nightly antics, because they would not appreciate watching Wheeler fuck a woman over the pool table.
“I’ll make sure they’re taken care of, Prez.”
“And get Gauge down to speak to the little one. He’s good with the artsy shit, we can maybe get a sketch of the guy who’s causing us so many problems.” He stood, stretching his arms out wide and letting out a loud yawn. “Threads will be back in the morning. Church is at 10 a.m. sharp… we have a lot to discuss.”
I sat up straight, narrowing my eyes on the prez. “What did he find out?” I was in full sergeant mode. I clenched my fists, my knuckles cracking at the thought of some payback.
“He said he’ll tell us in the morning, it was too much to go into over the phone, and he wanted to get back… it’s a long fucking ride.”
“What about… our little problem,” I muttered. There was no more talk of who had leaked the details of our last drop. Kannon had been given strict orders not to share his plans with anyone except prez and those who were going on the run—and even then, it would be a last minute brief so that there was less time for anyone to betray us. The rat was in hiding, and we had to just wait for them to show their hand.
“Nothing,” Cal huffed. “We just wait. I’ve got eyes on the streets, and the minute I know anything, you’ll know.”
My smile was tight as we shared a sharp look. Because whoever it was that was behind our townsfolk dying, would pay the ultimate price, and I get to be the lucky bastard that hands it out.