Page 82 of The Club Betrayal
Whoever these guys are, they’re a well-oiled machine, each of them connecting as one. It reminds me of the club.
“Come on, old man, we haven’t got time to dawdle.” Whoever it is grabs me by my arm and yanks me roughly to the sleek black van waiting for us. Climbing in, I’m forced to sit in the middle of the bench, similar to the cop wagon, only I have no chains in here. Rotating my wrists, I squash the aches, and I’m sharply reminded of my dislocated shoulder now that the adrenaline has begun to subside.
Hissing through the pain as I’m thrown to the side from the van making a U-turn, I hold myself, eyeing the four masked men sitting opposite of me.
“I know I’m old, but I still remember I didn’t order no grab ‘n’ go,” I mutter through the pain.
One guy lifts his mask, but I have no idea who he is. Then, one by one, the other three rip theirs off, and still, I recognise not one of them.
“The Kings send their regards,” the leader of the pack says.
I told Cas not to arrange a bust out, yet here I fucking am. What’s he playing at? Having me jumped from custody will bring even more heat to the club now.
“What’s the plan, then?”
“The Kings believe you’ll be better off out of the picture.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means, just because you’re free from the FBI, doesn’t mean it works out better for you.”
So when they say “out of the picture,” they mean gone without a trace, as indead.
“Did Cas agree to this?”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about. We have orders, and until we’ve completed our mission, I don’t care to know who he is.”
These military types don’t fuck about, but I believe him when he says he hasn’t heard of Cas, which means the club has no idea where I am, and that’s not good. The Kings wouldn’t want anything coming between their deal, and by the looks of it, they’re taking out the trash.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Cas
It’s been the longest twenty-four hours of my life, and the two patrol cars are still parked up across the road, as if they don’t have anything better to do.
The grill is going, and Sparky is cooking up steaks, but I can’t eat a thing. This gathering the Kings wanted us to have is weird as fuck. Most of the brothers don’t need an excuse to drink, but with us waiting to see what’s going on, no one is letting loose and kicking up their feet. If it weren’t for the music, you would easily be able to see something was going on. Tension is high, weaving through every one of us.
“What the fuck is this about?” Leo asks, and not for the first time today.
His eyes stay on Holly and Rayna, who are sitting with Alannah and the other old ladies. Kicking at his chair leg, I gain his full attention.
“What’s going on between you two?” I ask bluntly.
I know everyone’s been wondering themselves, and I’ve had enough of not knowing for sure.
“Nothing. She watches Ray for me.”
“Your mom watches her,” I remind him. “I’ll ask you again, what is going on between you two?”
Biting into his bottom lip, his eyes narrow into slits as he runs his hand down his beard.
“She makes Rayna laugh. It’s as simple as that.”
“Does she make you laugh?”
“Why do you wanna know?”
I shrug. “Just do.”