Free White Heat (Lost Kings MC #5) by Autumn Jones Lake

hanging out in my office every now and then. Might be sappy as fuck, but I love having her here.

CHAPTER SIX

    Now that the fuckery with Lexi’s over with, I’m hoping we can put the whole sex video to rest. Permanently. Go on with our lives like it never happened.
    Other than giving us grief over harassing Lexi—and hell, I’m pretty fucking sure Hope’s the only woman in the world who would worry about that under the circumstances—she’s been quiet. Thinking about her indignant face back at the club twists my mouth up.
    “What are you laughing about?” Hope asks.
    “You.”
    “Me? Why?”
    Out of the corner of my eye I catch her pouting and I reach over to take her hand. “Nothing bad. You’re fucking sweet. Love you.” It was on the tip of my tongue to say exactly what I’d been picturing, but I catch myself at the last minute. Better to drop it.
    “I love you too.” She squeezes my hand.
    After a few stops on the way home, we’re not even back at the clubhouse for fifteen minutes when Z calls. Enough time for me to hustle Hope upstairs. My greedy hands are about to strip her down when my phone goes off. She chuckles when she sees who’s calling and passes my phone over. “Fucker has the worst timing,” I grumble.
    “What?” No pleasant greeting for Z this afternoon.
    “We got a situation.”
    “What now?”
    “I sat Gabby down when she came in for her shift, just a general discussion about stuff going missing, keeping phones in lockers, shit like that. Oh, and I took Hope’s advice and had Willow sit in on it.”
    A short chuckle eases out of me and I flick my gaze at Hope. “I’ll let her know. So, what’s the situation?”
    “She flipped the fuck out. Started cursing me out and saying I was accusing her of something—which I didn’t.”
    “What the fuck?”
    “Yeah, I know. So, I sent her home for the night. Told her to calm down and come back with a better attitude.”
    “What does any of this have to do with me?”
    “Ransom called. He’s all pissed we’re not giving his girls a fair shake. He wants to talk to you.”
    “ Motherfuckingsonofabitch . I’m done dealing with this fuck.”
    “I hear you. He wanted to meet over the border. I said no. So, he’s coming here.”
    “Are you fucking serious?”
    “I told him he can bring one guy. Killa probably. And that’s it.”
    I glance at Hope again. My end of the conversation has her watching me with an intent expression.
    “Fine. When?”
    “Seven.”
    “Fuck me. Did you call—”
    “Wrath’s over at Furious. He’ll be here in a few. Murphy’s here. I’ll call Dex, Bricks, and ask the nomads to stick around.”
    “Good. I want everyone laid back and chill, but enough to make an impression. I’ll track down Ravage and have him ride with me.”
    “Dirty side down, brother.”
    “Someone’s pessimistic.”
    Z laughs, short and clipped. “Just get your ass down here in one piece, prez. I don’t want to deal with this fuck on my own. Otherwise I’m gonna end up burying him in our basement.”
    “I’m okay with that.”
    “Everything okay?” Hope asks after I’m done with the call.
    “Sorry, Baby Doll. I need to run back to Crystal Ball.”
    “Okay.”
    The atmosphere at Crystal Ball when I arrive can only be described as tense. All the girls seem anxious, even though they shouldn’t have any idea what’s going on.
    Butcher frisks Ransom and Killa at the door. Since Butch isn’t one of our local guys, I can pretend I didn’t know he was going to do such a thing to my “guests.”
    I don’t invite them into the back office. We sit at a table in the back corner. They’re seated with their backs to the stage.
    Ransom gets right to the point. “I did you a solid. Took care of the guy who tried to jack your girl.” He jabs a finger in the air in Wrath’s direction. Wrath keeps a blank face, but I know it’s probably killing him. “You said you’d give my girls a fair shot. First one you toss out and