Free Unbeloved by Madeline Sheehan Page B

everyone else appeared to be.
    Instead, he found the entire thing pretty fucking amusing. Especially the part about Hawk having been shot. But according to the Russians holding him hostage, he was still alive and would continue to stay alive, as long as Deuce and Preacher both agreed to their terms.
    Terms that Jase wasn’t entirely aware of since he wasn’t paying much attention to Deuce. Something about guns and the East Coast, something about Preacher and his club, the Silver Demons, something about Hawk being killed if Deuce didn’t get Preacher on board, and something else about going to war with the cartel, blah, blah, fucking blah.
    It wasn ’t that he wanted Hawk to die, not really. Once upon a time, when the shit had first hit the fan and he’d found out the baby he’d thought was his was actually Hawk’s, and that Hawk and Dorothy had been having an ongoing affair right under his goddamn nose, yeah, he might have wished death upon the guy once or twice.
    But that was then and this was now . Now he was freshly divorced, without his kids, having spent another Christmas drunker than shit at the clubhouse, watching Bucket and his girlfriend fuck like rabbits on the couch beside him. Good times.
    So, no, he really didn ’t give a fuck if Hawk lived or died. In his opinion, if it came down to the club or Hawk, Hawk could go straight to hell. Personal feelings aside, the asshole wasn’t even one of them; instead, he’d been using the clubhouse to hide from the law.
    “ Preacher’s on his way here,” Mick announced. “He’s on board with the plan and bringing his VP and three of his boys with ’im as a show of good faith to the Russians.”
    Deuce nodded his thanks in Mick’s direction, and in turn, Mick averted his eyes.
    “ What?” Deuce demanded. “What the fuck is your fuckin’ problem?”
    Mick shrugged. “I’m your VP, have been since day fuckin’ one, and even though we’ve butted heads a few time, I’ve always stood by your side. Fuck, Prez, I did time in lockup for you and you couldn’t trust me with this?” Mick shook his head. “I don’t know what to think now.”
    “ I never asked you to take that rap for me!” Deuce shouted. “You need to reel your fuckin’ bullshit in, right the fuck now!”
    Mick jumped up out of his seat and slammed his clenched fists down upon the tabletop. “But I fuckin’ did! Because your old man had just kicked the bucket and this fuckin’ club needed some stability for fuckin’ once, not another prez who was locked up!”
    “ That was almost forty fuckin’ years ago,” Deuce said, purposely punctuating each word. Gripping the edge of the meeting table, he leaned forward, bringing him nearly nose to nose with Mick. “Why are you bringin’ this shit up now? You want me to suck your dick or somethin’?”
    Normally, a comment like that would have sent the rest of the boys into a fit of laughter, followed by more lewd comments or gestures, but not today. Tension was high, and even the most lighthearted of the brothers were sitting stone faced in their seats.
    “ He never fuckin’ told me,” Ripper suddenly muttered. “What the fuck . . .”
    Out of everyone crammed inside Deuce ’s office, Ripper looked the most put out, even more so than Mick. Probably because he’d been the closest to Hawk, more than anyone else associated with the club.
    Except for Dorothy, Jase thought bitterly. Obviously she’d been a hell of a lot closer to Hawk than Ripper had.
    Deuce tore his angry stare away from Mick and pinned it on Ripper. “He was under my fuckin’ orders not to tell a damn one of you! Do you do shit I tell you not to fuckin’ do . . .”
    Deuce trailed off and closed his eyes. “Never mind,” he said, sighing. “Of course you fuckin’ do.”
    Seated beside Ripper, Cox elbowed him in the ribs. “He’s talkin’ ’bout you fuckin’ his daughter,” he whispered loudly. “We weren’t supposed to do that, dude, and you didn’t