“They’re fun. They’re a challenge.”
“We’ve got club whores for your games.”
“But they don’t play hard to get and I love the chase. There’s always something more rewarding when you fuck pussy you work for.” Hunter held out two pictures. “I don’t like the look of these.”
He took the pictures and stared down at them. They were of the clubhouses. One was of him, the other of Raven.
“What the fuck has Raven got to do with this?” he asked.
“Beats me, but we better find out if she’s shacking up with anyone. I haven’t seen her screwing around. You?”
“Nope.” Smokey wasn’t sure who Raven was into. He’d watched her kiss men and women. He couldn’t recall any of the guys bragging about fucking her. She was a loyal woman. Giving her a patch had gone against everything he believed in. She was the only woman he’d ever trusted.
“You think this has to do with the Twisted?”
“I think it has something to do with us. That’s all I can tell you.”
“You don’t think the mafia’s coming back for another taste?” Hunter asked.
“Everything has been quiet. Drago’s dealt with it.”
“What if Drago’s made an arrangement to get rid of us to take the job as Boss?”
Smokey looked toward Hunter. “Then we need to call in Ugly Beast. We need another meet.”
“Ugly’s not going to like it,” Hunter said.
“Do I look like I give a flying fuck what Ugly likes? He’ll do as he’s told. What’s the update on Hanson?” he asked.
“So far, he’s stable, but it could go either way.”
“We’re going to find Ryan. I want to know everyone who has been near this fucking place. I know Ryan had security feeds. Get them. I want to go over them as soon as you do. Hanson is going to have his justice.” Smokey folded the pictures, sliding them back into his jacket.
Heading back out, he ignored Kinky and the boys. Climbing back on his bike, he took off toward the hospital. He fucking hated hospitals more than anything else in the world. They were sterile and filled with the sick. He’d been in them way too many times, and now that a prospect was there, he was going to have to figure out who was trying to come after them, and more importantly, why.
Chapter Five
Ava hadn’t heard from Smokey all day.
She hadn’t needed to open the bakery, but she’d gotten the call about her delivery arriving a day early, so she’d gone in to deal with that. Seeing as she was already in the shop, she’d decided to open up.
Sales had been good.
She hadn’t sold out, and she’d taken the leftovers over to the preschool for the kids. Rather than go home, she’d headed to the grocery store.
As she rounded the vegetable section, she spotted Raven. She had a list in front of her.
“Hi,” she said, smiling.
Raven ignored her.
Ava didn’t want to be rude, so she grabbed the vegetables she needed as Raven growled and looked up.
“Smokey’s lady,” she said.
“Ava.”
“Do you know what the fuck this says? I swear Ugly Beast does this to me on purpose to make me feel like a child.” Raven held out a piece of paper.
Ava took it and glanced over the scrawl. It looked like a child had written it. “Which item?”
“That one.” Raven pointed to the third one down.
After looking at it for some time, she smiled. “Onions.”
“Really? What the fuck?” Raven took the list back and shook her head. “This is what happens when you take his wife and get her drunk. He makes you pay by shopping for him.”
“Well, I wish you luck. That is one intense list.”
“Wait, you understood this shit though, right?”
“I did.” She nodded.
“You want to be shopping buddies?”
Ava chuckled. “Sure. Why not?” She followed Raven around the store, grabbing her own groceries while also helping her to decipher the list. It was pretty hard. She couldn’t wait to meet Ugly Beast. He seemed like an interesting person.
Still, by the time they came to the checkout, Raven had talked her ear off about everything from the latest movie she’d watched, to babysitting, and then to shopping.
On the way out, she was surprised to see she’d parked right next to Raven.
“What a coincidence,” Raven said. “How come you don’t like parking near the store?”
“It’s really silly.”
“Try me?”
“Er, I parked close to a store once, and it ended in a confrontation with a pregnant woman. I got slapped. Fat shamed and made to feel like the lowest form of a human being. I had only just parked and was going to jump right back in my car and move. Instead, I went to a different store.”
“Holy shit, that happened?” Raven asked.
“Yep.”
“I’d have slapped that woman.”
“She was pregnant.”
“So, if I didn’t slap her, I’d have found another way to shut her mouth. You can’t have people talking to you like you’re crap. You allow one person, all of them will.”