He sits forward, his forearms resting on his thighs. “What do you mean?” I tell him everything I was just thinking, and he rubs the back of his neck.
“I need to talk to him,” I say.
“Maybe he just doesn’t give a shit because it’s not his ass on the line. I mean, think about it. If it was him that Kingsley wanted dead, or Gloria getting threats or someone in his family tied up, he’d be out for blood.” He sits forward as his eyebrows dip low.
“What?”
“You’ve become a liability. What if he is out for blood, but it’s yours,” he says.
I laugh and stand up. “Holy shit. That actually makes sense. He wouldn’t tell anyone, but maybe it’s time we start finding out what the fuck is really going on.”
Fury is burning its way to the surface and I know I will never get any sleep now. I want to get to Souls and find out what the hell is going on. If Brooks wants me dead, there’s something deeper going on. Something that he doesn’t want me to know. Being a liability as Kace said, gives Brooks good reason to convince himself it’s about that.
“We need to be at Souls before everyone else,” I say.
“Finn is here, we can head there now,” he suggests.
“No, I won’t leave him here with Harper.”
He shakes his head and pins me with his dark brown eyes. “You need to let that shit go. If we want to talk to the club, everyone needs to be there. Let him prove himself to you, Z.”
I know he’s right, but I still can’t let go of my anger. No matter how misplaced it is.
“I can’t, brother. I don’t trust him to keep her safe.”
He sighs and stands up. “You can’t expect people to respect you, if you can’t trust them.”
“Shit,” I mumble, standing up. I grab his shirt and glare at him. “If anything happens to her while I’m gone, I will kill him.”
He pushes my hand off and straightens his shirt. “Fine.”
I look in on Harper, finding her still sound asleep. After I gather my keys and wallet, I open the door and motion for Finn to come inside. He rushes in, wide awake.
“What’s up, Z?”
“Against my better judgement, I’m going to leave you in charge.” He goes to interrupt, but I hold up my hand. “If anything happens to Harper. If so much as a hair on her head is harmed, I will kill you with my own hands. This isn’t a threat, Finn, it’s a goddamn promise,” I hiss.
He nods and crosses his arms. “You have my word. I will not let anything happen to her.”
I slap his back and walk out the door with Kace.
It only takes a few minutes until we are pulling into the empty parking lot of Souls. Once inside, I flip on the lights and look around. This place is everything to me. The idea that there are secrets or lies going on with the club, makes my skin burn. I need answers and I refuse to leave until Brooks gives them to me.
“I don’t want to go behind Brooks’ back. I’m going to confront him in front of everyone. This club doesn’t have secrets,” I tell Kace.
He pours us each a shot and we toss them back. “Agreed.”
His eyes aren’t even focused on me. He’s staring past me, thinking. I’d like to think it’s about this situation, but I know damn well it’s not. Ivy’s got him twisted, I know the feeling well.
“Just talk about it,” I say, sitting down at one of the tables.
He pulls out a chair and twists it around so he can straddle it. His arms rest on the back of it as he shrugs. “What do you want me to say?”
I laugh, leaning forward. “I know what it’s like to be twisted up about a chick. I’m just saying, maybe I can help.”
“Harper knew this life, it’s not the same,” he sighs.
“Ivy’s been great so far. Everything that happened with Harper, she was right there,” I say, lifting my eyebrow.