ely. She hadn’t said anything, but I was sure she was a little hurt by my distance. That was why I didn’t do relationships. I told her from the beginning it was nothing more than sex.
I took a quick shower and collapsed on the bed, grateful for the Crossroads.
If I had to share a part of my soul with the devil, at least I wasn’t alone.
SOMEONE WAS POUNDING on my door. I woke up grumpy, my mouth dry and my naked ass clumsy as fuck as I walked straight to the door. Not bothering to check who it was, I opened it wide with a scowl.
Shadow smirked but quickly hid his humor. “Grim says church in five minutes.”
“Yeah, I’ll get the fuck in there when I’m ready.”
“There’s fresh coffee. I brought you a cup.”
I took the mug and shut the door in his face, gulping half of it down as it burned the inside of my mouth. Didn’t give a fuck. Everyone knew I wasn’t a morning person. You woke me up at your peril.
“Prospect!” I yelled as I opened the door again.
He was still standing there since I hadn’t dismissed him. I really liked that kid. “Yes, Azrael?”
“Get me another cup. This one is almost gone.” I slammed the door again as I heard him laugh and head back toward the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later I was holding my third cup and walking into the chapel, glaring at my pres. Nearly everyone else was there already but I didn’t care.
Patriot was quiet, rubbing his sore jaw. Mammoth was next to our pres, his expression amused. Grim had his arms folded across his chest, staring me down as I took my seat.
“Glad you could join us, Rael.”
“Pleasure is all mine,” I assured him with sarcasm. “Be glad I drank two cups of coffee first.”
Wraith chuckled, followed by Bodie and Exorcist.
“Church is in session, motherfuckers.” Grim banged the gavel and set it down on the wood, turning my way. “Tell us what you found last night.”
“Nothing.” Frowning, I set down my coffee. “The BSMC clubhouse is always busy. There’s usually a shit ton of guys outside but yesterday it was bare minimum. Didn’t make sense.”
“Agreed,” Wraith added. “Too damn quiet.”
“And we know Razr has taken over for Acid so why hasn’t he shown up here and demanded retribution for that shit that went down a few months ago?” Grim leaned back in his seat and lit up a smoke, inhaling twice before he spoke again. “This doesn’t feel right.”
Acid had taken Bodie’s ol’ lady Sasha and Grim’s ex Trish. We had to bust down one of their warehouses and ended up reaping Acid’s soul and a few others from his club. Razr had to be pissed we killed his brother. His lack of reaction could only mean something big was coming.
“I’m thinkin’ he’s got somethin’ goin’ with Solonik. His presence can’t be a coincidence.”
At the mention of that Russian fucker’s name, I snarled, gripping the edge of the table so hard I heard the wood creak. “If he’s in town, I’ll find him.”
“I was listening to the police scanner this morning.”
All eyes turned to Hannibal.
His quietly menacing tone inspired fear in everyone who met him and with good reason. Nothing happened without his notice.
“There’s been an increase in missing girls in the last few weeks. Eight altogether in the state.”
Silence greeted him for a moment.
“Fuck,” Grim shouted, slamming down his palm on the table. “Not in our town, brother. Solonik is behind this and somehow, he’s got the Scorpions involved. We might deal in porn, but I draw the line at forcing the girls to do anything. That’s not how we run business.”
No one disagreed.
We had a studio and a club out in Goldfield. The pay was good, and the girls were free to do as they pleased. We rarely had to hire new talent but did so to keep up with demand. Business was good and we could thank some of our brothers from other chapters for setting us up. FOCUS from New York had been here a few years back to help. The brother had a talent for scoping out and finding exactly what we needed.