“The one and only. She likes keeping her kids close.”
“Sounds suffocating.”
“Don’t ever let Lady M hear you say that. She’s liable to rip off your ear. I’ll never complain about my laundry being washed and food on the table.”
I shook my head. “You’re a real momma’s boy.”
“Fuck yeah, I am. Why do I need to complicate my life with a woman? I like my freedom.”
I considered him for a moment as Karma entered my mind. “What about your brothers? Does Cobra feel the same and only screw around?”
“Cobra?” Hustler threw his head back, laughing. “He’s all business. No time for relationships of even the most casual intention. He’s been that way since—” He covered his mouth with his hand. “I shouldn’t talk about my brother.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, his ex really messed him up.”
“His ex, Karma?” I threw out her name to get a reaction out of him.
Hustler’s eyes went wide like he was astonished. “How’d you know her name?”
“She works for me. She’s a tattoo artist.” I might be crossing the line talking about Karma, but I was tired of being in the dark.
“No fucking way! Karma Brandt is in Bastion? In Storm’s territory?”
“Yup.”
“Oh my God. I have to tell Cobra.” He took out his cell phone from the inside pocket of his cut and pushed a few buttons. “My brother spent years searching for her. I’m telling you, she fucked him big time.”
I almost told him Cobra already knew Karma was in Minnesota, but I didn’t. I wanted to see how this played out.
“Yo, you are not going to believe what I just found out.” He went silent. “Guess.” More silence. “Okay, okay. I’ll tell you. Karma lives in Storm’s town, Bastion.”
I casually drank my beer as if I had no knowledge of the situation. This was probably the most fun I’d had in a while. I would probably catch some heat if it ever got back to Karma, but she didn’t scare me.
“What do you mean you don’t care? You searched for three years for her.” Hustler scratched the back of his head. “Damn, brother, okay. Later.” He ended the call and set his phone on the table.
“What happened?”
“He didn’t care. I can’t believe it.” Given his shocked expression, he was genuinely baffled by Cobra’s reaction.
“You okay?” Of course, Cobra didn’t care. He’d known Karma was in Bastion for almost six months.
Hustler looked at me. “Yeah, just surprised. My brother hated the universe after Karma disappeared. He was so bad off he’d almost been passed over for president of my dad’s club.”
“Is that right?” Wow, Karma and Cobra had quite the story. “Why’d she leave?”
Hustler cut his gaze at me. “I’m not sure. I mean, I have my suspicions, but I’m not for sure.”
“Did Cobra cheat on her?”
The door slammed open, startling us. Wolf stomped in, went to the bar, and grabbed a bottle of vodka. He stomped toward my table and kicked a chair over, then sat in another.
Hustler and I stared at him. I was ticked that I never got an answer from Hustler, but I couldn’t worry about that now. My Russian brother didn’t appear okay.
“What’s up?” I asked Wolf. He’d been sleeping here at the clubhouse, naps mostly, as he searched for Rosa. It’d been good to have one of my MC brothers around.
“Can’t find her. It’s driving me nuts.” He took a long swig from the bottle. “Storm called in Toby, Angel’s brother, to come out to help Grizz search the dark web. I guess Toby knows shit Grizz doesn’t.”