Clash took a long drag from a cigarette and filled the room with his smoke. “Sit down, we need your input here since you’re now part of the club.”
Reluctantly, I moved forward, wondering how I gave in so easily without a lick of alcohol in me.
“Sabbath’s gotta go,” Snyder whispered, keeping his voice hushed. “He lied to the club about Leppard’s death, betrayed us by stealing all our money and gambling it away, and now he’s hurt Shasta. I want his fucking blood.”
Clash’s head bobbed in agreement. “The club would be better off without a loose cannon running around.”
“There’s no way the rest of the club will go for it,” I mumbled. “No way.”
“Fuck, I know. I need to call Church, but we both know there are members who will go out of their way to notify Sabbath about it.”
“Well, who can we trust if we can’t trust our own members?”
Snyder shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s the hard part. In order for this to work, the rest of the guys, especially the officers, need to be on board.”
I shook my head, knowing it was a bad idea. “Yeah, but not all of them are going to go for it. They’d have to… you know… be involved in the situation.” I nodded toward the stairs, as Clash’s smile spread.
“We’ve already asked enough of her,” Snyder said, rubbing at his temples.
“You just don’t want to share her anymore,” Clash challenged. “If you had your way, you’d keep her all to yourself.”
Possession filled Snyder’s eyes as they narrowed in on Clash. “And it would’ve stayed that way if you hadn’t fucked shit up for me. Now she’s got it in her head that she needs to fuck all of us.”
“Well, why do you get dibs?” Clash questioned. “What makes you so special?”
“BECAUSE I FUCKING LOVE HER!” Snyder boomed. “Always have,” he added, dropping his voice.
A tiny gasp came from the stairwell, and all of us turned to find Shasta standing on the top step, mouth agape, only wearing a T-shirt.
“Whoops,” Clash said with a laugh. “You mucked that shit all up.”
Snyder was out of his chair before any of us could react, sprinting up the stairs until his hands were cupping her cheeks. “I’m sorry you heard that,” he murmured.
“You l—love me,” she stuttered out.
“Yes,” he whispered, resting his forehead against hers. “Always have.”
Her back straightened a bit as she pulled out of his grasp. “I’m sorry, Snyder, but I can’t—”
Tears spilled down her cheeks as emotion took over her again.
“It’s okay, Shasta. I know you still love Sabbath, and that fucking kills me. But I can’t help how I feel.” He looked down at both of us. “Neither of you feel the same way?”
Clash leaned back in the chair and grinned. “What if I do?”
The force of my punch into his shoulder blade, throbbed my hand.What an ass!
“Ouch, Ranger! What the fuck was that for?”
“For being an insensitive prick. We both know that neither one of us are in love with her, not like him,” I growled, motioning to the two love birds on the steps.
“Let me have my fun. Yeah, I fucking adore the girl, but I don’t love her. I just like the way she sucks and rides my dick.”
I elbowed him again. The guy really needs sensitivity training.
“Fine, I’ll admit. I care about her too. But not as much as him.”
“Ditto,” I agreed, remembering how frightened and scared she was last night. “I just want to keep protecting her at all costs.”