“As long as it works.” I could’ve rolled my eyes at him if I cared enough, and a searing sensation pathed through my chest. Spyder and Warpath’s feud with Saint George Hellraisers had been confined to drunken jabs and spit slinging for years. And it all started when Cole’s sister got knocked up. Memories raced through my mind’s eye, and I cleared my throat roughly as I forced my focus on the present.
“I can’t be Rook’s shield, Spyder, and I won’t teach you or anyone what Minter taught us. Even if he allowed me to, I wouldn’t. It’s one thing if we’re together, but I’m not Rook’s fucking babysitter, and if he can’t stand on his own, don’t make him an Enforcer.” Casting my friend a hard look, the fire in my chest flared when Spyder rubbed his shiny, bare scalp roughly. His face twisted in thought, and my chest tightened as the silence closed in on us. I glanced around the large garage, clean and empty of cars but for the one sitting in the middle. Nicole’s dark blue car was nondescript, and the only reason to target it was simply because Hellraisers wanted to be dicks. There was every assumption she was just driving down the street.
But it was the wrong street at the wrong time.
“We’re in trouble, Bruiser. I don’t need to tell you that.” I tensed at the threat in Spyder’s tone, and he flopped his head back to groan and rub his face with his palm out of the corner of my eye. “Their numbers are concerning.”
“Their numbers are the only thing that’s concerning, Spyder. We shouldn’t have let them get so big or unruly in the first place. I told you years ago to curb stomp Mathew. Dude’s a cokehead, anti-Semite, gun-toting piece of shit, and I told you he was gonna cause problems.” I had no problem tellin’ Bruiser when he was wrong, and he scowled darkly at me. “I told you when he knocked up Cole’s sister to fucking take him out. I told you when he started makin’ a rep to fuckin’ deal with it.”
“You did, and you were right. You know you are, Bruiser. No need to fuckin’ rub it in.” Snarling nasty at me, Spyder tugged his beard harshly, and frustration flared in his eyes. Scratching his jaw, he rocked back on his heels with a grunt as he stared at Nicole’s car. “My mom isn’t going to move, Bruiser. I’ve been trying to convince her all week. She’s more stubborn than me.”
“Then you pick her up and haul her ass out. What’ve Hailey and Riley been doing while you’re twiddling your thumb in your ass?” Pointing an accusatory finger at Spyder, the hairs on my arms bristled at his wallowing. “Why are you accepting ‘no’ from her? She’s your mother, dude. How can you respect her wants when she’s fucking dead?”
“Bruiser . . .” Growling lowly, Spyder’s eyes narrowed into slits as he turned to me. Aggression rolled off him in powerful waves, but I didn’t back down as I jutted out my chin. Leveling with Spyder, I straightened my shoulders and stared him dead in the face.
“You think they won’t do something worse next? Nicole ran over their VP, Spyder. He lost his fucking leg. You’re fucking delusional if you think they won’t blame us for that.” His eyes widened in surprise, and I arched a brow as disgust soured my tongue. “You didn’t bother to check up on him?”
“I assumed he died.” My lip curled at Spyder’s admission, and I shook my head viciously. “I’ll work on my mom. I’m hoping we can stop this shit before it gets worse. And to answer your question, Hailey’s talking to Bailey about moving in together here in Margot.”
“Your ol’ lady think she can handle all that?” The atmosphere shifted with the conversation, but I prayed to fucking God that Spyder realized how dangerous this was now. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t fathom disrespecting his mother; we were dealing with people who didn’t give two shits about their own moms. Sometimes, his inability to understand that other people played by other morals and standards was damn fucking frustrating. “I mean, I know they like each other, but living with each other is a whole other beast.”
“She can handle herself with Hailey.” Waving me off, Spyder inhaled a deep breath and rolled his shoulders as I suppressed a snort of disbelief. Bailey couldn’t confront her way out of a paper bag. But hey, I wasn’t the one that was gonna have to deal with that shit. “Regardless . . . we’re gonna have to figure out where to go from here. We don’t have enough to go on.”
“Send Cole after Mathew. He’s got plenty of reason. Take out the president, and they’ll dissolve.” I was singin’ the same tune Spyder was as he grunted in agreement, and I glanced over my shoulder warily. “Do you know what’s up with him? He’s not tellin’ me much.”
“Then he doesn’t want you to know much, Bruiser. All I know is that it involves his sister, I don’t think he’s decided what to do yet. You know how he is. For now, let’s just focus on the Hellraisers before they get too out of control.” Reaching to rub the back of my neck, I rolled my head and closed my eyes briefly. If Spyder wasn’t concerned, I sure as shit was gonna be. He was too good a guy.
And nothing was happening. Just like with Bailey’s bullshit, Spyder just
