Page 138 of Beast

“But she died.”

“Apparently not.” Dodger sounds inconvenienced by her survival. “She was found two days after the accident. But by then, our town was burning. I don’t even know if it made the papers. Everyone was preoccupied by the fire.”

He’s clearly agitated, and I don’t understand why he is so pissed about this. She is club born. She belongs with the Knights.

“Where has she been all this time?”

“Right under our fucking noses. Apparently her uncle took her out of town immediately after the accident. He had some jobwith the government in Florida. But they returned a few years later when Belle was older.”

“How long have you known all of this?”

“Only a couple of days. They flew under the radar when they returned to St. Bon all those years ago. Lived a quiet life. Then she ran away with some boyfriend when she was eighteen. Came back recently to look after the old man.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“The old man approached the club for a loan.”

“And you gave it to him?”

“With interest.”

I can’t describe the relief I feel.

Bluebelle is alive.

When she died, I cried myself to sleep for months until my father smacked me across the mouth and told me to man up and get over it. People died, he snarled. She was better off dead.

But I never believed she was better off dead. She was my best friend and she belonged at the clubhouse with me.

I always believed God got it wrong when he took Bluebelle away.

“This is a good thing,” I say.

But Dodger snarls. “Are you fucking dumb, asshole? This isn’t a good thing. It’s the complete fucking opposite. Her very existence is a threat to this club.”

I frown. “How is she a threat to the club?”

In the dim light, Dodger’s eyes glow with menace. “She’s a loose end I thought I’d taken care of.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and my gut twists because I don’t like the slope we’re sliding down. “What are you talking about?”

“When I ran her parents off the road.”

At first I think I misheard him. “You caused the accident that killed her parents?”

“The brat was supposed to die too.”

I take a step back. I can’t believe what I am hearing.

Dodger killed Hangman and Lucy. And tried to kill Bluebelle too.

A darkness claws at my insides trying to get out. I grit my teeth. “You’d better start explaining, old man. Was this a hit?”

He gives me a warning look, not appreciating my tone.

“Not sanctioned. But done to protect the club. That’s what you have to do when you’re the president, son. You have to make decisions to protect the club. They’re not always pretty. But this wasn’t the hardest. He was a direct threat to the club. And you can bet your life I’m always going stop any threat to the club.”

“You fucking killed them.”

---