Page 7 of Smoke

He opens his mouth to no doubt give me some snarky response, but stops when the door flies open and Smoke strides into the room.

“You can go now,” he instructs Edge,’ and makes his way around to the opposite side of the desk and drops heavily into the high-backed leather chair. I swivel around in my chair to face him.

We wait in silence until we hear the click of the door latch, then Smoke leans forward, inked arms stretched out onto the surface of the desk, hands fisted, tattooed knuckles showing and glares at me.

“Where do you want me to start?” I offer before he says a word.

“At the fucking beginning.” Smoke growls out. His voice is deep and commanding. It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge but also causes a flutter of arousal in my belly.

I could put up a fight. Refuse to say a word, except now knowing that Oriana is romantically involved withone of the Young Outlaws, the VP might I add, my original plan of action has changed. I need to tread carefully so it doesn’t have any backlash on her. This quite possibly could change my preconceptions of the Outlaws and have me questioning my loyalties.

I take in a deep, calming breath, ready to open up to the formidable man in front of me, but not before I visualize crossed fingers in my head, in the hope I’m doing the right thing.

Chapter

Five

Smoke

Iglance around the table. All my brothers are here. Even the prospects that usually aren’t included in these types of council meetings, still on this occasion, I feel every one of my brothers need to be involved. I wonder if they are truly on board with what I’ve suggested or if they think that their Prez has lost his goddamn mind.

I can’t say I blame them because if truth be known, I’m far from convinced myself. This is not only unprecedented within the MC world, but it could backfire on me big time and leave me with egg on my face, and more importantly, have me losing all respect in the eyes of my brothers.

I’m about to bring an outsider into our inner sanctum. Church, our secure, closed meeting room. The place where we talk club business around the solid oak table engraved with the Young Outlaws emblem.Talk that is only for the ears of the council, people who are privy to our darkness. And not only that. A woman I have no fucking idea if she can be trusted.

Yet the feeling I have deep in my gut is telling me this is something we shouldn’t dismiss easily, so I need my brothers to hear it from that pretty yet brazen mouth of hers so they can each make their mind up for themselves. Hopefully, then, we can all come to an agreement on what we do with the information she has and decide what we do and how we use it.

“Edge, go get her and bring her in here.” He jumps onto his feet and goes through the door to track her down. Tenley should be exactly where I left her. At the bar with a not so pleasant warning of what I’d do to her if she tried to run. Ginger is savvy enough to keep an eye on her until I summon her or have her removed from the grounds. It goes without saying. Ginger is about the only sweetbutt I trust and has been nothing but loyal to the club over the years.

In the minutes that we wait, I’m hit with the reality of the huge risk I’m about to take, of what I’m about to do, but I’m not a fucking total crazy. It’s not like I’m walking her in here without any prior warning. If I had, shit would have gone down, tempers would have soared, which quite possibly would’ve ended up in a chaotic fight between my brothers with not just fists flying but possible bullets too. Never before has a woman crossed the line and faced the club in this way.

“Hurricane, pull one of those chairs from the back to the end of the table so she’s directly opposite me.”

“Sure thing, Prez.” He nods my way before doing as I ask.

I purposely want her sitting where I can watch her facial expressions and body language that accompany her spoken words. From what I can make out when I spoke to her in my office, she’s telling the truth. Either that, or she’s a formidable actress. If the latter, I’m banking on her inability to keep up the act or that she will slip up on a lie on the second time of questioning.

The door swings open, and in comes the blonde bombshell. With his large hand around her forearm, Edge leads her to the only empty seat that’s not his, waits until she sits and then takes up his usual place on my right next to my Mayhem.

“Well, isn’t this cozy?” Tenley shuffles forward on the chair, putting her elbows onto the tabletop. With her hands clasped together, fingers interlinked, she drops her chin to rest on top of them. She scans both sides of the table with her pretty eyes before they land firmly on me.

“Who the fuck said you could talk?” I rasp sternly, a voice deeper than the Devil’s Hole in Death Valley.

“Really?” she scoffs. “Come on.”

This fucking woman is getting on my very last nerve already, and we haven’t even started yet.

“Shut the fuck up.” I growl back at her, a heavy sneer distorting my mouth. “In here, you speak when you’re spoken to.”

The atmosphere instantly shifts in the room and becomes charged with animosity. I can feel Stone’s eyeson me, and I’m sure if I tilt my head to look his way, his expression will show how shocked he is.

I’m not one to lose my shit. Not in this way. I don’t find that I need to raise my voice or show facial emotions to get across how pissed I am at someone. My tone of voice, my stance, my oppressive presence is enough to show I mean business. Facial expressions, never.

But this woman is bringing out what I have hidden for years. Since I lost the one thing that could pull every emotion from my very soul to the forefront for everyone to see.

What kind of witchery does this irritating woman hold?

I stare her out; waiting, daring her to say another word.

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