Page 83 of Rocky Top

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration boiling beneath my skin. “This ain't a decision we can make lightly.”

Villain nodded. “I get that. But family looks out for each other. And I ain't about to let my brother and his club go down with a sinking ship.”

Knox took a deep breath, trying to rein in his temper. “We'll discuss this. But understand, Villain, this ain't just about club politics. It's about loyalty.”

Villain's expression softened just a fraction. “I know. But sometimes, loyalty means knowin' who deserves your loyalty.”

Knox slammed the envelope onto the table. “Kingpin expects an answer by when?”

“Next full moon,” Villain said, meeting Knox's gaze without flinching.

The weight of his words hung in the air as we sat in silence, each of us grappling with the implications.

After a moment, Villain stood. “I need a drink. Mind if I help myself to the bar?”

Knox waved him off, already engrossed in the documents.

I followed Villain out, my boots thudding on the hardwood as we stepped into the barroom, the sounds of laughter and pool balls crackin’ louder now, makin’ my damn ears ring. He was already behind the bar, leanin’ like he owned the place, pourin’ himself a whiskey in my favorite glass.

“Really?” I growled, jerkin’ my chin at the tumbler. “That one?”

He grinned, smooth as a fox in a henhouse. “C’mon, brother. She’s a beauty.” He sniffed the air. “Marked but not claimed. My little brother. Always doing shit half-assed. But you always did have good taste.”

I yanked the glass from his hand, sloshing the drink onto the bar top. “Not for you, I don’t.”

He didn’t miss a beat. Just grabbed another glass, poured again, and raised it in a mock salute. “To everything we share. Good looks. Blood. Our taste in women.”

I didn’t drink. Just leaned there, arms crossed, eyes pinned on him. “You show up here havin’ the balls to flirt with my woman?”

His brows lifted, that smug expression never changin’. “Flirt? I said hi.”

“You looked at her like you wanted to eat her alive.”

His smirk faltered for a second. “Maybe I’m hungry. I don’t see no claim on her. Not one tat. Not even those vests you boys give out to the ladies when you’re too pussy to ink ‘em.”“

I stepped in closer, chest to chest now, noses damn near touchin’. “Try it, and you’ll be leavin’ here with a few less teeth.”

Villain’s smile dropped. And I saw it, that glint of real darkness that lived behind his easy charm. “So, it’s like that, huh?”

“It’s not like you have dick-all else goin’ on in your life.”

Villain raised his eyebrows. “I know you like to think about my dick.”

“Idon’t give a goddamn about you.”

“How ‘bout you stop being a little bitch.”

“You’re nothin’ but trouble.”

“Trouble?” He snorted. “That your word for the truth?”

“No, trouble is you,” I snapped. “Always has been. Since you ran off to Nashville, leavin’ this club and your pack behind.”

Villain’s jaw flexed. “You think I had a choice?”

“You had a thousand choices,” I said, my voice low and mean. “And you picked the one that put you in bed with a bunch of humans who don’t even know what you are.”

He slammed his glass down, eyes flashing. “I picked survival, Rock. You weren’t the one with a fuckin’ bounty on your head.”

---