Page 116 of Bronco

“Don’t be so awful, he didn’t mean any harm,” Stella says. “And like I said, if you go around bein’ assholes to him, of course he’s gonna take issue with every one of us.”

I look at her pointedly. “You tell your old man what he said?”

She opens her mouth then closes it again.

“That’s what I thought.” I smirk. “He’d be pissed, probably ban him from comin’ in Sweet Treats.”

“It’s not my dad’s shop, it’s Indigo’s. The club may have bought in, but she has the majority say, and Indigo doesn’t have an issue. I bet I could find out a whole range of things if I really wanted to.”

I sigh. “Stella, usin’ your looks and your body to get intel isn’t what the club wants you to do, so don’t be usin’ that to try and get prospectin’. It won’t work.”

Her cheeks flush. “I never said that’s what I’m doing!”

I glance over her patent faux leather pants and crop top. “Right.”

“Yeah, and I’m sure Callaghan doesn’t mind havin’ you fawnin’ all over him. Probably why he flapped his gums,” Rock muses.

“You two are just the worst. I don’t even know why I bother telling either of you anything,” she huffs. “I thought it would be useful.”

“It is useful,” I try to soften my tone. We all know Stella is overly sensitive sometimes, and has that fiery Creole heritage, just like her dad. “We just mean don’t be lettin’ Callaghan drool all over you, or let him sweeten you up for information. At the end of the day, he’s a cop. A cop who hates this club with a passion.”

She pokes me in the chest. “You know what? Maybe I don’t mind him drooling all over me, but just remember one thing.I’ve got a brain in my head, and I’m not afraid to use it, or show off my body if that’s what it takes to get what I need to in order to help protect this club.”

“That ain’t your job,” I say. “While it’s appreciated, you don’t need to work that shift. You could be puttin’ yourself in danger unnecessarily.”

“Fuck you, Bronco.” She storms off before I can say anything else.

“Fuck,” I mutter. “What did I say? She’s the one goin’ on about fuckin’ Callaghan. What’s his game plan?”

“Plant the seed, knowing that Stella will come back and tell the club. I don’t know what his endgame is, but there’s a message in there somewhere,” Rock says.

I palm the back of my head. I’ve got a lot to do tonight, including going to Amber’s place to grab some of her and Olive’s stuff. Until we have final confirmation that the last of the Cut City Boys are dead, and Bane has control over the Disciples, this will be their new home.

“Too fuckin’ right. The man’s a dog for tellin’ Stella shit. Can’t be a man and come and say it himself.” I shake my head. We gotta keep an eye on Callaghan because I don’t like the feeling I get in my gut. He hates us primarily because we beat him to every single raid. Even when the NOLA Police force got all the credit for getting rid of the mob in New Orleans when Bella’s father and uncle were at the helm, when in fact it was the MC, we didn’t do shit about it. We were happy to be out of the limelight, and the only reason none of us got arrested was because Callaghan and his cronies couldn’t pin it on the club. We did all the dirty work for him, and he gets all the medals.

“Why would he, when he’s got a pretty little thing wound around his little finger,” Rock replies.

“Yeah, gotta do somethin’ about that.” I just don’t know what yet because I’ve got bigger fish to fry.

Callaghan issues can wait. First, we gotta go find Erica.

23

BRONCO

I slidout of bed early, ready to get on the road. Amber and Olive were in the room next door, and I couldn’t sleep a wink. Even with Titan keeping watch, I was twitchy. I wanted to be with her, hold her, tell her everything was gonna be okay, but I couldn’t.

I dress, pull my cut on and my boots, and slip quietly out of the room giving Titan a pat on the head.

“Stay,” I whisper. He lays down on his stomach, paws under his chin, his ears prick up as our eyes meet. “Good boy.”

I don’t even get a few steps down the stairs when I hear her door open. I glance up and our eyes meet.

“Are you going without saying goodbye?” She appears at the top of the stairs as I turn towards her.

“I didn't want to wake you.”

She’s already in my arms before I even know what’s happening. “I hate this.”

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