Page 84 of Monster

I was gonna find out if Trent was the traitor working against the club, and if so, I would deal with him accordingly.

We were quiet as we watched the younger man take his place behind the bar.

He had worked as a bartender for a few months now, and though there had been complaints about him slacking off, he’d done nothing damaging.

“Do it. One way or another, we’re gonna figure this shit out,” I said to Roman.

I’d worked too hard to build the club up to what it was today, and I wasn’t gonna watch it all go down in flames.

* * *

I got homea little before seven o’clock and, according to Lucy, my little wildcat hadn’t had her dinner yet.

Perfect.

Shit would be going down at the club in the next few weeks as we actively hunted for the rats in the ranks, but for now, everything was quiet.

A calm before the shit storm, and I would take advantage of that and spend as much time with Emmy as possible.

I was gonna get her used to my presence, my touch… my kiss. Get her used to me, and to the idea of being kept by a monster.

I hopped off my bike and made my way into the house.

Lucy stood in the foyer, her purse hanging off one shoulder, and Colt standing beside her.

They tied the knot five years ago when Colt finally got his head out of his ass and asked Lucy to marry him. He was younger than her by about ten years, but anyone with eyes could see how much he adored her.

If anyone deserved happiness, it was Lucy. I had known the woman since before I’d moved to California.

She had come to the bar where the King’s Men’s brothers hung out, beaten and scared out of her fucking mind.

Most of the brothers had ignored her, not wanting to get into anyone’s business. We all had shit going on in our lives, but hell, I couldn’t turn her away.

I always had a soft spot for women, and I fucking hated to think about what she had been through to have come in with a chunk of her hair missing, a broken nose, and a black eye.

I took her home, and she lived with me to help care for Kai and Braxton until about seven years ago when Colt asked her to move in with him.

She smiled at me now as our eyes met, and wrapped her arms around my middle.

I held her gently because even though she was no longer than the battered woman I found in the bar, there was always something so fucking fragile about her. I didn’t want to hurt her unintentionally.

Lucy wasn’t that much older than me. She’d celebrated her forty-fifth birthday recently with her husband, my boys, and me.

“Everything smells good,” I said when she pulled away. “Thank you.”

She patted my chest affectionately. “I think Emmy is experiencing some cabin fever. She barely touched her lunch today, and she’s been quiet.”

I nodded, noticing the worry in her warm brown eyes. Lucy had a soft spot for Emmy.

Not surprising. Emmy seemed to bring that out in people, including me. Unlike other people, though, she also brought out all my possessive and protective instincts.

Or, at least, I hoped not.

I would kill any fucker who dared become possessive of her.

Now that I’d decided the little wildcat was mine, she was going to stay mine and no one else’s.

I stepped aside and let Lucy and Colt go home. They probably wanted to eat their own dinner and rest for the night. I stayed in the foyer after the front door closed behind them.

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