Page 66 of Forsaking All Others

Stupid cunt.

“Something sweet she can remember King by.”

Shady raises an eyebrow, but simply nods his head.

“So, just to clarify,” Torque starts. “We’re joining forces with the Mozzarella Kingpin and his cannoli loving Knights?”

“That a problem?”

He shakes his head.

“No, but what does that mean for us if they decide to go after the cartel?”

“Make no mistake about it…” I point a finger to the vacant chair at the head of the table. “The Mozzarella Kingpin is one hundred percent going to go after the cartel. They put a bullet in his vice president and that man ain’t a cunt like King. He’s gonna avenge that shit for sure and when he does everyone here better have a valid passport, otherwise you’re gonna have fun with the ICE agents at the border.”

Torque’s lips curve.

“Looks like Maverick is back.”

“I never left,” I remind him.

I may have lost sight of things, but I’ve always been right here.

“And Holly?” Ghost probes.

My eyes slide back to him.

“She never left either.”

Not me.

And by the looks of it, she didn’t leave them either.

“Woman loved Colt. Don’t like it, but I gotta accept it. I also got accept she’s gonna need time. I give her that—I stay present. I learn how to balance my club and my family. I show her I can do that, then I make it right. Make it right with y’all too.”

“How much time are we talking here because, brother, I gotta tell you, Leftie shared those steak tips with us and man, I can get used to that kind of cooking again,” Ink shares.

I laugh.

There are many things I wouldn’t mind getting used to again where Holly is concerned.

Chapter Seventeen

Maverick Burnside

My father usedto say betrayal will never come from your enemies, that if it reaches you it will come from those you keep close. I somehow lost sight of that and in turn I gave the man I trusted most a clear path to fuck me harder than I’ve ever been fucked before.

I still don’t have all the details. I don’t know how King linked up with this bitch Valeria in the first place. Nor do I know the extent of his involvement with the cartel. This shit can and most likely will blow back in my face, but I’ll be better prepared for when that time comes. My eyes are wide open, and it’ll be a cold day in Hell before I let anyone play me again.

That being said, there’s a man handcuffed to a rusty pipe in the garage of my compound and it’s time for him to meet Satan.

We roll past the barbed wire fence and bypass the clubhouse, parking our bikes behind it. Normally I’d check in with the brothers we left behind. Show my face to Holly and the kids, make them see I came back to them in one piece.

But these aren’t normal circumstances.

I dismount, my gaze cutting across the lot to the swing set and my chest tightens when I see Holly pushing Theo on the swing. Not too far from them Leftie sits at a picnic table with Tara and Shepard, shuffling a deck of cards.

Lived a lot of life but staring at them now—knowing they’re safe, that they’re here with me and not just temporarily—well, it feels like I’m just learning how to breathe.

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