Page 92 of Jackal

We had one of the guys outside grab us a bucket of water. Once we got it, we doused Butch, and it was enough to rouse him.

Hawk sat across from him again. “So, you don’t want to tell us who you’re working with. But why? I need to know. You know Ma loved you, and Pops treated you like a son. You were my brother.” Hawk patted his chest.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. That was until he promoted you to VP after he promised me.”

“Pops never told you that. It’s always been me. He’d been prepping me since I patched in,” Hawk said.

Butch grunted. “He told me I’d be at the head of the table.”

Eagle chimed in, “You crazy fucker, he told everyone, openly, that Hawk was next in line.”

“He told me to take out Viper, and I did it. He said my spot would be waiting. But then he gave it to you,” Butch said as he stared at Hawk through the one eye not swollen shut.

“You expect me to believe Pops put a hit on his own VP and didn’t tell me?” Hawk asked.

“He was in some fucked up shit. Raven didn’t like it. He didn’t think he needed to put it to everyone. So I did it. No questions asked.”

“But Viper was taken out by a minivan,” Falcon said.

“Yeah, because I couldn’t be caught doing it, now could I?” Butch huffed. “I did let him know we were onto him, though. Buthe didn’t care. He said DEMC would be left behind if we didn’t get with the times. So, before I had him taken out, I followed up on his dealings.”

“And now you’re dealing with those people, is that it?” Hawk asked.

“Hey, when I learned what loyalty meant to Raven, I decided mine wasn’t as solid as he thought.”

Eagle asked, “Why the fuck did you try to take Lacy then? She had nothing to do with this.”

Butch shrugged. “I figured you idiots would have enough sense to make me VP when Raven was taken out. But it was you. You don’t deserve Lacy anymore than you deserve to be VP.”

Eagle punched him in the gut, sending Butch wheezing.“Never speak her name again!’

“Who is it?” Hawk asked.

Butch cracked a bloody grin. “I’m not telling you shit. You act like I’ve not been in this room before. I don’t care. I’ll die knowing I took out Raven and everything that happened from that ripple effect. Plus, you’ll never be able to take them down. They’re outside of your paygrade.”

“You didn’t shoot Pops, anymore than you took out Viper. You’re nothing but a little bitch,” Hawk said.

I stepped closer. “You’re a disgrace to the title Enforcer. And once we’re done, you will have never existed.”

Butch grunted. “I’m already dead. Your little speech can’t hurt me.”

“Oh, you don’t care what I do to you?” Hawk said as he stood up and walked to the table. He came back with a small axe in his hand. “You ready to meet your destiny? But first, I promised someone something.”

Hawk walked to the door, poking his head out. My jaw ticked as I watched Cindy walk in. She looked over Hawk but he waved her off. She stopped, standing tall even though she didn’t clearany of our shoulders.

Butch chuckled. “Hey Ma.”

Cindy didn’t react. Instead, she walked around him, staring at him from behind. She stepped closer, pulling something from her pocket. With a swift move, he grunted as she shoved a small knife into his back. Her jaw was tight as she pushed hard. He grumbled as she pulled it out, then walked back around him, holding the bloody blade up. “You stabbed me in the back, and now we’re even.”

Chapter 50

Shivana

The dust had settled the last few weeks. It almost felt normal around the clubhouse, at least as normal as I recalled it. Some of the bunnies said it was never the same after Raven died, but I wasn’t here then, so I had no way to know the difference.

Jackal never outright said the words, but I was fairly certain Butch was dead. The night Lacy’s wedding was ruined, we spent a while chatting with Petrov, then once he and Jackal headed off to wherever all the other officers were, we all ate, then exhaustion set in.

I didn’t think I’d ever tire of the adrenaline rush from being here, but when I crashed, I crashed hard. It was nearly dinnertime the next day when I finally woke up, starving and insanely horny.

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