Page 28 of Devil's Dilemma

“But it was sorted,” she whispers. “We’ve been getting on well. He kissed me when he left, told me he’d see me again soon.”

Beef seems to come to a decision. “Look, Mel. Either stay here or go home. Skull may walk in the door any moment. It’s church tonight. In the meantime, I’ll check with Prez and see what I can find out. It’s possible he sent him somewhere without telling me.”

I hold back my snort. Yeah, like the Prez would go behind his VP’s back. But then, Beef is fairly new to the role, and maybe he hasn’t cottoned onto that yet. Or, more likely, Beef’s just giving Mel something to hang onto.

Mel looks from him to me, then back again. Then, for a second, finds the floor fascinating. Then she straightens her back. “Not much else I can do. I’ll hang about here while you speak to Demon, Beef. I’d like to hear as soon as possible if there is any news.”

“I may not be able to tell you, sweetheart, if it’s club business.”

Which means Beef’s buying us time.

“But at least you’ll be able to contact him, tell me he’s okay. He won’t answer when I try to call.”

If he’s not answering her calls, it suggests he’s taken off to clear his head after the argument she’d thought he’d recovered from. But that doesn’t sound like the Skull I know or fit with the way I’ve witnessed him treating his woman. My gut feel is that there’s something wrong.

“Hey, Steph,” Beef calls to his woman who’s emerged from the office she shares with Cad. She changes course heading for his voice. Beef takes a second to get the harness on Max, then places the handle in her hands. “Will you keep Mel company for a few? She’s lost track of her man.”

“Of course, I will.”

“You want to come?” Beef jerks his head toward Demon’s office door.

I might as well. I’ve got nothing better to do.

“I’d sure as fuck like to know what’s going on,” I agree, keeping my voice low so Melissa doesn’t hear.

Chapter Ten

Melissa

Max leads Steph into the kitchen, I follow along.

“You okay, Mel?”

I shake my head, then realise she can’t see me. “No, I’m not, Steph. I don’t know what to do.”

She places her hand on a chair, pulls it out, and sits down. “Want to tell me about it?”

I take a seat opposite her and pull my thoughts together. I thought I’d turn up, find out at least when he’d be back, then return home and get on with my day. Now it seems it’s not going to be that simple. “Skull and I have been getting on really well. We’re together most of the time if I’m not at work, or he’s not doing something for the club. It came as a bit of a surprise on Sunday morning when he said he had club business, and could be away for the night.”

“Okay. That’s something I could see Beef doing. Would hate him to be gone, but sometimes they go to other chapters to do stuff. That’s how Beef ended up here.”

Yes, I can see that. “But if Beef was gone, don’t you think he’d contact you? Or answer the phone if you called?”

She shrugs. “I suppose so. But if he is doing something where he doesn’t want to be distracted, maybe he can’t spare the time to talk to you.” She pauses and thinks. “Though that sounds pretty lame, doesn’t it? What did Beef say?”

“That’s the point. I need to contact Skull, so I came here to see if they had a way of getting a message through, or, at least, tell me when he’d be back. But,” my voice sinks lower, “Beef didn’t seem to know anything about it. He’s gone in to check with Demon in case he sent Skull off on some business that Beef doesn’t know about.”

She’s quiet. I try to read her face.

“I’m clutching at straws thinking that’s the answer, aren’t I?”

“Beef and his prez are pretty tight,” she agrees. “If you’d asked another member, maybe that could be the case, but Demon? Can’t think what he would want to keep from Beef.”

“Could, could he have had an accident?” I breathe out. I’d had no thought in my head other than anger at the club taking Skull away from me, I hadn’t dreamed for a moment that no one here knew he was missing. I hadn’t considered he went out on his bike and never came back.

But he’d told me he’d be gone a day or two.

Where else would he have gone, except on club business?

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