Page 32 of Devil's Dilemma

Beef responds, his voice dry, “Only that it was club business.”

Pal nods. “So maybe it was. Or, he thought it was.”

Or, I think to myself,it was a sure-fire way to stop her from asking questions.

“What else we got, Brothers?”

I waggle my hand causing Demon to focus his eyes on me. “The night of your patch over party, Beef, Mel thought he’d placed a call. Turns out he hadn’t, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t got someone he could hole up with. He may simply have gone to get a break from his ol’ lady, get his head on straight without her nagging in his ear.” I frown. Can’t see Mel’s a nagger, but hey, what do I know what she’s like at home? "What about whoever he ran to when he spent that month away from the club? He ever tell anyone where he went?”

All I get back are shakes of heads.

“Don’t know and never asked.” Mace sums up our response.

“He might not have made a call that night. Did he make one later?”

Cad nods at Ink. “Like all of us, he made a few. I’m going through his phone record checking for any out of state numbers, or ones I don’t recognise. Haven’t found anything suspicious as yet.” He breaks off, and glances at the head of the table. Leaning forward, he clasps his hands and informs us in an even voice, “Before you ask, first thing I did was check. Skull has made or received no calls from his club phone since the morning he parted company with his old lady. Well, since the night before to be precise. The last one was to you, Pal, Saturday evening.”

Pal’s brow creases. “He asked me if I needed him Monday, and I said we,” he nods at Cad, “had it sorted.”

I widen my eyes. “Sound like he thought he’d be back by the next day if that was all he mentioned.”

“Can you trace his phone?” Thunder asks, his jaw tight.

Cad throws him a look that screamswhat the fuck do you think I’ve been doing?but his reply is polite. “Nah. Not in itself a worry. Could be it’s run out of battery, or he’s turned the phone or just the Wi-Fi off, or hell, the sim card might have gotten damaged.”

Beef and Demon exchange glances.

“He had words with Melissa, you say?” Bomber asks. When Demon nods, he continues, “Then I say that it’s likely he wanted a break. Sometimes it’s best to just head out on a long run, we all know that. Could have turned off his phone as he didn’t want to hear from her.”

Buzzard, our treasurer, who’s married to Sindy, nods in agreement. “Saying ‘club business’ means nothing if he wanted to clear his head. This argument his ol’ lady dismissed as nothing and resolved, might be anything but to Skull. That he headed off and wanted no distractions could make sense. The fact that he hasn’t come back could mean he’s met an accident and can’t.”

I wonder whether Buzz has a point. Demon’s quite rightly kept Mel and Skull’s personal details private, but I know the truth. It’s possible Skull could have made a baby. That’s sufficient to make some men run, or at least, take a moment to get his head on straight and decide how he feels about it. As the treasurer said, their argument, as Demon had put it, is far from reaching a conclusion. Not until Mel takes that test. I begin leaning toward the explanation that Skull’s not returned through no fault of his own.

“Okay,” starts Demon, “we’re coming up with options. One, he wanted space from his old lady. He’s either taking longer about it than he first thought, or has had an accident and can’t get back, or maybe he’s been arrested. The other, he’s been lured away and is being held, or has been killed, by unknown enemies of the club.”

“There’s a third option, Prez.” Beef’s eyes meet Demon’s. They seem to have a silent conversation.

Demon growls. “Don’t want to go there, Brother. Man’s proved himself.”

“Or,” contradicts his VP, “he was just waiting. Biding his time, getting something set up.”

“You’re talking about him betraying the club because of how we treated him?” Mace’s eyes open wide. “Hell of an accusation there, VP.”

Beef shrugs. “Wasn’t here then, only heard what happened. He went through hell and back.”

“And was patched in for it,” Hellfire reminds him. Well, being prez at the time, it had been down to him.

Beef’s not going to give up, and in my view, he’s right. It’s an explanation which needs some exploring and not dismissed out of hand. “He might have needed time to set something up. Then he fucked off when he knew it was going to go down.”

“He’s been gone four days,” Hellfire states. “You weren’t here, Beef. I was. I concurred that Skull bore us no ill will for what we had done. Yeah, sure I may have been mistaken, but it’s the least likely explanation that I’ve heard.”

“We’ll probably find he fucked off, then found someone to shack up with instead of his ol’ lady,” Lizard grumbles. “All this fuckin’ worry for nothing.”

“If that’s the case,” Demon’s eyes gleam with that unnatural flare that led to him getting his handle, “he’s due a beatdown worse than he had before.”

Murmurs of agreement go around. I nod my head. I’d make my punch count just for the worry he’s causing his old lady.

Demon’s pinching the bridge of his nose, a sign he’s thinking. I’d hate to sit in his chair. Something blows up? Everyone looks to the prez for an answer. I think everyone’s conscious of the weight on his shoulders and gives him the space to come up with his views. Or we’re silent because, none of the rest of us have any ideas.

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