Page 63 of Ricochet

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Stale tobacco clung to the walls and stained the floor. It had been only hours since Adelia ran out of the compound last night, terrified what Ethan might find. She had no idea what to do, and was she was too worried to tell Seven. After a night of pacing in her apartment, she decided to ask Colin for advice, only to find a text from him when she thought he’d be asleep.He had to unexpectedly work overnight but would be in touch soon.

The only person she could talk to was Tex. It wasn’t as if she’d have to explain exactly what she was doing on the computer, just that she’d been in the Club’s office without permission when Ethan walked in. That wasn’t a big deal.

None of it would be a problem if Ethan didn’t figure out what she’d done with their money.

Theheavy front door to the compound had closed with athudthat still echoed down the empty hallway, and somehow, the stomach-turning odor of last night’s party felt like coming home. Adelia hadn’t been raised inside the compound, though they’d spent many nights here. Pops had done the best he could with her. Never once did he complain about his unexpected venture into fatherhood. It was a role hemanaged much like Mayhem handled their club recruits. He gave her advice, explained the confines of strict rules, and promised hell if she ever screwed up—which she never did.

Until now. But only if Ethan figured out what she did.

Her leather boots clicked as she walked down the hall, trailing her finger along the blood-red-painted cinder blocks as she passed one MC room after the next untilshe came to Tex’s.

Adelia knocked twice, nudging the cracked door open with her foot. “Hey, Pops.”

The door opened. A burning cigarette hung off Tex’s lip as he stared numbly at Ethan on the floor with a knife in his chest and all the color draining away.

Tex’s cold gray eyes had gone bloodshot, and his balance swiveled as he looked from the ground to the nearly empty bottle of bourbon pinchedbetween his knees. “Adelia,” he rasped. “What the fuck have you done?”

The air was stained with death, booze, and blood. She didn’t know how long ago this had happened, but it was too long to give Ethan a fighting chance.

“I- I,” Adelia stuttered. “You know?” Her eyes dropped. “He knew?” Ethan had figured everything out. But what did that mean? “Wh-wh—”

She couldn’t speak. Couldn’t think.

Ash dropped from the cigarette still hanging on Tex’s lip. “Spit it out.”

“Why’d you kill him?”

“Because he wanted to kill you.”

Her throat knotted, and tears burned. She didn’t know if it was fear, gratitude, or the look of disgust on Tex’s face. “I can explain.”

“No.” Tex braced his hands on his knees, staggering up. The bottle of bourbon fell, splashing onto the stained carpet, sloshingout next to Ethan’s pale cheek.

The metallic tinge of Ethan’s blood tainted her breaths. “I can explain. We—”

“We? We.” Tex kicked the bourbon bottle, and liquor sprayed like a fountain until it smashed against the wall, cracking the bottle. “I don’t wanna know who did what, don’t wanna.” He swayed when he shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Pops—”

“No.” He held out an unsteady hand. “Don’t callme that. You’re no daughter of mine.”

Hot tears of guilt streamed down her cheeks. He washer Pops. Tex too. But Pops. He was always her father, even if she didn’t call him that. “I want to explain.”

“Doesn’t matter.” The end of his cigarette glowed red as ash shook free. Smoke drifted out his nostrils. “You know that. I know that. There’re rules.”

She’d always known. But she’d thought it wouldn’thurt because dying didn’t matter. The disappointment was unexpected though. Her bottom lip quivered.

She shouldn’t cry and couldn’t look beyond the top of his leather-covered shoulder. His tattoos mapped the history of his sacrifice for the club. Everything he’d done, he’d dedicated to Mayhem. Tex knew nothing but Mayhem. “What are you going to do?”

“You stole from us.” His head shook.

Herquestion was stupid to even ask.There was only one answer. Betraying the club was a crime punishable by death.

He’d saved her, brought her into the Mayhem family, and this was how she repaid them. Maybe Tex was going to kill her too. He would be the type to feel responsible. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“Eyes up when you speak to me,” he ordered.

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