Page 57 of Bear

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Bear

Iroll over and grabthe phone.Prez. Shit. I hit accept and crawl out of bed, walking into the bathroom before I say a word, so I won’t wake Jupiter. “Yeah.”

“Get your ass to the fuckin’ clubhouse. Now!”

I open my mouth to respond but the dial tone cuts me off. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that he’s heard by now. It doesn’t take an intellectual to know this might be my last day on earth.

I piss, wash up, and splash water on my face. Then I grab my jeans, pulling on my cut over the black hoodie that was discarded on Jupiter’s bathroom floor. I lean over the bed and brush the hair back from her forehead before I kiss her.

“Goodbye, baby girl,” I whisper, wishing I had time to say goodbye the way I want. If I’m about to meet my maker, I’m gonna be real pissed that I didn’t get to fuck her one last time.

Jupiter stirs and smiles up at me. “Where are you going?”

“Club business.”

“Will you get some creamer while you’re out? And then come home and fill me with your big, fat cock.”

I laugh. She’s cute when she’s delirious. “Sure, darlin’. Anything for you.”

With a sleepy sigh, she rolls over, and I head for the door.

“Love you, Tennessee,” she mumbles, and I stop dead in my tracks and turn to look at her. She’s facing me, cocooned in the blankets so all I can make out is the pretty shade of pastel hair and her long lashes fanned out against her cheeks. She shifts and for a second, I think she’s just realized what she said and will jump up and take it back, but her mouth just falls open and a loud snore comes out.

I smile and whisper, “I love you too, Tink.”

And then I leave before Chaos sends the brothers after me. This is one heartache I want to save Jupiter from.

Outside, I slide onto my bike and pull my phone from my cut, opening my list of contacts.

I dial the first number.

It rings a handful of times before he picks up. “Fuck. What?”

“It’s Bear.”

“Jesus.” Anvil groans and the unmistakable sound of him flicking a Zippo lighter and inhaling comes through the receiver. “You forget how to tell time down there in Georgia?”

“I need your help.”

“Christ, Bear. You fuck with someone’s ol’ lady?”

“No. I fucked with someone’s club, and I think I’m about to meet the reaper.”

There’s a long silence from the other end. “And you want me to save your ass?”

“Nope. I want you to help out your fellow Kings. My actions have made a war inevitable.”

“Players?”

“Here’s where it gets interesting. Remember those fuckers from the Bayou who were shooting up Kings territory in Nashville?”

“I’m old, kid, but I ain’t that old.” He barks out a wheezy cough and I frown. Anvil has smoked a pack a day since I began prospecting. “My lungs might be shot to shit, but there’s nothin’ wrong with my memory.”

“They’re running drugs through Uprising to distribute in your backyard.”

“Motherfuckers.”

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