Reno whipped around. “Just fucking with him, Prez.”
“Don’t fucking care, you show my daughter respect or answer to me.” Then the man turned his cool eyes to Butcher. “I don’t repeat myself, Butcher.”
“I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me here. Thought you’d want to know I just burned a body.”
“I’m thrilled.” He deadpanned.
“One of Ruiz’s men.”
This caught some interest from both men who exchanged glances.
“Roux killed him.”
It wasn’t a mic drop he was pleased to deliver.
He thought about not telling Axel jackshit. But then the conversation Axel had with Rider at the fight kept circling Butcher’s head while he was up the mountain disposing of any evidence. This club was involved somehow with the Mexicans. From what he told Rider, he was trying to detangle from Ruiz and having no luck.
He’d asked Jamie and Rider what they knew about Ruiz. Wanted to know if the man was trustworthy. He was a fucking cartel kingpin, trust him as far as you could spit. If this meant more trouble for theDiablos, he had no fucks about that, until it involved Roux.
“Shut the fuck up, Roux is at home.”
“Yeah, she is. My home. I got her settled and went to clean the mess.”
He could tell Axel was listening now. There was no other reason Butcher would ever come here unless it involved Roux.
“She was at a card game.”
Axel hissed. “I fucking warned her.”
“The Ruiz chick accused her of cheating and set her man on Roux to get the money back. He got rough and she stabbed him in the neck.”
The next minutes were not quite pandemonium, but neither were they quiet while Axel raged, demanding answers. Then yelled for his VP.
“Fucking Mexicans. I told her to stay the fuck away from the tables, those fucks run them all. But does she listen? Does she hell. Reno, grab my keys, I’m going to get my daughter.”
Expecting it didn’t lessen Butcher’s irritation. “She’s sleeping and I want her to stay that way, she’s in shock.”
Axel rounded on him. “My girl kills someone after being attacked and you think I’m gonna sit on my ass and not see her?”
“You can see her later, she was a fucking wreck, Axel. This isn’t about you. Roux is fine right now; she’ll need you later.”
“You’re fucking pushing it. I’m her father, I know what’s fucking best for her, and she needs her family.”
“I’m her man, but you know that already, so you bank on me wanting the best for her and sleeping is right now. This was a courtesy call so you could deal with whatever shit you’re involved in, so it doesn’t touch Roux any further.”
“The fuck you say to me?”
Butcher lost his patience. “If you didn’t have your tiny dick and balls deep in some club snatch, you would’ve known I was the one your daughter turned to.” It was a cheap insult, but he’d learned over the years that cheap got the quickest results. “I was the only fucking one throwing a body into a fire because she’s mine, she’s always been mine to take care of. And you can kill me right now and she’ll still befucking mine. Either get on board or get the fuck out of my way. Either way I don’t give ten fucks what you think, Axel. I’m her man who fucking cleaned up her mess. And I’ll clean up every single fucking mess if she wants to slaughter the whole lot of them.”
They exchanged silent stares before Axel growled and got in a huddle with Reno and Chains, talking low enough Butcher couldn’t hear.
“I’m at your place in an hour. Try and fucking stop me from seeing my girl and watch what happens.” He turned to Butcher, his eyes dark and thunderous. “And don’t think for a second because you helped her out that this changes anything.”
Butcher sucked through his teeth, keeping the fight inside him. Roux needed him now, and he’d done what he’d come for. He turned on his heel and headed for the door.
She was asleep when he got home, running a hand that had dealt with death over her hair, he stood there a minute just soaking in her rangy frame beneath his bed covers. He was gonna be riding that relief wave for weeks.
She was okay. She was here. Everything was going to be fine; he’d make sure of it.