Page 198 of Fury

I shot him a look. “I need to be if I want to get the job done right. Any job. Many times, a situation presents itself—like Reich’s bomb at the Jacks’ clubhouse, and I happened to be there. Purely random. That shit is real sweet when it works out, isn’t it? I slipped right in and got done what I’d been wanting to do for years. No big fucking showdown, no fuss, no mess during, and especially after. The best part, Jump was conscious. Looked me straight in the eyes. He knew, and I saw his fear there.”

Butler averted his gaze and tossed what was left of his cigarette to the ground, crushing it with his boot. Had I made him uncomfortable? Wasn’t that a fucking shame.

“The next best part, I didn’t have to get rid of the body. Your club got itself a new martyr and a fancy funeral, not a vanishing in the dark of the night.”

“Oh, we should be grateful?”

“You should,” I said. “Without Jump riding your ass, you got yourself a good chance to rise the ranks again, if that’s what you want.”

“I only wanted back in. That was enough for me. To be in good standing in my brothers’ eyes, to bring something to the table. Not to take away again. Not that!”

“You accomplished what you wanted, Butler, and I got what I wanted.”

Simple as that. Logical.

His eyes narrowed. “And the blame gets placed on Reich’s dirty shoulders, just where you wanted it, am I right?”

“At the time, I didn’t know he was the one who set that bomb, I thought it was the Blades. But yeah, it all works out real nice, doesn’t it?”

Butler only chewed on his lip, a hand running through his blond hair.

“Patience, my friend, is an important virtue to cultivate,” I said. “That taste of anticipation brews on the back of your tongue for years, and finally, finally, it transforms into a glorious amalgam of blood, satisfaction, and burning pleasure. It’s lingering still.”

Yeah, I could taste it, and I liked it. I made a sucking sound with my teeth as I shoved my gloves back on my hands.

Butler pulled back from me. Was he deliberating? The deed was done now. Jump was dead and buried, and a new light was dawning for all of us.

“And what about Reich?” he asked. “After what he’s done to Tania? What he’s trying to do to you and your club?”

New dawn for damned sure.

“What was that word Tania used?” I asked him.

“Unequivocal?”

“Yeah, that.”Fucking perfect.“Looking forward to making that happen with Reich and his cohorts. You deliver the girl tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a very, very good day.”

56

“She’s all yours.”

Butler had arrived with his pretend old lady, now his official ex. Fucking stellar acting skills. He played the pissed-off cheated-on boyfriend to the hilt.

Nina ran to Catch’s arms, relieved, pouting. Butler had clued her in just right.

“What the hell is going on?” Reich eyed them from the sofa where he sat with Led and a couple of his men, his voice sharp. He was getting it now.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Butler gestured at Reich.

“Reich’s been staying here since your little event,” I replied.

“Event? Is that what you’re calling it?” Butler yelled. “This is bullshit. We’ve been looking for him for days now. He’s gotta answer for killing my prez.”

“Butler, you need to leave now,” said Catch, his arm firmly around Nina.

Reich’s eyes bulged as he rose to his feet, his focus entirely on Nina. “I’ve been trying to call you, Neens. You haven’t been answering your phone. What are you doin’, sweetheart?”

Nina didn’t answer him. She only wrapped herself up tighter in Catch.

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