Page 57 of Cougar

“Fucking tell me, Cougar. That’s how.”

“You’re right. Fine. You know Connard and his loyal little batch of goons?”

“Everyone in this MC does, except for Zombie, Cougar. Get to the fucking point. Because now, this doesn’t have anything to do with how you started this fucking conversation.”

“Well, I don’t think Knuckles does. At least not Connard’s merry men. At least, I fucking hope he doesn’t know who they are.” We already had one blow. I’m starting to regret this. Can we survive another?

“Fucking spit it out! Are you trying to tell me that Knuckles was picked up?”

“He’s at home, Prez.”

“Then what is it?” he practically shouts at me.

“I was trying to get Knuckles to leave when Whitley showed up. Whitley took one look at Knuckles and put him to bed. Knuckles was on the verge of breaking, Prez. Whitley could see that.”

“I’m trying to see how this is a problem.”

“Ugh. I’m not getting this out right. Let me back up. Whitley busted into Knuckles’ place. I pulled my gun on him. When I turned around, I kept my gun on him. Knuckles talked me down, some—”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Cougar. I don’t have time for this,” he tells me as he tries to walk away.

“Whitley is one of Connard’s men!” I practically shout, stopping him in his tracks.

“What?” he asks as he turns around. “Whitley is not one of his goons. There’s MacIntyre, Stephens, and—”

“—Mallard,” I finish for him. “Mallard is Whitley. Whitley is Mallard. They’re the same fucking person. Knuckles has been fucking one of Connard’s goons.”

I watch Cowboy’s eye twitch before he turns and rushes out into the waiting room. I jog to keep up with him. Fuck.

“You two,” he barks out as he points to Willie and Rambo. “Head out to Knuckles’ place and drag his and his Ol’ Man’s asses back to the ring. Gears texted and confirmed that the feds aren’t there anymore. I want them there in the next half hour. String ‘em both up.”

“You got it, Prez,” they confirm without question.

“What the hell did this club do to get this shit thrown on our plate?” he asks himself.

“Prez. I don’t want to fuel the fire, but I have more to tell you. The man that hit Aletta, had Mallory with him. He’s gone, but Mallory is here somewhere in the hospital. The man that shot Judge and Storm is out there somewhere after crashing into Aletta’s car, putting her, my son, and Mallory in danger.”

“How do you know this?”

“Whitley…Mallard…whatever his real fucking name is, told me. He was the one that found the car. He saw the man run away but didn’t see who it was. He made the choice to help the girls over running after the guy.”

Cowboy doesn’t say anything, he just nods.

I give him a moment before I break the silence. “What do you want to do, Prez?”

“Give me a minute. I’ll figure it out. There isn’t anything we can do right now, though. Right now, we wait.”

“Whatever you want, Prez. If you don’t mind, though, I’m gonna go wait with my Ol’ Lady and our son.”

He doesn’t acknowledge me. He walks over to his mom, and she wraps her arm around him. Turning, I head back to AJ.

Don’t be in on this too, Knuckles. Please.

Twenty Five

Aletta

Waking up from a nap, I feel better body-wise, but my mind is still exhausted. Getting in a car accident while pregnant. Yeah, zero out of ten, would not recommend it. I reach for the cup on the table that’s over my bed and take a drink. When I’m done, I see my mom immersed in her book.

---