Page 92 of Rooster

“Grim thought the same, so he brought a friend with him.”

It had been weeks since we’d had any drama at the club. Our runs had gone as planned, Cotton was making ground as Bruton’s successor, and we were making good money. Hell, we’d been doing better than ever, and it felt good—really damn good. I wasn’t exactly pleased to hear that things might be taking a turn. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“He brought one of the guys who killed his girl,” Torch answered.

“No shit?”

“Yeah, he hoped that having a taste of revenge would help Beckett finally put all this mess behind him.”

“So, where is he now?”

“They’re in Wrath’s playroom. Beckett’s working him over as we speak.”

“Holy shit.” I ran my hand down over my beard. “Well, it will either help the kid or add fuel to the fire.”

“Only time will tell.” Savage motioned his head towards the cooler. “I could use a beer. How about you?”

“Hell, yeah. Maybe two.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Savage grabbed us a couple of beers and sat down at the bar. I glanced back over at Grim, and damn. I’d been around many a fierce man, but none had been quite so menacing. Something about his heavy build and ominous, dark, fierce eyes sent a chill right through you.

His thick beard added to his rugged demeanor, and with his Fury cut, he was a daunting force that commanded respect. I would’ve thought the hang arounds would be all over him, but they wouldn’t even look at the guy. I considered going over and talking to him, but just as I was about to head over, he got a phone call.

He glanced down at the screen with a scowl, then answered, “What the fuck do you want?”

There was a brief pause, and then he went on to say, “I don’t want to hear your fucking excuses. You fucked up, and if you ever disrespect me like that again, I’m gonna rip your throat out!”

Doing my best to ignore the conversation going on behind me, I sipped on my beer and tried to tune him out. It wasn’t easy, especially when he started ranting.

“You’re telling me the goods are there and are up to par, and if that’s the case, we’ll take our fucking money and go. But if it turns out you’re lying and we got some shit like we did last time, then I’ll take every fucking dime of that take, and I’ll use it to fuck you up. I’ll go after your crew, one by one, and I will mess them up in ways you can’t begin to imagine.”

Damn. This dude was no joke.

I got it. He was the enforcer, and just like Wrath, he took that role seriously and wasn’t going to let anyone fuck him or his brothers over. His fierce expression seemed to soften slightly as he listened to the other end of the line. After a few moments, he nodded and said, “You better fucking hope so.”

He ended the call and grabbed his beer, turning it back for a long drink. Once he’d finished It off, he stood and tossed the empty bottle in the trash. His expression remained blank as he started walking over to us. “How you guys making it today?”

“Can’t complain. What about you?”

“I’ll be better when I can get back home and wrangle in a couple of assholes, but I can’t do that until I sort out this shit with Beckett.”

“Maybe this thing today will help out in that department.”

“I don’t know, Savage. I’ve got a feeling he’s not gonna let it go, but maybe working this guy over will do him some good.”

“How long has he been back there with him?”

“I don’t know.” Grim glanced over at the clock. “An hour. Maybe two.”

“Might be time to go check on him and see how things are going?”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Grim followed Savage and me out to the playroom and up to the two-way mirror. He and Savage stopped to take a look, but I didn’t bother. I wanted to see Beckett face to face, so I just walked right in and was immediately hit with the stench of death, making my stomach churn from the smell. Beckett was sitting on a stool in the corner, smoking a cigarette, and he didn’t seem to notice I had walked in.

“Beckett?” I called out to him. When he didn’t answer, I walked over to him, placing my hand on his shoulder, and said, “Hey, man. How you making it?”

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