These two stress heads can sit and watch the clock together. “I’m going outside to play with Conan.”
As I move through the back of the clubhouse and out the back door, I scan the yard for Conan, but I can’t see him.
“Conan,” I yell as I search again. Barking is coming from the front, so I trail around the side and make my way to the front to see him standing like a statue with his ears erect. He barks again.
“Hey,” I call out, and his head whips to me. Instantly, his ears drop, his tail wags, and he runs over. When he reaches me, I pat him. “We need to have a serious conversation. You have to calm the barking down. People are starting to whine.”
His head tilts, though I’m sure he has no idea what I’m talking about.
Motorcycles rev in the distance. My first thought is,Wow, the men were quick.
Conan barks and bolts toward the gate. I groan at having to walk down the driveway. “Conan!” I don’t know what’s gotten him so on edge lately.
I squint at the men. I don’t recognize them. Considering the Kings of Chaos are out of town as well, it’s most likely people I don’t know. Conan isn’t fond of strangers, so I run to him, then pull on his collar.
“C’mon, out the back. Let’s go.”
As the motorcycles get closer, my heart becomes frantic.
“Out the back now!” My voice is louder and stern. Conan looks up at me, and I point to the backyard. He follows as we make our way to the house.
As the motorcycles get to the gate, I glance back once more. I swear the men are from the Kings of Chaos.
I take Conan through the house because I’m not sure whether the men were going to come inside or out the back. Rage meets us at the front door, then smiles at Conan, patting him on the head. “Hello, boofhead.” He glances at me, then over my shoulder. “Are the men here already?”
“No, but I swear it’s the Kings of Chaos.”
He gives me a weird look as Elena rushes toward us. “It’s not Axle,” I tell her, knowing who she is keenly waiting for. She stops and glances at me with a deflated look before turning and walking away.
Rage turns swiftly and walks toward the computer room, so I follow in curiosity. When we enter, Twitch and Reaper are looking at the screen that shows the front of the house, but it’s zoomed in toward the gate.
“I didn’t expect them here,” Reaper says, and an unsettled feeling takes root in my stomach.
Twitch looks up at Reaper from his seat. “Do you want me to let them in?”
He pauses. “Not yet.”
“What’s Jude doing with them?” Rage asks.
“I don’t know, but let’s find out.”
Twitch nods and presses the intercom. “Hey, Jude, what are you doing here?”
Jude chuckles. “I decided to come up and have a beer.”
Reaper leans down and presses the intercom button. “Viper mentioned you weren’t with your men during delivery.”
“That’s what I came here to discuss.”
All eyes are on Reaper as we wait for his decision, but he turns to Rage. “Call the men now. It’s only a precaution but tell them to be on alert. Jude is here with two men I don’t know, and that prospect is with him, the one I told him to get rid of.”
Rage pulls out his phone and walks out of the room.
“Have you got your gun on you?” Reaper asks Twitch.
His question makes my stomach sink. Twitch pulls a gun from under the computer table.
“Are you going to let us in? I’m desperate for a cold beer,” Jude says.
