His face contorted with disgust. “Who the fuck knows. That boy is a disgrace. I kicked his ass out of my house and out of my club almost two years ago. I ain’t seen or heard from him since.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise at his answer. “No shit. You mind if I ask why?”
He grunted. “Not something I like to discuss, but as a show of good faith, I’ll tell you. About two weeks after he was patched in, he beat up one of the club girls and tried to force himself on her. One of the other girls came to get me, told me she heard her friend screaming behind a locked door. I got there in time to stop him from raping her, but I have no doubt that he would have had he not been interrupted. I don’t condone raping and beating women. He was stripped of his cut, beat within an inch of his life, and sent packing.”
That was interesting coming from him, especially after everything Carbon said about him and his club. Boar interrupted my thoughts, “I know what you’re thinking. You wouldn’t expect that coming from me because you’ve probably heard that I was behind the murder of Tank and his family.” He looked down at his lap and lowered his voice, “I loved Heather, but it wasn’t a healthy love. She came along right after my mom died and I latched onto her. When she left me, I tried to stop her and lost my head for a bit. It was like losing my mom all over again. I’m not proud of it, but I can admit that I crossed some lines I shouldn’t have crossed where she was concerned. I never did anything to hurt her. Later on, I recognized our relationship for what it was, an unhealthy attachment on my part. She moved on, I moved on, and that was that. Still, it cut me deeply when I learned of her death. I was hell-bent on finding out who did it, but when the fingers started pointing in my direction, I thought it was best to keep out of the limelight.”
“You think it was a setup?” I asked.
“I’ve always thought that and I’ve carried that guilt with me every day since it happened,” he told me.
I knocked my knuckles twice on the table. “I think that about wraps it up for us. Thank you for coming out and answering our questions.”
“No problem. Thanks for bringing some things to my attention. Your boy will be getting divorce papers soon. Should I have them sent to the clubhouse?”
I smiled. “Please do. He’s been trying to find Shannon’s whereabouts so he could send some to her.”
“Oh, well if he already has some drawn up, send them to my clubhouse. I’ll make sure she signs and returns them,” he said.
We shook hands and left the bar. I stopped beside my bike and took a deep, cleansing breath. That did not go how I expected, at all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Duke
I was about to lose my mind waiting for Phoenix to get back from his meeting with Boar. I had so much pent-up rage and nowhere to direct it. I hoped like hell Phoenix came back with answers.
“You want to get in the ring, brother?” Carbon asked.
“With you? Hell no. You’re just as keyed up as I am and that won’t end well, especially for me.”
He laughed. “Yeah, you’re probably right about that. Hey, where’s your sister?”
“She’s with Ember and Reese. Why?” I asked. He better not be making a play for my sister.
“Just curious. Didn’t know if she went back home or if she was staying around for a while,” he shrugged, seeming casual, but I wasn’t sure I was buying it.
“She’s staying for a bit. She wants to spend some time with James,” I said, eyeing him curiously.
“Where’s she staying?”
“Why?” I asked, defensively. He had no reason to be asking anything about my sister.
“What is your deal? I’m just trying to have a conversation with you.” He chuckled. “Oh, you think I’m after your sister?”
“I don’t know, are you?”
“So, you can get with my sister behind my back and knock her up, but your sister is off limits?” he spat.
“Will you two knock that shit off? I swear, every time I turn around the two of you are bickering like little children,” Phoenix shouted. “Now get your asses up and get to Church.”
When everyone had arrived, Phoenix filled us in on his meeting with Boar. I couldn’t believe what Phoenix was saying. Shannon had nothing to do with having my son kidnapped and it was all her little sister’s doing? Was she also the one who ran Reese off the road? What about the letters, who had sent those? I just couldn’t wrap my mind around any of it. It made more sense for the culprit to be Shannon, not Melissa.
Carbon’s outraged bellow brought me back to the present. “And you seriously believe that lying sack of shit? Of course he denied it and fed you a good story, he’s had nine years to come up with it.” Carbon’s face was red and he was pacing the back of the room. He looked like a bull ready to charge.
“I’m going to let that slide because I know how hard this topic is for you, but consider that your one and only warning. I will not tolerate disrespect from you or anyone else. Now sit your ass down and listen to the rest of what I have to say,” Phoenix ordered.
Carbon grunted, blew out a long breath, and hesitantly returned to his seat. Phoenix continued sharing the details of the discussion he had with Boar and his men. “What do we know about the Disciples of Death MC?” Phoenix asked.
