Of course Alexei knew where I was. He’d put a tracker in my phone the day he’d asked me to ride with him on any mission he wanted to keep as far from the men he loved as possible. Given that he’d nearly lost Saint to save Rocco’s life, I hadn’t much cared.
Didn’t care much now. I had nothing to hide from Alexei. Or anyone. All they ever had to do was ask.
I left Alexei’s text unanswered and opened Decoy’s.
Decoy:i told Locke where you are. he was worried about you. hope that’s okay.
My fingers tapped out a response with little conscious thought.
Folk:It’s fine. I should’ve told him anyway. Sorry for conking out on you.
Decoy:that’s okay. you looked like you needed it.
Folk:I did. But I needed a swim and a sandwich with my friends more.
Decoy left me onread, but I wasn’t the kind of soul who worried about things like that. I stood, jamming my phone into my pocket, and made a half-hearted attempt to put myself back together. Unless there was a situation, I had no plans for the next twenty-four hours, a state of affairs that usually saw me climb back on my bike and head east again. But with Cam’s warning still fresh in my mind, I knew I couldn’t go home.
Couldn’t ignore the tug in my chest either. Decoy would be behind the bar all night. Pouring drinks and keeping most of his personality to himself. Inked forearms flexing as he hefted beer barrels around...
I picked up our shared water glass and took it to the tidy kitchen, slotting it into the dishwasher.
The machine was full, but Locke wasn’t a fan of running electrical appliances at night or in empty houses, and I’d seen too many ghosts in his eyes to go through with turning it on.
I left it, checked all the windows and doors, then found my boots in the hallway. They still had sand inside from my beach trip, but I didn’t mind that. Ilikedit. Almost as much as I liked wearing clothes that smelled of Seth.
It didn’t cross my mind for a single second to take them off.
I left his house and gave my bike a once over before I climbed on and gunned the engine. The compound was close enough that I didn’t have to think too hard about getting there. I reached the gates fifteen minutes later, and I was highly ranked enough now that every brother manning them knew to tip me a respectful nod and get out of my way.
It would’ve been pretty cool if I needed things like that for validation.
I didn’t. I parked my bike in the first space I found and hopped off, lifting my helmet from my head as my phone buzzed in my pocket. One message. Two. Three.
Then a call.
With a mind already in the bar, I fished the phone from my pocket.
Alexei’s name lit up the screen.
I answered him. “Yeah?”
“You have arrived, Veles. Come straight to the chapel.”
“Why?”
“We have some explaining to do.”
He hung up without elaborating. A different man might’ve been worried, but I wasn’t. We hadn’t killed those men for fun. If we hadn’t fought back, we wouldn’t be here.
With one last, longing look at the bar, I turned away and crossed the yard to the chapel.
River was close by, guarding the door from a safe distance. He saw me coming and pushed off the wall he was leaning against. “Did you get a summons?”
I nodded, giving little away. “Who else is in there?”
“Everyone except Cam. Nash isn’t calling him yet.”
“About what?”
