My phone pings with a message. I grab up the device and swipe at the message.
Viper: You’re in big trouble, bitch. You still have something that belongs to me.
Sammie: The prospect?
Viper: I don’t give a shit about him. I want that fuckin’ flash drive.
Sammie: I don’t have it anymore.
Viper: Well, you better get it back, or your old man will be dead by the weekend.
I slam the phone face down on the nightstand. No chance of sleep now.
I draw in a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart, but there’s no way out of this mess. Deuce put the drive in his pocket, and he’s surely not giving it up to me. Once he looks atwhat’s on it, he’ll never give it up. Perfect way to keep Viper in check no matter the consequences to my father.
My brain loops around and around with different scenarios. None of them workable, none of them practical. I’d like to think telling Deuce about Viper’s threats would change Deuce’s mind, but that would never happen. The cold glare in his eyes made him an outlaw set on revenge. Viper and Deuce are at war, and when outlaws fight, they don’t care about the damage they leave in their wake.
Deuce shifting in the next room breaks through my muddled thoughts. His feet pad across the floor. The refrigerator opens, then closes. More footsteps. Closer and closer until I see his huge frame outlined in the bedroom door.
I lie perfectly still in the dark room, willing him to go back to the living room. He stands there for what seems like an eternity, then turns and leaves. The sofa creaks, and I let out a long-held sigh.
DEUCE
Not being able to sleep is nothing new to me. In the joint, I was lucky to get four hours a night, and even before then, I never slept more than six hours. Even as a kid, I never needed a lot of sleep. Being awake most of the day means more hours to get shit done, but times like this, it sucks big-time.
Back in the day, when Ace and I shared a place, the lucky bastard’s head would hit the pillow, and ten seconds later, I’d hear his even breaths of sleep. Not me—could take me at least an hour to fall off, and even then, I never slept long.
Maybe Sammie was like Ace, already asleep. It hit me how little I really knew about her, and that made Ace’s accusations all the more real. Not like me being fooled by a woman hasn’t happened before, and I get Ace’s fear and his need to step in and lay shit out even when it’s hard to hear but . . .
When Ace told me he had something for me to see, I wasn’t prepared. Watching her on the surveillance video talking to the Dogs’ prospect, then giving him the flash drive nearly gutted me, but I couldn’t deny it anymore. No matter how she tried to spin it, Sammie had the flash drive, never told me, and then handed it off to the Dogs. Plus, the deal her father made with the Dogs gave them a shit-load of money. Money they tried to use to take the Kings down.
But still . . . Sammie seems different, or her motives are different even though I still can’t help thinking she’s not coming clean about something. And, yeah, I didn’t let her explain herself ‘cause I was pissed, then she held back before just to fuck with me.
An hour later, I’m still awake, only now I’m pissed off and restless, with a hard-on that could pound nails. Pissed off ‘cause I wanna take care of Viper once and for all, restless for the same reason, and horny ‘cause every time I hear Sammie shift in my bed, my goddamn dick gets harder.
I eye the bottle of Jack on the kitchen counter, but I can’t afford to wake up tomorrow feeling like shit. Not with a possible war coming at us from the Dogs.
Fuck this shit! I’m the prez of the Kings of Anarchy, and if I want answers, I’m gonna fuckin’ get them.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
DEUCE
I jackknife off the couch, stomp into my bedroom, and flip on the light. “Get up!”
Sammie startles on the bed, then pushes herself up on her elbows.
“Shoulda told me about that flash drive when you found it,” I grit out between clenched teeth. “Shoulda told me way before making a deal with Viper. Way before all this shit hit the fan.” Anger boils in my gut, but I keep my voice low.
She straightens her spine and crosses her bare legs on the mattress. “You of all people should get not trusting. Being cautious or at the very least trying to save my own ass ‘cause for so many years, I’m the only one I can count on.”
She’s right, trust is a scary animal.
“What would you know about wearing a monitor and being a prisoner?”
I throw my head back and bark out a harsh laugh. “Babe, you have no fuckin’ idea.”
“Really? You’re always in command. Always the boss. You probably even ruled in prison. People listen to you, obey you.”
