Page 91 of Thug

He smiled. It was the first time I’d seen him do so without stifling it. “Yeah,” he said. “Me, too.”

24

Price

Laying on the bar naked, I realized I had spent my adult years with a heart silently yearning for love while my mind denied the existence of my heart’s desire. Contrary to the belief of many bikers, loving and being loved didn’t make me weak. If anything, it made me stronger. I now had something to fight for. A reason to come home. A cause beyond the manufactured needs and necessities of the club.

The motorcycle club exposed me to meaningless sex, gun running, prostitution, murder, extortion, drugs, and eventually, Gray. The club would always remain my family. While Gray stared mindlessly at the ceiling, I prayed that she would always remain my love.

Losing another would certainly be the death of me.

She turned her head to the side and met my gaze. “What’s the most important thing in Brisco’s life?”

I sat up. “What?”

“Brisco,” she said. “What object does he care about the most?”

I didn’t need to think long. “His cats. Why?”

“Because,” she said with a smile. “That prick took the two most important things in my life from me. You, and my freedom. I want to take the most important things in his life from him. If I’m going to be hanging around your little biker family, I need to get along with everyone. I think if I take something from him, I’ll feel better about him having taken something from me. I’ll be able to forgive him when it’s all over.”

I didn’t have a problem killing a man if I felt it was necessary. Killing an innocent cat was a different story.

“You want to kill them?” I asked.

Her face contorted. “Seriously?” She sat up. “Do you think I’d kill a cat?”

“Well, fuck. I don’t know. You said you wanted to ‘take them’ from him.”

She laughed. “Take might mean kill in biker language, but in bartender language, it means take.”

“Just making sure.”

“You said you picked my lock, right?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I had to. I didn’t have a key.”

“If you can pick my lock, you can pick Brisco’s. I want to steal his cats. Hold them ransom, for a reward.”

I laughed my ass off. “I fucking love it.”

“Will you help me?”

“Help you?” I jumped off the bar. “Hell yeah.”

She mussed her hair. “What are you doing?”

“Getting dressed,” I said excitedly. “Now’s the time to do it. Brisco and Carp took Brisco’s truck to Phoenix to pick up a vintage Harley frame. They won’t be back until tomorrow morning.”

She leaped over the edge of the bar. “Really?”

“This’ll work out great,” I said. “I can’t wait to see his reaction.”

Brisco was a whore. He didn’t have an ounce of compassion in his heart for a woman when it came to breaking hearts. He said whatever was required of him to lure a woman into bed. After sex, the truth was revealed.

His cats were a different story. He coddled them, cuddled them, and loved them deeply. Beyond the club, they were his only family. Taking the cats from him would equate to taking Gray from me.

It was only fitting.