Captured (Devil's Blaze MC #1)(39)

“Not a f*cking word.”

“What about your contact, Pistol? Anything?” Torch asks, and all eyes turn there.

“They’ve been keeping it nailed down. Word is, they’ve been dealing with a higher up who is unhappy with Colin’s choices.”

“Who’s higher up than Colin?” asks Beth. “I thought he and Matthew were in charge since Edmund and mom passed.”

“There’s always someone higher up, querida,” I answer. “Speaking of Matthew, where is that f*ck? He’s not made one move good or bad in this and that’s the f*cker we had the truce with.”

“No one seems to know. Maybe your girlfriend knows,” Pistol says.

I let that shit pass. Until I get through this crap with Colin, I don’t give a f*ck what Pistol says; that motherf*cker’s out of chances.

“Matthew went on vacation in France to the villa there. He hadn’t come back, the last I knew,” says Beth, staring at Pistol. I squeeze her hand and she turns to give me a smile, though her face looks a little lost.

All this shit is driving her crazy. She’s blaming herself for all of it. Nothing I say is making it better. I’d like to take her away from this shit for a couple of weeks, but that’s not possible. When we get this crap behind us, I’m taking her away and spoiling her rotten. That, and f*cking her raw. I adjust my cock; f*cker’s had her * a hundred ways—two to three times a day—and he’s still not worn out. I got a feeling he never will be around her. Shit, I’ll be ninety and still trying to nail her.

“Torch, you find out who this higher-up is who’s unhappy with Colin. That can only be a handful of people. Maybe we can get this f*cker from the inside.”

“On it, Boss.”

“What about the list of businesses and shit that Beth gave us?” I ask, squeezing her hand again. “Were there any surprises in there?”

“Nah, not really. We had all of their holdings down except one, and I’m not really sure why they own it. It’s a freaking fruit market and gas station in Jelico, Tennessee.”

“A fruit market?”

“Yeah, and near as I can tell, boss, that shit is a legitimate business.”

“Do they use it for money laundering?”

“If they do, they’re hiding that shit really good. I’m gonna dig deeper, but I can’t even tell if they have anything to do with it, other than the fact that the licensing comes back to Beth’s mom.”

“My mother? She never owned a business,” says Beth, confused. “Well, not that I know of. She was always too busy getting her hair done and partying. I swear, if I thought she had anything to do with the business, I would have told you, Skull.”

“She would have, too. She’s real good at ratting out people who are trying to help her,” says Jan from across the room.

I pick Beth up in my arms, sit down in her seat, then settle her in my lap. We’re having an informal meeting and I probably should have took it to my office, but the only ones allowed in this main part of the club while on lockdown are patched-in members and old ladies, which explains why Jan is running free. However, I’m not about to put up with her shit. In my book, the woman never looks good, but today she’s looking even more haggard than usual. You can tell lockdown is wearing on her. I wonder how long it’s been since her stash has emptied because you can tell just from looking at her that she’s going without drugs, cold turkey.

“Beast,” I growl, letting him contain his old lady. Only reason the bitch is still here is because he said he’d make sure she was under control.

“Got it, Boss,” he responds, rising to go to his woman. “Come on, Jan. I told you it’s not safe up here. Let’s get back below,” Beast tells her, taking her hand. “Annabelle will be wondering where we’re at.”

There’s a storm shelter below. It’s a basement of sorts, but more like a bomb shelter. I’ve had it all tricked out with special ventilation, steel-enforced blocked walls, and lighting that mimics the sun. It’s a huge area complete with fifteen bedrooms and adjoining bathrooms, a huge kitchen and dining area that can easily handle up to two hundred people if need be, a bowling alley, poker and pool area, club and open bar, and another large playroom for kids. It’s one of the main things I did when we chose this place for our compound. We don’t go on lockdown often, but when we do, I want to make sure I can take care of my men and their families.

“Fuck that shit. She’s up here,” Jan slurs, pointing at Beth. It’s obvious she’s been hitting the bottle. I can see my man cringe. He’s embarrassed of this shit and should be. This bitch is a piece of work.

“We’re going over the information she gave Torch so we can try to end this lockdown and war before it hits,” Beast explains.

“Yeah, that little bitch is good at being a narc.”

“I didn’t—” Beth tries to defend, but I squeeze her to get her to hush. She owes this cow jack-shit.

“Tell that to Marker, you bitch! Did you know they kicked him out of the club? They beat the f*ck out of him because of you. He had to be carried back to his apartment! All because of your prissy ass!”

Beth tenses up in my arms. I’ve had enough.

“He was beat down for betraying his club,” I growl. “He got the same f*cking thing you deserved, but Beast saved your ass. Why he keeps doing that, I don’t f*cking know. But you better listen well, Jan: you so much as look at Beth or breathe near her, not even his ass will save you from here on out. You get me, bitch?”