Released (Devil's Blaze MC #3)(65)

“Pissing contests?” Torch repeats, sounding like he thinks I’m crazy.

“She’s been hanging around Mattah too much,” Katie says.

“Will you two quit discussing me like I’m not even here? It’s annoying. You haven’t even been married for two weeks. Go have sex or something.”

“I really don’t need to hear that,” Tucker says, and that almost makes me smile. It was a surprise to meet my real father, but it’s one of the few things in my life that has been a good surprise. He’s a good guy, if not completely rough around the edges. In some ways, he reminds me of Skull, so I’m thinking I’ll only grow to care about him more. Gabby adores him, and he dotes on her, so that’s one thing already in his favor. It’s also more than I would have ever hoped for. I can definitely see Katie’s crazy side in our father, which makes sense, since Tucker says I remind him more of my mother.

“Married? I missed the wedding?” Skull asks.

“We eloped. Figured if we waited around for you to wake up from your power nap, Torch would be old and gray and not able to get it up. I’d like to make sure Gabby has a cousin who will help get her into trouble and make your life miserable,” Katie says with a way too-sweet smile, walking over to squeeze Skull’s shoulder.

“Dulce Jesús,” Skull mutters.

“Ten years older than you. Ten. That’s just barely old enough to teach you all the tricks you need to know to keep me entertained.”

“You’ll be too old and gray to do those tricks,” Katie tells him.

“I’ll never be too old for that,” Torch says, walking up behind Katie and wrapping his arms around her. He kisses the side of her neck and then settles in to look at Skull.

“You cut the club out of all of your decisions,” he says in all seriousness, looking at Skull. So much for listening to me. Katie elbows him.

“I said this wasn’t happening right now,” I growl, not caring if I do sound like a mama bear.

“The club had a traitor. I didn’t know who I could trust,” Skull answers, ignoring me. I sigh and sit back down in the chair by the bed realizing he’s not going to listen to anything I say. None of them are right now.

“How did you even know the club had a traitor?”

“It was the last thing Pistol told me,” Skull answers Torch, looking even more tired.

“And you trusted that f*cker over any of us?” Briar asks.

“He wanted protection for his sister. He knew I was ending him. I was his last chance to save his sister.”

“So he gave you the info he had? Why didn’t he just tell you the traitor’s name?” Sabre asks.

“He died before he could.”

“Funny how the traitor turned out to be the one person you brought in instead of your brothers—who busted their asses to save you. Especially since you decided to go off half-cocked and face the *s alone,” Briar says. I hold my head down and hope this blows over soon.

“Pistol was a member. I had no reason to think that there wasn’t another one of my brothers out there with a knife ready to do me in.”

“Pistol was a f*cking problem you should have taken care of long ago,” Sabre says.

“Yeah, and some of you motherf*ckers were f*cking close to him. I had reasons for not going to you for everything and if I had it to do over again, I still would.”

“You mean me,” Briar growls.

“I figured you were the most likely, but I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t Shaft, Latch, or any of you guys.”

“Jesus Christ eating cheese biscuits, you’ve been f*cked up about this that long?”

Skull doesn’t bother replying to Torch.

“You’re the club’s president. Kind of hard to be our leader if you think we want to kill you,” Sabre growls.

Skull closes his eyes and when he opens them, I see so much in his eyes that it physically hurts me. Anger, frustration, sadness… it’s all there. My man has been carrying a load heavier than I even knew.

“I don’t want to be.”

“Be what?” Torch asks, and I know he sees the pain in Skull’s eyes. He would, above all of them, because they are the closest.

“The f*cking president,” answers Skull. “I don’t want the job. I’m tired. It’s cost me too f*cking much.”

“Skull,” I gasp before I can stop myself.

“I’m serious, mi cielo. If I was just someone who walked up to you that day, none of this would have happened.”

“What a crock of shit! That’s the biggest load of bull I’ve ever heard in my life,” Torch says.

“He’s right. This has more to do with my family than it ever had to do with you,” I tell him.

“Possibly, but me being the president of Devil’s Blaze sure didn’t f*cking help matters.”

“I get it. It’s hard carrying the weight of a president. Each decision is life or death for our brothers. It’s exhausting.” The words come from Tucker.

“You’re being stupid. This club is…”

“Draining,” says Beast, cutting in. “It’s hard to keep yourself breathing, let alone other men, because sometimes there’s nothing you can do to save anyone… least of all yourself.”