Talkin' Trash
Page 26

“Never explained it to the other clubs, either,” Steel murmured. “They hit all the ones around us that were closest and have circled out wide from there. The Wind Furies aren’t big enough to split up too wide, so they’re hitting each affiliated club one at a time until they’ve hammered their point home.”
“They’re not hammering anything home here,” Linc grumbled, sounding confused. “If you hadn’t come to explain, which means you had to learn about it beforehand, then we’d still be wondering what in the fuck was going on—and who it was that had caused the accident.”
All very true.
Something was missing here, and we still didn’t know what.
“You’re correct,” Jessie explained. “We realized that they’re only hitting the stronger clubs. The smaller ones that are supporters have been skipped over. They’re thinking bigger picture here, and we only realized that last night when we were headed to a different club’s territory and then heard about Hoax’s accident.”
“So, what do y’all have on the Wind Furies, or what have you done to piss them off, that they’re hoping to cut you off from all support?” Bayou asked, taking up residence against a counter and crossing his legs out in front of him.
He was looking at the wall, keeping his eyes on no one in particular. He looked lost in thought.
“We’ve arrested their president and vice president of their MC. One in Mooresville, and one in Benton. Both times it was them trying to cause trouble.” He paused. “The man that’s now in charge was likely the smartest of the entire bunch, and without anyone to hold his psychotic hand and keep him in line, he’s kind of turned into a little bastard who’s too smart for his own good.”
“What does he look like?” Linc questioned. “And what’s his name that he’s going by?”
Jessie produced a picture and tossed it on the table. It slid a few inches before coming to a halt by Linc’s plate.
That’s when I gasped.
“That’s Dr. Threadgill!” I gasped. “Tyson!”
A slew of curses left Linc’s mouth as he started to lose his shit.
“Who is Tyson Threadgill?” Steel asked, leaning forward.
“The man that asked me out on a date, and I went to make Linc jealous, and turned out to be a weirdo! I told him I had the stomach flu, and then it turned into me being pregnant with Linc’s baby,” I blurted.
“You’re pregnant with Linc’s baby?” Bayou asked in surprise.
He still didn’t meet my eyes, even when his question was directed at me.
I rolled my eyes. “You mean you heard half of the conversation, but not all of it?”
Bayou narrowed his eyes and finally met my gaze, and I would’ve said more, but Linc placed his palm over my mouth. “Shhhh.”
I licked his hand which only caused him to press his hand harder to my face.
I continued to lick it until Steel sighed. “Seriously? We just found out that this prick is working with you, and you’re thinking that licking him is the best course of action right now? This is why I don’t think you’re mature enough to be together yet.”
I flipped Steel off. “Go fuck yourself.”
Except Linc’s hand was still covering my mouth, and it came out sounding more like gibberish.
Which I suppose was a good thing. Steel would tell my mother what I’d said, and then I’d get a lengthy phone call from her that would include her telling me that it wasn’t ladylike to tell anyone to go fuck themselves.
It made me feel better, though.
Linc pulled his hand away from my mouth and then wiped the spit that I’d deposited onto my leg, causing me to curse. “That’s gross.”
I narrowed my eyes on him and promised him retaliation with only my glare.
Something that he thought was extremely funny seeing as his eyes were glittering with mirth.
“Children,” Jessie said, sounding tired. “We need to figure out what’s going on here.”
I shrugged. “I honestly think that it was an accident that I was ever implicated at all,” I admitted. “Up until Tyson showed up to pick me up for our date, Linc and he had never seen each other before. Then, when Pru and Phoebe alluded that I was pregnant with Linc’s love child—which, for your information Bayou, I’m not—he looked just as surprised as I was. I think it was a surprise to find out that we even knew each other seeing as up until just a little bit ago, Linc was ignoring me and trying not to come see me.”
“False,” Linc interrupted. “I wanted to come see you. You, on the other hand, went out of your way to thwart my every attempt.”
I shrugged.
There was that.
I wiggled my hips to get a better position and had just decided that maybe we needed to go find a new chair when Linc growled into my ear. “Sit still.”
I bit my lip and tried to sit still, but his ever-growing hardness had me thinking about hundreds of naughty things I could be doing right now.
Linc and I had lost quite a bit of time. We had a lot to make up for.
“…think it’s best if you move in with Linc,” Steel said, gaining my attention.
“But I work in Kilgore. I can’t stay here.” I shook my head.
“Then you let him stay with you,” Jessie offered. “But the most logical thing for this little prick Threadgill to go after is you.”
I shook my head. “Dr. Threadgill—Tyson—doesn’t seem like the type to do what y’all are accusing him of. And honestly, what he’s doing—or whomever you think is responsible for it—is being petty. Arresting two men in their club isn’t grounds for hurting people. If what you say is true, Hoax isn’t the first person that they’ve gone after, and for what? What is it accomplishing?”
“Cutting us off from our allies,” Jessie murmured. “And alienating the people we call friends. So, when whatever they’re planning comes to fruition, we won’t have anyone to call for help if we need it.”
“Except you will.” I shook my head. “All it’s going to do is piss us off.”
“Where were you going to before you came here?” Linc interjected.
“Free,” Steel answered instantly. “That was the logical next step. Silas was going to take care of it, but something came up that forced him to stay at home.”
“What?” I questioned.
“Not what, who,” he murmured. “His granddaughter got assaulted while in boot camp. Silas is busy at home trying to keep Sebastian, the granddaughter’s father, under control. It wouldn’t look good for Sebastian to go killing any army officers who were responsible for hurting his baby.”
“Oh shit,” Bayou cursed. “I’d love to get the full story there after they have more information.”
I looked over at Bayou. “Why?”
He paused, honestly considering whether to answer me or not. He came to a decision and turned to face me fully. His eyes met mine, and I had a weird feeling that he didn’t want to be looking at me.
Weird.
“Because I was army for eight years—military police—before I took a bullet in the ass and decided maybe it was the best time to go.” He shrugged. “This shit? Her getting assaulted in boot camp? Not gonna be good. Not gonna be good at all.”
I sighed. “Maybe they’re doing both.” I switched gears back to the topic at hand. “We’re fairly close. Forty-five minutes. Maybe that’s why Threadgill is working in Kilgore. He’s only got a three-month contract, by the way. He’s covering for a doctor who had to have surgery. He’s only got two months left before he’s done.”
“That’s what we were thinking, too.” Steel stood up and gathered plates. “That’s where we’re headed next. Little prick Threadgill is good—though we know him as Tantor. But we’re hoping to see a few of his crew at some point. Maybe let them know that their scare tactics aren’t working.”
“Well,” I hesitated. “They’re kind of working. They’re taking out a few of the pawns on the board.”