Page 18 of Property of Rattler

“Prez is here,” he starts. “But, Rat, he looks pretty damn hangry. Maybe give him a few before you come over?”

Good advice. “Dee about?” I ask.

“Should be. Lucky fucker got to sleep last night.”

“Can you send him over to my room? Got someone here I don’t want to roam.”

“Sure, Rat. I’ll get him moving.”

I disconnect the call, only to find eyes staring at me. Wondering how much she’s overheard, rather than waiting to find out, I address it head-on. “Got one of the prospects on his way. He’ll stay outside while I have a meet with my prez.”

She raises her head and sniffs. “You don’t want me wandering around the clubhouse?”

Taking the couple of paces I need to close the distance between us, I get right up in her face. “After what happened last night, it’s obviously dangerous if you leave the compound. And if I’ve learned anything about bitches, it’s that none of you have any fuckin’ common sense.” As her face blackens, I hastily add, “You know how many men Malachi has with him?” Still looking like she’s about to bite my head off, she shakes her head. “Ames…” I try to calm my voice to prevent the forthcoming explosion. “He knows you work for the Kings. I’d place good money on it that soon, he’s going to come calling to see if we can give him any information. If he sees you wandering around…” I can tell the moment the fight goes out of her.

My hands curl into fists as I realise that if she hadn’t opened up to me last night, we might have given him the information he sought. The only story we had was that bullshit one about Satin’s ex being after her. A concerned brother? Yeah, after we’d checked to confirm the relationship, we might have unwittingly led him straight to her.

Which leads me to say, “You should have told us about him earlier.”

The implications have dawned on her too. “You’d have told my brother where I was.”

I don’t even have to nod.

She grimaces as she turns away, clearly recognising her folly, then swings back. “I really didn’t expect he’d find us in Gravity and never dreamed he’d come to Royals.” Her face goes blank for a second before reanimating. “Satin,” she breathes as if she’sonly just remembered. “Can you, can you check Satin’s alright?” Her hand covers her mouth. “He might follow her home tonight and try to get information out of her.”

“And how did your brother know about Satin?” I raise a brow.

She looks sheepish. “He tracked my phone to a club in Tucson where Satin worked, only I saw him first. Satin and I ran. He must have added two and two together when we both disappeared that night. Of course, I immediately ditched my cell.”

Right now, Satin’s the last person on my list of people I trust. Not that the list has many names on it. Only my brothers in the club. She’s looking at me so hopefully, I toss her a bone. “I’ll talk to Prez about getting one of the prospects to visit her.” I don’t want to give a definite answer, so shifting the buck to someone else works.

“She needs to know Malachi’s found us. Will you bring her here to be safe?”

Fuck that. Even if we send a prospect to see her, he won’t be telling her shit. He’ll just make sure she stays put, or, after I’ve had words with Bullseye, maybe he’ll want her brought to the club so we can find out what she knows. “Uh-huh,” I reply offhandedly. It seems to satisfy her.

“I’ve got to get to my meeting.” Pointing to the television on the wall, I add, “Remote’s in the nightstand drawer.” I suddenly remember something I’ll need. “What’s your last name?”

“Stone.”

After raising my chin at her quick answer, I straighten my cut and turn toward the door, saying over my shoulder, “I’ll be back as soon as I can. You need something in the meantime? The prospect will be outside the door.”

Opening said door, I see Dee waiting outside, just as I’d expected. The thing about prospects is they do exactly as asked. Reassured, I head down to the clubroom.

This time, the bodies have roused themselves, and there’s a crowd congregating in the kitchen. Making my way through the throng, I suffer through the obligatory greetings and, from some, commiseration that I missed out on the party last night, which had apparently heated up after I’d had to leave.

“Rat, you missed some shit last night…” As Winchester opens his mouth to tell me exactly what, I push past him with a grimace and a wave of my hand in apology.

I’ve spied Bullseye, and I want to get to him fast.

“Prez? I need to talk to you urgently.”

The whites of his eyes are red, showing he, too, laid one on last night. “If it’s about Royals, speak to Freak, oh…” he pauses and grins. “Reckon he’ll be a little tied up. Hey, Stalk?” He calls to get the other man’s attention.

“No,” I say fast. “It’s you that I need. Maybe also Saint and Tempest.”

He stiffens as I mention the VP and the sergeant-at-arms. “That serious?”

I give him a chin lift.