His Loyal Rebel - Debra Kayn Page 0,63

him when he was thirteen years old.

She straightened the sheet, spread out the blanket, and pulled up the bedspread. For some reason, she wanted one piece of furniture to be perfect.

"Sis?"

She hurried out of the room, hopeful Whip had calmed and was wanting to talk sensibly now. "Yes?"

"I'm stepping out." He took a pack of cigarettes from his vest pocket. "Prez and Paco are coming over."

She nodded. He gave her no reason for their visit, but she understood it was about what happened today.

To keep busy, she took the package of ground hamburger out of the fridge that she'd left to thaw that morning and got a skillet from the cupboard. Thanks to the club, they'd supplied them with the basics in the kitchen to get them started.

The meat sizzled. She broke up the big lump and turned the burner down to medium, not knowing how long Whip would be outside.

She chopped lettuce, onion and grated a big handful of cheese to keep herself from looking out the front window and peeking at them. They had no taco seasoning, but she'd discovered that Whip liked rolling everything up into a tortilla and eating it anyway. They'd had the same thing last week, and it wasn't bad.

Her appetite had fled the moment Big had showed up at the restaurant. Nothing sounded good, but she knew Whip would need to eat.

She glanced over her shoulder at the counter. Whip had taken Big's gun with him.

Not for the first time, she wished she'd never met Big or made the decisions she had when living with him.

If anything happened to Whip, she'd never forgive herself.

He meant everything to her. She never imagined having a man love her the way he did. Sure that she'd disappointed him beyond repair, her heart broke.

A heart she never knew existed until she'd met Whip.

The pain was unbearable.

PRIEST HELD ONE OF Big's bullets in his hand. Whip drew aggressively on the third cigarette he'd smoked since stepping outside the house. He felt like he was losing his damn mind.

"The only way to prove the gun is marked is to shoot the pistol." Priest held the bullet out to him. "This imperfection on the bullet could be from the natural handling of the ammunition. Or even from the manufacturer."

He shook his head and stepped back, not wanting to touch it. "Can you do that for me?"

Priest pocketed the bullet and slid the pistol behind his belt. "I'm telling you, it's a different gun than what killed your parents."

"And it might be the same." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I left their weapons on the floor."

"The police would've taken them as evidence." Priest exhaled heavily.

"Or, Cusclan is deeper into the police department than we realized."

"We don't—"

"Prez, I've read the autopsy report. Hell, they read it multiple times during my trial. The bullet taken out of my dad had a defining mark. The same with my mom. Now a bullet can have a mark on it if it goes through something else before striking the body, but we both know that they were shot point-blank." His shoulders spasmed under strain. "Bullets also get marked if someone has altered the barrel of the pistol like the one Twyla stole from Big."

Priest lit a cigarette and walked over to the grass before coming back to Whip. "Let's say you're right—"

"I am." He ran his hands through his hair. "It's been seven years since the murders, and now the same markings show up on a gun that was taken from a Cusclan member."

Priest held up his hand. "If it's true. They're dirtying the playing field."

Whip spit on the ground. "With them in charge of the illegal weapons, they can mark each one, setting up their customers to take the fall for crimes they committed."

"If that information gets out, every fucking person would go after them."

Whip nodded. "It would put a huge fucking target on their back. Enough of one, it would be impossible for them to run the guns."

"Moroad would get their business back."

Whip rocked back on the heels of his boots and met his gaze. "The heat on Tarkio would ease."

Priest stared off into the distance. Whip could see the hope in his president's face. If he was right, it changed the game for everyone.

"Paco should be here in a few minutes. I'll take him with me."

"You'll let me know?"

"First thing." Priest clasped Whip's hand. "If you're fucking right, you're going to have a lot of people grateful to you for bringing