you to be there. If you go off tonight and get yourself killed, I will chase you down in the afterlife and hell will seem like fucking heaven when I’m done with you.”
“You always were a goddamn bastard.”
“You saved my life more times than I can count,” Jaggers said. “I’m just returning the favor.” He lifted his beer again, tipped the bottle in salute. “Now go see your woman and your son. They need you more than I need to look at your ugly face.”
“He’s not that ugly,” Gunner mused. “Actually with those fine cheekbones and that long hair, he’s kinda pretty. And ever since he met Evie, his eyes have that special glow.” He batted his eyelashes and Sparky spluttered out his beer.
“You’re the one who’s glowing. How many times did you get your knob polished last night?”
“You’re just jealous.” Gunner smirked. “When’s the last time you had a woman in your bed that you didn’t have to pay?”
Sparky folded his arms and glared. “Look who’s fucking talking. You couldn’t even buy into the pool right now ’cause you blew all your cash at Peelers.”
“At least I got a blow, brother. You got dick all.”
Usually Zane enjoyed their banter, but right now he had no patience for jokes or laughter. He needed Evie like he needed air to breathe. She calmed him, soothed him, helped fight the darkness that threatened his control.
He didn’t know what he would do if he lost her again.
Probably die.
* * *
After leaving Ty to play basketball at the side of the clubhouse with Shooter and a jaw-droppingly handsome young biker named Hacker, Evie followed Tank back inside for a tour of the clubhouse.
As she trailed behind him, Evie was reminded of the frat parties she’d snuck into as a teen. A huge crystal chandelier dominated the massive front hall, leading to a grand, slightly curved staircase, with an ornate carved balustrade. The oak floors were bare, and scuffed, although the walls clearly had been refinished and painted judging from their cleanliness relative to the rest of the clubhouse. Here and there she caught glimpses of antique furniture, covered in beer cans and riding gloves, pizza boxes and papers. Framed pictures of motorcycles and women on bikes adorned the walls, and the pungent, yeasty odor of stale beer permeated every room.
Tank led her into the kitchen just as Zane was walking out. Jagger, Cade, Sparky and Gunner were drinking beer and laughing, but Zane’s face had smoothed to an expressionless mask as it always did when he fought against strong emotion.
“Wait.” She placed a hand on Zane’s chest and he froze mid-step. “There’s something I need to tell you and you might want to share it with Jagger.” She glanced over at her now-rapt audience and lowered her voice. “Maybe we should talk outside. Viper was there. He said something to me about Stanton.”
Pain flickered across Zane’s face so fast she wasn’t sure if she’d seen it. “It’s okay. They know about Stanton. Everyone on the executive board and Arianne. You can say anything in front of them. I trust my brothers.”
Evie wound one hand around his arm, and gave the group a nervous smile. “Viper was outside the café today. He must have been part of the shooting. He held Ty and me at gunpoint and—”
“Son of a bitch.” Zane ripped her hand away. “Jag. Now.”
“Let her finish.” Jagger held up his hand and nodded for Evie to continue.
“He knows about the warrant for Zane’s arrest. He threatened to give the information to the police unless I … er … went with him. I didn’t.” She shrugged. “Obviously.”
Silence.
When they continued to stare at her, she swallowed and looked away. “I thought there was a better chance that you could protect Zane than taking the risk of going with Viper only to have him make the call anyway. I’m not sure how he got that information.”
“T-Rex.” Jagger’s voice shook with rage. “He’s getting intel from T-Rex.”
A wave of dizziness hit her and she gripped Zane’s arm. There was only one way to get information from an unwilling prisoner and she couldn’t bear to think of T-Rex in pain.
“Do you believe me now?” Jagger met the gaze of every man in the room save Zane. “I told you she would never betray us. Evie’s no Black Jack spy. She just didn’t understand who Viper was. Now she does and she’s on our side.”
Shock took her breath away. She had never even considered that they would think