It’s Bullet’s turn to be restrained as he lunges forward, letting out a roar. This is going to shit and fast. Especially as guns are drawn on both sides. Fuck. I shove Avery behind me.
“A brave thing to say when you’re the one that’s about to die,” Rose responds. “Then again, you never were a smart one.” She looks around, gazes hard. “All of you put your fucking guns down.”
“Get her the fuck off our Prez!” someone bellows, furious. I don’t know who it is, but almost all of them say the same thing, but then I see it. Angel, Whip, and Ace are all silent. All three of them glance at each other before they put their guns down.
“Guns down. Now!” Angel yells sharply. No one moves. “That’s a fucking order from your VP,” he snaps.
“Angel, what the fuck, man?” Crook demands, staring at him angrily. “You can’t?—”
“Do not fucking question me. Guns down or I’ll have your fucking patch for not following orders.” There’s a mixture of disbelief and fury, but they comply, even if unwillingly.
“Guns down,” Sniper orders, and while we do, we don’t relax. Avery inches out from behind me but not far.
Bullet shrugs off Sniper and Torque and orders, “Rose, let them go.”
“Can’t do it, Bullet,” Rose answers, not even twitching. “Now is your chance to get answers, so make it quick because I’ve got some itchy fingers. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.”
Bullet takes her at her word and turns to Sniper. “The bug, is it one of ours?”
The mood shifts instantly. I see Arson and Silver both stiffen, and Arson grunts when Rose digs the scalpel a little deeper—blood welling around the blade.
“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” she says coolly. “And just so you understand, this scalpel is currently slicing into the skin above your main artery. One wrong move, a little more pressure, and you’ll be choking on your own blood.”
Arson growls but doesn’t move.
“It’s one of ours,” Sniper announces. “We’ll need to ask Cryos which one it is.”
“So you think you’re going to trap her with our bug that you found or stole?” Bullet sneers at Silver. “You think we wouldn’t check? And even if it wasn’t one of ours, why the fuck would you bring one into our clubhouse? An ally club at that?”
A small hint of panic fills Silver’s eyes.
“You’ve been fucking recording us?” Arson demands. “You fucking snake.” There’s another round of furious statements and threats that he quells with a hard look.
“No, actually, we haven’t been,” Bullet answers. “Our security business burned down, but we keep some supplies here thatCryos works on getting ready, including bugs that clients request. Which means you’ve been rooting around in places you had no business being to find that, including Cryos’s office. Now, what business would you have to be doing that?”
Arson’s face tightens, and Silver’s face pales even further.
Arson must realize just how much shit he’s going to be in if this doesn’t get under control, because he visibly swallows and grits out between clenched teeth, “Clearly we have some things to clear up, but this isn’t the place to do it. Not with women around in club business.” He gives a pointed roll of his eyes toward Rose, but stills at her warning look.
“You were the one to bring them into it,” I snap, fed up with all this back and forth. “You think you’re going to worm your way out of this by pulling that shit?”
Arson’s gaze is full of hatred as he stares at me.
“You’re right. We do have things we need to talk about,” Bullet says suddenly.
He looks at Rose. “Rosie, let them go.”
She doesn’t budge—just keeps her eyes locked on Silver.
Bullet pulls his gun and presses it to the center of Arson’s forehead, while Sniper steps forward and does the same to Silver.
“We’ve got them, woman. Now get your ass down and away from them.”
Rose seems to ponder until her eyes flash, her hand moves as quickly as a snake, and blood blooms down the right side of Arson’s face. Arson roars in pain, jerking, making Rose fall away and land hard on her ass on the floor, her head hitting the wall. She lets out a groan, the scalpel clattering to the floor. Bullet roars, driving Arson back into the wall with a hard push, the gun pressing even tighter to his forehead. “I’ll kill you for that alone, fucker,” he hisses.
I’m already moving and lifting Rose up and into my arms, turning toward Avery. Avery shoves Bowie out of her way and orders, “Bring her here. Let me have a look at her.”
“I’m fine. The stupid son of a bitch deserved it. Talking about those kids, and you, Avery, like that.” She hisses out a pained sound and glares at Avery when she grips her head and pokes at her. “I thought nurses were supposed to be kind and gentle. I’m seeing why Hulk calls you a devil.”
