Page 26 of All's Fair in Love & Wrath

Malice picks up a knife and stares at his reflection in the steel, then he does what Malice does best. Drags out a painful, slow death in the most brutal way possible.

Smoke curlsaround my head as I exhale, sitting back in the Adirondack chair and looking up at the sky. The fucking sun is blazing again, and if summer doesn’t end soon, I may lose my shit completely.

“Hey, Wrath. Chaos said we’re working together today,” a familiar voice says from behind me, his footfalls crunching over the crushed gravel, leading him closer.

“Hey, Otto. What’s up, man?”

Otto shrugs. He’s got a head of golden-blond hair, shaggy and wild. He’s wearing a pair of loose denim jeans and a Hell’s Asylum T-shirt. I half expected Chaos to give him his prospect patch without a vote, so I’m only slightly surprised to see he’s not wearing one. Glad to see I’ve dodged that rough conversation. We’ve got bylaws for a reason, and as the club secretary, I’ve gotta make sure they’re enforced. Even if that means going head-to-head with our president once in a while.

“Did he tell you what we’re workin’ on?” I ask, already knowing the answer. Now that Garrett’s been taken care of, there’s one remaining thing left that Chaos needs to decide how we’re handling. I already have a shit ton of info to give Chaos to help make the decision, but he doesn’t know that. Having Otto work with me to dig it all up is going to be anissue, though. I don’t want him to find out what I already know about Sienna.

“He wants everything we can find out about the Kingsnakes MC and Rolo’s brother. Is the guy who killed him dead? Some other guys said he’s dead.”

“Yeah, buddy, he’s dead. Malice skinned him alive.”

“No shit, for real?”

“Reel in your excitement, kid. It was gruesome, even for me.”

“Nah. That takes talent. Mad respect for Malice.”

“Mad respect?”

“Yeah, gotta problem with that?”

“Tone it down a notch, got it? What’s got you giving me attitude today?” Otto shifts on his feet, looking around. “There isn’t anyone out here but us. What’s the issue?”

“I heard you guys don’t want me to be in the club.”

“I don’t know who told you that, but you’re not entirely wrong. This club is for life. You want out some day, twenty years from now? You get a bullet between the eyes. You’re not leaving. Ever. There’s more to life than this club. We’re a pack of wild misfits, outcasts, degenerates.”

“And what do you think I am, huh? I’ve got no one besides my grandma. And she’s gonna die soon.”

“Don’t say that about Mrs. Odette. She’s gonna live forever.”

“Be so for real right now, Wrath. She’s not. And then what do I have? Fuckin’ no one.”

“Why do you wanna join?”

“So I don’t have to be alone. So I can still have a fuckin’ family, okay?”

“Alright then.”

“Alright? What do you mean, alright?”

“Just what I said. I can work with that. That’s a reason tojoin. I’ll give you my vote under one condition. And if you agree, I want your word. A man is nothing without his word, so you better make sure you can be true to it.”

“Alright. What is it?”

“You’re gonna go to college or trade school while you’re a prospect.”

“Why?”

“’Cause our old president, Queenie, made me, and it made me a better person to learn some new skills. You’re way too fuckin’ smart to not use your brain. So, it’s that or no vote.”

“I can go to school for whatever I want?”

“Yep. As long as you’re doin’ something. I don’t give a shit what it is.”