Page 17 of Puck (The Lost Boys MC)
Then I collapsed on my bed and fell right to sleep.
Bang! Bang! Bang! “Get the hell up, Puck!”
Stone’s frost voice followed the sound of his fist banging against my bedroom door.
Bang! Bang! “Now! We’ve got church!”
I groaned as I rolled over. “Coming.”
Bang! “Ten minutes before I take the damn door off the fucking hinges.”
I gritted my teeth to keep from firing back at him. “Got it, boss.”
“You fucking better.”
I sighed as I stared up at the ceiling. My body was exhausted; weaker than it had in a very long time. I slowly sat up and cracked my neck, trying to work out the kinks that had settled into my muscles after being with the most perfect woman all night last night.
Well, mostly all night.
Nevertheless, I knew better than to keep Stone waiting, so I shuffled out in the clothes I’d worn last night. I knew all of the guys had probably been up to speed on what happened between me, Diego, and West if they hadn’t heard us yelling in the first place.
But I didn’t expect the glare from the peanut gallery as I rounded the corner into the living room.
“What?” I asked.
West glared at me, but he clenched his jaw and shook his head. He was a good man for not ratting me out, but I had a feeling Stone already knew what was going on. I looked over at Diego and he stared me down, shaking his head curtly in return.
It didn’t matter if they kept their mouths shut, though.
Stone always had a way of figuring shit out.
“Do I have everyone’s attention?” he asked.
We all nodded our heads as we gathered in a tight circle.
“Good,” Stone said, “because we’ve got some serious business to attend to today, so none of you better fuck it up.”
“What kind of business?” Diego asked.
Stone crossed his arms over his chest. “We have a new contact that we are meeting up with. They’re part of the Irish Independence Alliance, and he’s pretty high up in their organization, so we can’t risk the chance of fucking this up.”
Stone looked over at me with a hardened glare and I rolled my eyes.
“Thought we were supposed to be getting out of the gun business,” I murmured beneath my breath.
But I should have known Stone would hear me. “Why don’t you speak a little louder next time instead of being such a pussy about it?”
The guys fell silent as I straightened my back. “Fine. I can do that. Is it really smart with Hayley pregnant and all of these women and children running around to get back into the gun-running business when the whole point was to abandon it?”
Texas stood up, ready to charge me. But Stone placed his hand against the mountain man’s chest, stopping him in his tracks.
“Yes,” Stone said, “I made a promise to Hayley. But right now? With the cartel involved? We need all the friends we can get. And trust me, being friends with the I.I.A. is more important than not running guns, because we’re going to need friends like them on our side to help us fight this war.”
I clenched my jaw to keep from spitting words back at him. I didn’t have the energy to fight, nor did I want to. I mean, I hated to admit it, but Stone had a point. And even the rational part of my brain understood that.
“So, who’s the contact? Can you give us a name?” Diego asked.
Stone finally pulled his attention away from me. “His name’s Clancy Fitzpatrick, and he’s coming by later this evening with his sons to meet in person.”
Asher cleared his throat. “I’m the one that put you guys in contact, so don’t embarrass me.”
I nodded. “Does that mean you and your crew will be present for this meeting as well?”
Asher crossed his arms over his chest. “I figured showing a united front is better than showing a broken one.”
Stone shot me another look. “But with this will come not only more people, but harsher lockdowns. The Fitzpatricks aren’t people we want to fuck with, and they’ll only help us if they know we aren’t a threat to any and all of their operations. So, put on your best, boys, because our future—and the lives of our families—depends on this going well.”
And as Stone looked straight into my eyes, I wanted to puke.
Because being cooped up with even more people felt like taking a step back rather than a step forward.
Ten
Brigid
I paced the floor of my living room waiting for the telltale knock. My father was the most paranoid person I knew, but his methods always came with a reasoning I could get behind. I recited the knock in my head as I listened for footsteps coming up the stairs. But I should have known that neither my father nor my brothers would have made a sound.
