Read Desolation: Betrayed: Motorcycle Romance (Sons of Desolation Motorcycle Club Mystery Series Book 2) for Free Online

something.”
     
    “But what?” Nat asked, concern written all over her face. “The club doesn’t press into other club’s territory. I don’t think any club around messes with the small stuff we’re into. It doesn’t make sense.”
     
    “I know,” I said. “The boys will figure it out. We’re here for support, not to give them anything else to worry about.”
     
    “Yes, you’re right,” Nat said looking at the floor.
     
    I’m a no nonsense type of person and I say it like it is, but I also need to learn tact. I reached out and took Nat’s hand.
     
    “I know this is the first time you’ve ever dealt with something like this. Me, I’ve lived through some rough times with the club and I know what they need in these situations. I don’t mean to come down on you hon, but for you and the baby’s health, remain strong okay?”
     
    “I will,” Nat said, straightening up in her chair. “I don’t want to add more stress to Eli than he already has.”
     
    “That’s my girl. Now we just need to make sure the other ladies follow suit. Most of the old timers like me know what to do. It’s the younger generation that might need a kick in the ass.”
     
    “I’ll follow your lead Lila,” Nat said with a sad smile. She liked Frito, we all did. He was an amiable fellow. Not as gruff as some of the bikers in the club and always around to make you laugh. Now the laughter had ended, at least for a while.
     
    At that moment the club walked into the clubhouse and headed for the meeting room. I looked at Nat and motioned back towards the kitchen. We wouldn’t know anything until after church.
     
     
     
     
    *****
     
     
     
     
    After the church meeting the boys filed out into the clubhouse. A few ate, but most drank their coffee. I saw Nat and Elijah talking as well as Cig and Merci. Bruce walked over to the bar and sat down, looking straight ahead. Our marriage had crumbled since Gabe died, but with Frito’s death, something inside of me reawakened. I tried to suppress it. I didn’t want to go to a place that could possibly lead to more despair and sorrow. I pressed the emotion back down as I looked at Bruce, but it only sprung back up again. What had turned into an ember was now being stoked into a fire once more. The love I once felt for this man went pouring through my veins. Why was it resurfacing now amidst all this turmoil? Then I knew why. My love for Bruce was always there, it was simply hidden away. I shut it away after Gabriel died, not wanting to feel the pain of losing someone I loved again. My love for Bruce hadn’t died; I just hid it well, even from myself.
     
    The fact that there was now a real threat to him brought all my emotions to the forefront. One part of me felt relief that I finally stopped stifling these feelings, but another part of me was terrified that I had. A heart can only be broken so many times before it just gives up. But here I was, surrounded by bikers in a clubhouse where one of their own was murdered. I knew the life I was getting into and the risks that came with it. It was time for me to take my own advice and support my husband.
     
    I walked over and sat beside Bruce on one of the bar stools. I didn’t speak at first; instead I took a hold of his hand that rested on the bar top. He didn’t look at me, just stared straight ahead, and then he gave my hand a squeeze.
     
    “What’s going on?” I asked, my voice just above a whisper.
     
    Bruce turned to me with sad eyes. “The police aren’t saying much, but from what we can deduce, it was a drive by shooting. We don’t think Frito was a target either. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Elijah said he told him to do some inventory one evening so that’s why he was in there.”
     
    “But who’s got a beef with the club?” I asked. “Things have been quiet for years. Unless the club is getting back into more dangerous trading.”
     
    “No, we’re not.” Bruce said a