Exiled (Anathema Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

patch—probably because he wasn’t trusted with anything
beyond what his knuckles scraped.
    Christ.
I escaped from one bloody asylum only to land somewhere between a meth lab and
a double homicide. I set the bag on the table for Sam and his treasurer, a man who
served in Vietnam and twitched enough to signify most of him was still in the
damn jungle.
    Sam
took the laptop and nodded as he pushed the power button.
    “It’s
working. Pay him.”
    The
veteran offered me an envelope. Inside was more than they made in a week. Not
worth a hand-me-down laptop but a steal for what was on it. Bank account
numbers, blackmail, rival club info. All the same to me as long as I got paid.
The money was enough to feed me and collect for Rose. She wasn’t a kid anymore
and didn’t need dolls, but she could use it for books and tuition, guitar
strings and amps. Maybe a plane ticket when she realized trading one fucked up
family for a fling with Anathema’s president wouldn’t help her any.
    “Good
to see you again, Noir.” Sam gestured for me to sit. “You’ve been trustworthy.
Dependable. That’s rare around here.”
    I
didn’t want to stay, but the couple grand in my pocket was reason to be polite.
    “That’s
just good business,” I said.
    “Think
you can do us one more job?”
    My
shoulder ached. Rest would help—time in a hot shower with enough pain-killers
to ease the aching pinch. Two worked to stop a headache, but a handful of
Tylenol PM helped to black out the guilt.
    “Where
do I go, and when do you want me there?” I asked.
    Sam
grinned, but he was the only one. While Frankenstein lumbered in the corner,
Red stared through Sam’s head like he was aiming a gun. He reloaded his gaze at
the behemoth. The Vet said nothing, tapping quick, anxious fingers against the
table.
    Dissention.
Insubordination. The resentment staining Sacrilege MC would crumble the
decrepit garage into rubble. I saw what happened when clubs tore apart and brother
fought brother.
    No
one would win and no one could help, even when they thought they had a solution.
    Especially
when they thought they had a fucking solution.
    “This
delivery will be a little different,” Sam said.
    I
didn’t like different. The laptop made me nervous enough. Men like Sam and his
rag-tag club didn’t do different . They did meth and weed, stolen TVs and
cigarettes.
    “I
don’t need the details,” I said. “If it fits on my bike, it goes.”
    “Good.
She’s already on your bike.”
    A
dozen profanities shot through my head. “Forget it.”
    Behemoth
snorted. Red finally gave me an appraising look.
    “You
haven’t heard the proposition yet,” Sam said.
    “I’ve
heard enough. We’re done here.”
    “She’s
part of this deal, Noir. Listen to me.”
    He
wouldn’t say anything worth hearing. The envelope bled through my vest. I
tossed the money on the table.
    “I’m
not interested.”
    Behemoth
spoke. His words grunted through pure testosterone and nothing else.
    “You
said he wouldn’t ask questions.”
    “I’m
not asking questions. I’m telling you. I want nothing to do with that girl.”
    The
thought soured my brain. I carried drugs and murder weapons across state lines,
stolen credit cards for pimps and pharmaceuticals for sick kids. There was a
time my conscience never slowed me.
    That
had changed. So many things changed. Now I knew what happened to scared little
girls stuffed on the backs of motorcycles. I learned that lesson too late, but
I’d be damned if I let it happen again.
    “Sit,”
Sam said. “Please.”
    “I
don’t traffic women.”
    Behemoth
lunged. “You callin’ my girl a whore?”
    The
knife twirled into my palm quicker than the giant moved. I aimed, and the point
of the blade dug into his neck.
    The
vet hopped from the table too fast. “Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit.”
    “Whoa
now.” Sam eased between us. “Goliath, Noir ain’t said nothing about Martini.
Let me handle this.”
    Goliath
snorted. He deliberately