The Cut by Carol Lynne: Kings of Bedlam MC Series, Book One by Carol Lynne Page B

Jaycee.” He started to laugh, the sound so deep Santana felt it in her chest. “I’m happy for them, ya know, but now they’re living in Oregon, and I’m here.”
    Santana finally felt comfortable enough to reach out and tug on Tiny’s long beard. “If you’d shave this, I bet you’d find someone special.”
    “Are you kidding? This thing’s a pussy magnet.”
    She rolled her eyes. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”
    * * * *
    Stake knocked on Cecil’s door. “Got a minute?”
    “Come in.” Cecil was sitting at his desk, talking to Magic and Hog. “Good. We were just talking about you.”
    Stake tried to figure out why the fuck they’d been discussing him. He doubted Cecil knew about Gordon unless the sheriff had already called. “What’s up?”
    “Penny told Hog you had an issue with the drugs.” Cecil narrowed his eyes. “Is this going to become a problem?”
    Oddly enough, with everything else going on, he hadn’t given a lot of thought to the hard drugs he’d seen in the club’s San Antonio headquarters. “Not unless you expect me to deal ’em, but if I’m going to keep working with the girls, I want them cut off that shit. Penny looks thinner and older than the last time I saw her. It’s just common sense to take care of our assets.”
    “When the girls use, we make more because they do it with their johns,” Hog argued.
    Stake hooked his thumbs in his front pocket. “Then put me on protection.”
    “You’re good with the whores,” Cecil said.
    “I’m good with drug-free whores. Seriously, Prez, I don’t have the stomach for it after what went down with Smash.” He looked pointedly at Cecil, letting the Prez know he knew what had really gone down the day Smash had shot the cop. It had been Cecil’s reckless driving that had caught the attention of the patrolman. With the car loaded with drugs, Cecil had panicked and reached for his gun. When the young officer had taken aim and fired a wayward shot at Cecil with his own gun, Smash had shot the cop from the passenger side of the car, saving Cecil’s life. “You want the drug business, fine, but I want nothing to do with it.”
    “You’re part of this club,” Hog reminded Stake. “You do what we say.”
    “No,” Stake disagreed. “I follow the majority vote, and unless there was a meeting I wasn’t informed of, there was no vote on meth and heroine.”
    Hog got to his feet to face off with Stake. “You disrespectful sonofabitch.”
    Stake glanced at Cecil. “Call off your guard dog before I put the old man in the ground.” At close to sixty-five, Hog talked a big game, but he was no match for Stake’s speed and strength.
    “You fuckin’ punk,” Hog said, charging toward Stake.
    Stake stepped to the side and connected a hard punch to Hog’s ribs. “Cecil.”
    “That’s enough,” Cecil finally announced, getting to his feet to come around from behind the desk. He walked up to Stake and stared him in the eyes. “Don’t push me.”
    “Or what?” Stake was tired of the bullshit. Most of the newly patched club members had no respect, and the old dogs were so fucking full of themselves that they thought they could start making up their own rules. Well, Stake didn’t sign up for that, and he’d be damned if he’d stick around if that’s the way things were going to be. “Maybe when I take Santana to the Barbeque and Blues run in Fayetteville in October, I should just stay.” The Kings had several chapters sprinkled around the southern half of the United States. Maybe getting her away from Gordon and Broken Ridge would be the best thing for them.
    “Don’t start that shit,” Cecil growled.
    It wasn’t the first time Stake had asked for a transfer to another chapter. Soon after Smash had been killed, he couldn’t stand to look at his uncle and had practically begged to be let loose to go somewhere else. At the time, Cecil had refused, telling Stake it would kill his mother if he moved away. Stake