JD strode through the door and dropped into the chair. “You and Axel need to work your shit out. I’m getting tired of breaking you up like a couple of twelve-year-olds.”
“I don’t know what his problem is. He’s been on my ass since I got back. I didn’t ask for this shit. You wanted me. Remember?”
JD sat forward placing his fists on the table in front of him. “I wanted a warrior who could get the job done, not a shell of one drowning in tequila.”
“That’s rich coming from you or anyone else around here. This place is a nonstop stream of booze and pussy. You got a problem with that you might want to start first with cleaning your own house instead of trying to break my balls.”
“Grow the fuck up. And for God’s sake act like the Marine I know you are.”
Houston reared back. That was a low blow even for him. “Ain’t a Marine anymore. Kicked me out remember?”
JD leaned back in his chair. “Drunk or not, your shitty little pity party is gonna have to wait. Got a line on your girl.”
His head shot up. “What?”
“Found some intel on her location, but we gotta move tonight.”
“Then what the fuck are we doing wasting time here? Let’s go.”
JD slammed his fist, rising from his chair to lean across the desk. “Starting to wonder if I can trust you after all, son.”
“That’s bullshit. We had a deal.”
“If I don’t think I can trust you, then I don’t give a shit about our deal. I’m not risking this club for some snatch.”
Houston grabbed onto the arms of the chair so tight his fingers ached. As much as he wanted to plow his fist into this bastard’s face, if he didn’t control his temper he was risking Izzy’s life. For that reason and that reason alone, he dug deep and found a modicum of control.
“We don’t get Izzy, you don’t get your undercover man.” And if anything happened to Izzy in the meantime, he’d take down this fucking club one piece at a time. Realizing how precarious the situation was at the moment, he kept that information to himself.
“I don’t know whether to patch you in or take you out back and shoot your ass.” The older man leaned forward and rubbed his hands across his face. “Like it or not this club is your blood—your family. Most of the brothers have known you your whole life and if need be they will lay down their life for you. Can you say the same?
Houston unclenched his jaw but kept his mouth wisely shut. Most of the men had welcomed him. The ones who didn’t know him however, seemed wary. They were looking to JD and Axel for the truth. So far JD had been supportive, but Axel looked like he wanted to put him in the ground before he’d ever trust him.
“Before this is all over I guarantee you’re going to have to put your trust in your brothers. Until then, the welfare of the whole club is far more important to me than one man. You get me?”
“Yeah I got you.”
“Good. Now go get some fucking coffee and sober the hell up. You and Axel are taking point on this operation.”
He started to object.
“Don’t wanna hear it. Show some respect for your brother and this club right fucking now or this is over. I’ll find another way to find those girls before they get dead.”
Shit. Houston scrubbed his hand over his face. JD was right. He was coming apart at the seams and it was turning ugly. Nobody deserved this, especially not Izzy. This club was her only hope.
JD leaned forward. “You ready to suck it up and yet this job done, son?”
He nodded. “Yes, sir.”
* * *
Houston boosted himself over the privacy fence surrounding the property where the club believed Izzy was being held. Both JD and Axel assured him the intel they received was solid and despite the words exchanged earlier, he trusted them in this. These men were his family whether he happened to like it or not at the moment.
Staying in the shadows, he crept to the rear window identified as one of the holding rooms and most likely spot for a woman as important as Izzy. He pressed his back against the siding behind one of the shrubs, disappearing into the shadows.
JD didn’t get into details on where the information came from, but he’d been involved in enough of these kind of operations to know when information came from someone inside. Reaching his destination, he dropped down underneath the window sill and waited for the signal from the others. The plan was they would storm the house together and take out as many threats as possible before leaving the property.
He would have preferred more stealth, but JD didn’t want anyone getting a chance to follow them or identify them later. They had an undercover operation to protect. With the cuts and colors left behind, they only had to worry about anyone being captured. A sliver of rage slipped into his mind. He tried to lock it back out, but it was persistent. Izzy was locked inside this house with a madman. One of her father’s lieutenants appeared to be in charge of this operation, the man she ran from on her wedding day. He pictured the image he’d studied for weeks. The barely constrained hatred visible in the man’s eyes. It was easy enough to dress someone up in a suit or fancy robes, but it never quite hid the evil lurking inside.