Read Online Spark (Black Legion MC Book 1) by Kathryn Thomas - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kathryn Thomas
Ads: Link
as he tried to turn back to the felt. “Don’t mind me, man,” Artie said. “Probably just getting my names and my faces all mixed up” A sharp cry left his lips as Jax slapped the mug from his hand. A thousand splinters of shiny glass hit the hard floor, and Artie tried to talk again. But as Jax charged toward him, hissing as his chest heaved, Artie raised the pool cue in a defensive pose as Jax watched him try to backpedal. “It’s nothing, kid. Forget I said it.”
“Like hell, Artie,” Jax spat. “If there’s something I don’t know about her and need to fucking know, sure as shit you’re gonna tell me right now.”
“Jax, you don’t want to---”
Wrangling the pool cue from Artie’s hands, Jax brought it down against his thigh and snapped it in two like a hollow reed. Flinging one half to the side, Jax wielded the other piece with the sharper edge like a sword. His free hand curled its way around the back of Artie’s head, he grabbed hold of the man’s chrome dome and forced him to meet his eyes, and he touched the tip of the shattered cue to his neck. “Tell me right now,” Jax threatened. “Or I swear to God, I’ll show you what it feels like to break in two.”
Artie cowered as he frowned. This was wrong. Artie hadn’t done anything. The man had a code. But he also kept every one of the crew’s secrets buried in the back of his brain. Like a lock box, he usually knew when to spill and when to keep the lid slammed shut. Now he slipped. First time for everything. But Jax was not about to let this slip of the tongue pass him by.
“Okay,” Artie said. “How about you let a guy up and grab a cold one first?”
Jax loosened his grip, but he still stood between Artie and the bar, the shattered pool cue never leaving his hands. “Get a drink after,” Jax said. “Explain yourself right now.”
Artie started to object when he simply cracked his knuckles and hung his head. If the bald man couldn’t even bring himself to meet Jax’s eyes, this had to be far worse than anything that he could have ever imagined. “It’s like this,” Artie said. “Sully’s a fiend when it comes to the numbers.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Jax countered. “What does this have to do with Lena?”
Artie’s eyes darted around the room. It was as if he suddenly seemed scared that someone might overhear whatever it was that he had to say. But Jax would not relent, and Artie started to fill in the blanks.
“It was like right before she took off.”
When she had changed towards him, when she had grown cold. He had no desire to linger in the mystery. All he wanted was the why.
“Come to think of it, I kind or remember you coming to me about that – had all those questions as to what you might have done wrong. Pretty sure I told you there was no stain on your hands.”
“Stop dancing, Artie,” Jax hissed. “Get to the god damned point.”
Jax threatened him with the pool cue again, and Artie looked like he was beat as he waved his hands before his face and spoke fast. “All right!” he bellowed. “Old Sully was in for more than he could even hope to get his hands on. Even if his luck started to change. Word was that the Boss was going to bust him up so bad so he’d have to like eat through a straw.”
Jax searched his memory for something even close to the confession, but nothing sprang to the front of his mind, and he told Artie as much.
“Like you wouldn’t have challenged him,” Artie continued. “We all knew you were sweet on the blonde – even then.”
“Fine,” Jax said. “But last I saw, old Sully is still walking and playing the fool. So where did he come up with the money?”
“It was Lena,” Artie admitted. “Just like now, the little girl came through for him.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense. How could she have gotten her hands on that kind of money?”
Artie’s face
“Like hell, Artie,” Jax spat. “If there’s something I don’t know about her and need to fucking know, sure as shit you’re gonna tell me right now.”
“Jax, you don’t want to---”
Wrangling the pool cue from Artie’s hands, Jax brought it down against his thigh and snapped it in two like a hollow reed. Flinging one half to the side, Jax wielded the other piece with the sharper edge like a sword. His free hand curled its way around the back of Artie’s head, he grabbed hold of the man’s chrome dome and forced him to meet his eyes, and he touched the tip of the shattered cue to his neck. “Tell me right now,” Jax threatened. “Or I swear to God, I’ll show you what it feels like to break in two.”
Artie cowered as he frowned. This was wrong. Artie hadn’t done anything. The man had a code. But he also kept every one of the crew’s secrets buried in the back of his brain. Like a lock box, he usually knew when to spill and when to keep the lid slammed shut. Now he slipped. First time for everything. But Jax was not about to let this slip of the tongue pass him by.
“Okay,” Artie said. “How about you let a guy up and grab a cold one first?”
Jax loosened his grip, but he still stood between Artie and the bar, the shattered pool cue never leaving his hands. “Get a drink after,” Jax said. “Explain yourself right now.”
Artie started to object when he simply cracked his knuckles and hung his head. If the bald man couldn’t even bring himself to meet Jax’s eyes, this had to be far worse than anything that he could have ever imagined. “It’s like this,” Artie said. “Sully’s a fiend when it comes to the numbers.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Jax countered. “What does this have to do with Lena?”
Artie’s eyes darted around the room. It was as if he suddenly seemed scared that someone might overhear whatever it was that he had to say. But Jax would not relent, and Artie started to fill in the blanks.
“It was like right before she took off.”
When she had changed towards him, when she had grown cold. He had no desire to linger in the mystery. All he wanted was the why.
“Come to think of it, I kind or remember you coming to me about that – had all those questions as to what you might have done wrong. Pretty sure I told you there was no stain on your hands.”
“Stop dancing, Artie,” Jax hissed. “Get to the god damned point.”
Jax threatened him with the pool cue again, and Artie looked like he was beat as he waved his hands before his face and spoke fast. “All right!” he bellowed. “Old Sully was in for more than he could even hope to get his hands on. Even if his luck started to change. Word was that the Boss was going to bust him up so bad so he’d have to like eat through a straw.”
Jax searched his memory for something even close to the confession, but nothing sprang to the front of his mind, and he told Artie as much.
“Like you wouldn’t have challenged him,” Artie continued. “We all knew you were sweet on the blonde – even then.”
“Fine,” Jax said. “But last I saw, old Sully is still walking and playing the fool. So where did he come up with the money?”
“It was Lena,” Artie admitted. “Just like now, the little girl came through for him.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense. How could she have gotten her hands on that kind of money?”
Artie’s face
Similar Books
