“But didn’t,” Hound said, giving a full-attitude nod, daring any of them to say differently. “The cops came out, took a report, and thanked my ass for helpin’. She’s blind and someone was robbin’ her regularly, and I caught the motherfuckers.”
“Hound thinks this is somethin’ we could lend a hand in to get a better relationship with the cops,” Fox explained and tossed out a hand toward the still scattered photos on the table. “We could use the fuckin’ law on our side.”
That got a round of grunts both for and against the idea.
“I ain’t interested in what no fuckin’ cop thinks about me,” Ace said.
“Somethin’s gotta give. This year’s sucked,” Chain added, driving the point home by hitting the table with his fist.
“It’s been the worst fuckin’ year in club history. Money’s down by half,” Fox explained.
Keyes nodded his disgust, but he really would have thought they were down less than half, and that was factoring in Fox’s secret deals. His business savings account was depleted. He’d been digging into his saved cash just to make ends meet since the raid. If they went through another round of negative press, he didn’t know how the tire shop would survive.
“I don’t understand how gettin’ friendly with the cops would increase income,” Dev said, disbelieving.
“It wouldn’t, but maybe the cops would keep some of this shit off us,” Hound explained, and his tone sounded like he thought the rest of the brothers were a bunch of dumbass school children staring blankly at their teacher. “That’s half the fuckin’ battle anymore.”
“The only way we get out from under this crap is for that intel to go public,” Dev challenged, motioning to the pictures in the middle of the table. He had cooled down enough to point at the photos without lunging for Ray. “We need to leak it. Give it to the cops that gave Hound a nod. They’ll be the heroes in this deal, and they’ll owe us or so they’ll fuckin’ think.”
Dev was met with silence.
“Noted,” Fox said, but shook his head no. “We’re gonna wait like our fuckin’ attorney advised. And I agree with her. We gotta see how many of these packets are out there and what’s their purpose. Devilman, you ain’t wrong, son, and I agree with your approach, but let’s give this a week, maybe two, to see what shit hits. If this is still silent at the end of fourteen days, we’ll decide the next course of action. The way I see it in my head, we go confront that bitch straight up and threaten to leak it to the news if she doesn’t back the fuck off ASAP,” Fox explained, and got a round of nods and another chorus of grunts. Fox pointed to the photos on the table. “That shit’s gonna destroy that loudmouth bitch.”
Destroying DA Twiford seemed to draw the most favor from his brothers based on the new round of fuck yeahs going on. “Now about Smoke. We got a graveside service in seventy-two hours. I tried for faster—couldn’t make it work. I’ve already sent out a notice and enacted a truce. We’ll see who comes. If the local news stations hit Ray-Ray’s girlfriend, we meet that day. If not, we’re back here at noon on Saturday. Funeral’s at two.”
That received a unified round of rest in peace. Chain squeezed his shoulder, but otherwise he was left completely alone which was exactly what he wanted. Fox ended the meeting and Keyes got to his feet, the only thing on his mind was whether he should go to McKinney tonight.
“Let’s go draw your design, man. Have a beer,” Dev said, shoving his chair under the table.
“What about your chick?” he asked, following Dev out of the room.
“She thinks I’m out for a while,” Dev said, slapping his father’s hand as they passed by. He felt Fox’s attention on him. He figured most of the older brothers worried about him being a ticking time bomb. He just flat wasn’t. The relief had only grown, making even his concern over being in Ray’s position lessen. He’d hated his old man with a vengeance, and now he was gone.
“Cool,” he finally said and lifted a fist to bump Fox’s extended knuckles.
Juggling an armful of pet supplies, Alec came through the garage door as Olivia darted through the living room, her hands stretched out. “Let me help!”
“How is he?” Alec asked, handing the bags full of dog toys, collars, leashes, just everything the new addition to their family might need. When she took those, he was better able to get a hold of the twenty-five pound bag of dog food he’d felt compelled to buy.
“He’s sleeping in your closet, like you asked,” Oliva said, taking the bags to the kitchen island.
“Did he settle in or does he seem scared?” Alec asked, bypassing Olivia and going for the kitchen pantry. That was where people kept their dog food, right?