“You think she was telling the truth?” Wrath asks Z, completely ignoring me.
“I do. She was real eager. Concerned with giving us everything. Didn’t try asking questions about what she heard, just told us straight.”
Murphy raises his hand. “From what I know about Charlotte, I believe her too.”
“Big surprise,” Bricks mutters.
“Knock it off,” Z says. “I don’t think I need to break this down for you like you’re a five-year-old. SOS patching over to the Wolf Knights is a huge problem for us.”
Wrath seems to be deep in thought, drumming his fingers on the table. “Whisper’s never gonna go for that. He’s been talking about wanting to move his club in a less risky direction.”
“Whisper went toe-to-toe with him, from what Charlotte overheard.”
“That’s not good either,” Rock says, echoing the concerns Z laid out the other day. He pulls out a burner phone and sets it on the table. “Christ, I guess I need to warn Loco he might be getting another visit.”
As Rock says it, his phone blows up.
“Yeah?” Rock answers.
“Rock!” Loco’s voice comes through the speaker phone loud and clear and crazy as ever. “I bagged some big game for you today. Need you and a few of your boys to swing by and take a look.”
While I know Loco’s always paranoid about our phones being tapped by law enforcement, his “code” sounds ridiculous and isn’t that hard to crack.
“Was just about to call you. We’ll be there in an hour.”
Rock hangs up and shoots a glare my way. “You’ll be joining us.” He points in the direction of the garage. “Take the van in case we’re bringing bodies back with us.”
“Got it,” I answer, not about to argue with Rock over anything at the moment.
“You gonna call their prez?” Wrath asks.
“What would you like me to do, look him up in the Outlaw yellow pages?” Rock shoots back. “Let’s go see what we’re dealing with first, then I’ll decide how to handle it.”
He runs down a short list of who he wants headed to Ironworks and gives instructions to everyone staying behind.
“Move,” he orders.
“Prez, I’m gonna ride with Teller if that’s okay,” Murphy asks.
“No. I’m riding with him.” He gives me a hard look. “I need more information out of him.”
Super.
Murphy’s not about to argue with Rock, so he heads into the garage with the rest of the guys.
Wrath and Z ride ahead of us, while Murphy and Dex take up the back.
Rock keeps me in suspense while I navigate to the main highway.
“There’s more to your story, isn’t there?” Rock finally asks.
“Yes.”
“We’ll deal with this first, and then we’re going back to the table. Today.”
“Okay.”
“You stick with me when we get to Loco’s.”
Loco meets us on the sidewalk out front. “Damn, forgot when all your boys are ridin’ the whole neighborhood hears you coming.” He holds out his hand and Rock takes it, pulling him in for a quick bro-hug. Something that seems to throw Loco off and make him happy at the same time.
“Thanks for calling.”
“Who else am I supposed to call when a couple bikers try to rough up my girls?”
“Good point.”
He leads us inside through a door under the front stairs.
“Never used this entrance before,” Z cracks.
Loco turns and warns Wrath to watch his head. “Supposed to be a basement apartment, but I’ve found other uses for it,” Loco explains.
I can only imagine what those other uses might be.
Inside it’s dark and the faint stench of mildew clings to the air.
Behind us, there’s a thunk and a string of curses from Wrath.
“Told you to watch your head,” Loco says without a trace of humor.
Malik’s perched on a small metal folding chair outside a closed door. He stands as soon as he sees us.
“How’re our guests?” Loco asks.
“Quiet since our talk.” Malik’s gaze sweeps over us and he nods at Z and Dex.
“This fucker moved like lightning,” Loco says, demonstrating some crazy move while Malik shakes his head. “Lucky you were here to take them down.”
Rock turns and jerks his head at Z, Murphy, and Dex, indicating they should stay outside. Wrath and I follow him inside with Malik and Loco at our backs.
The two SOS members I met at the Wolf Knight’s picnic are sitting on the concrete floor back to back, bound and gagged.
“I know it’s not very original,” Loco says almost as an apology. “I went for easy over artistic.”
None of us bother to decode that.
“Oh!” Loco says, running out of the room.
Rock raises an eyebrow and Malik shrugs. “It’s easier not to ask questions.”
Loco returns with two South of Satan leather cuts.
“Well,” Rock says, drawing the word out for maximum humiliation. “What kind of biker lets some gangster jerk his colors? You two even put up a fight?”
The fact that they’re both still breathing tells me all I need to know about their dedication to their club. Only way someone takes my colors is over my dead body.
“I’ll leave you boys be,” Loco says. “Let me know when you’re done so I can hose down the floor.”
The younger kid, Sticks, if I remember correctly, starts squirming, trying to break free.
Rock tilts his head, indicating he wants me to move in and help with the persuasion part of the interrogation.
“All right. Here’s what we know,” Rock says. “You’re working with the Wolf Knights to move into our territory.”
Sticks drops his gaze and shakes his head.
“Don’t fucking lie or this is gonna be an uncomfortable afternoon for you.”
I crouch down and take their gags off. “Sticks, right?”
He nods while keeping his eyes trained on Rock.
“Who’s your buddy?”
“Thumbs.”
“Shut up,” the other one hisses.
“Here’s how this is gonna go,” Rock says. “First one who tells me what I want to know, avoids getting a beat down from Teller.”
Rock’s a man of his word. First one to squeal will probably get hammered by Wrath or Rock.
“Yeah, you’ll just have that one do it.” Thumbs sneers and jerks his chin at Wrath.
“Now you’re taking the fun out of it,” Wrath says.
“How long you been a member, Sticks?” Rock asks.
He eyes Wrath wearily before answering. “Got patched-in this year.”
“Their vetting process obviously needs improvements,” Wrath mutters.
“This patch-over to the Wolf Knights. That something your whole club’s voted on? Or is it just you two geniuses?”
Neither of them answer.
Rock nods at me and since Thumbs rubbed me the wrong way the second he opened his mouth, I slam my fist into his face.
His head snaps back, hitting Sticks. Blood trickles from his nose and he glares at me. “That the best you got?”
“Just warming up.”
“My dad’s planning to challenge our president in the next election!” Sticks shouts.
“Well, that explains how you got patched-in,” Wrath says. “Daddy bought your way into the club?”
Thumbs starts laughing.
My boot lands on his leg. “What’s so funny, jackass?”
“Guess he’s not as dumb as he looks. Got it on the first try. Sticks ain’t never been club material.”
“Hate to break it to you, Thumbs, but neither are you.”
Rock throws out his arm, keeping Wrath back.
“How many in your club are involved in this plan?”
“My father, uncle, and a couple other older members,” Sticks answers.
“Jesus, selling out your blood an
d your club in the same breath,” Wrath says. “I’m feeling a lot less concerned about these fools moving into Ironworks.”
Thumbs finally perks up and seems to realize one way or another this isn’t going to end well for him. “If I tell you what you want to know, will you let me go instead of turning me over to my president?” he asks.
“Now you wanna bargain,” Rock says. “How long has this been going on?”
“We were gonna patch over to the Vipers until your club took them out.”
“So you went to the Wolf Knights?”
“Merlin came to us once you froze them out of Ironworks.”
“Just Merlin?”
“He said he hadn’t convinced the rest of the club yet.”
Rock turns to Wrath. “Good to know.”
“Guarantee Whisper was a hold out. He woulda recognized these punks for what they were right away.”
“All right, let’s fill in some details. You been messing with Loco’s business. What else?”
“Dad’s setting up a meth lab on the outskirts of Ironworks. We were trying to work out distribution through the Wolf Knight’s network.”
Wrath snorts. “They don’t have a network. They do business with Stump’s club and us.”
“Maybe the Demons are branching out?” Rock suggests. “We’ll deal with that later.”
Rock gives the signal, and I haul Thumbs to his feet. Because there’s no honor in beating a defenseless man, I untie Thumbs’ hands, then plant my fists in his face and gut.
Since I’m still keyed up from not punching Merlin in his smug face yesterday and not fucking my girlfriend last night, beating the shit out of this little bitch is good tension relief.
He throws a few weak punches that only fire me up more.
Rock pulls me off Thumbs a few minutes later.
“I still need to call his president.”
Thumbs spits at both of us and Rock punches him in the throat, knocking him to the ground.
Wrath pulls a cell phone from Sticks’ pocket and flicks through it. “Who’s your president?”
He groans and sits up. “Trip.”
Wrath opens the door and calls Malik over. “Are you free to drive them out to the Ironworks line and drop ’em off for their prez to pick up?”
“What’s wrong? You don’t want ’em ridin’ bitch with you?”
Wrath rolls his eyes, and it’s probably a good thing we warned him ahead of time about Malik’s cheery personality.
“Didn’t you tell my brother you wanted to prospect for us?”
“Yeah.”
“Then be glad I didn’t ask you to lick my boots before loading them up.”
I lean against the door and cross my arms over my chest. This should be good.
“You need help, Dex can go with you.”
Dex’s startled expression clearly says what now?
“Who the fuck you think carried their asses down here? I don’t need Dexter looking over my shoulder.”
“Great. You’re big, can carry shit, and run your mouth. You want a cookie?” Wrath sneers.
“See,” Loco says, strolling into the room. “Told you they’d get along great. It’s like I got my very own Wrath salt and pepper shakers.”
Wrath answers that absurdity with an angry growl and stalks back into the room.
Z steps up to deal with Loco and Malik, and I return to see what Rock needs.
“Give me your word this ends now,” Rock says into the phone. “We roughed ’em up and we’re keeping their cuts, but our guy’s gonna dump ’em off at the border for you to pick up and deal with however you see fit.”
I raise an eyebrow at Wrath who shrugs.
When Rock finishes, he doesn’t even look at the two guys before walking out to talk to Loco.
“This should be handled. Their prez isn’t too happy with them, but if you notice anything unusual, let me know.”
“You got it. Glad I could help.”
Rock holds out his hand. “Thanks for all your help, Loco. Appreciate that we can always count on you.”
Behind them, Wrath wipes away a fake tear. I roll my eyes at him and he laughs.
Outside on the sidewalk, Rock pulls us in. “We still have business to discuss,” he says, shooting me a look. “No detours. I want everyone back at the table.”
My blood quickens.
In about half an hour, I have to decide how much of my girl’s secret I need to share with my club in order to keep her safe.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Well, that was a whole lot of fuckery,” Rock grumbles as we trudge into the clubhouse. “Everyone at the table. Now.”
As soon as everyone’s seated, I focus my attention on Wrath. “Now, are you satisfied that we can trust Charlotte? Everything she said panned out.”
Not used to the disrespectful tone, he takes a second before answering me. “Am I happy she came to you right away? Yeah. Do I trust her completely now? Absolutely not.”
I stand, placing my hands on the table. “You motherfucker—”
Z’s hands clamp down on my shoulders, pushing me back in my seat. I’d been so pissed I didn’t notice him get out of his chair and move behind me.
Around the table, my brothers shift and murmur.
“Simmer down,” Rock says, slapping the table.
Wrath—fucker that he is—sits back, folding his arms over his chest. His way of letting me know my outburst didn’t faze him.
“Teller,” Dex snaps. And Dex isn’t one to usually snap. “Think about it for one second. If she’s so quick to betray her club. Her blood. How can we ever trust her to be loyal to us?”
Nods and murmurs of agreement go around the table.
“Exactly.” Wrath sits forward. “Despite what you think, I’m not trying to be an asshole here.”
I slide my gaze over to Rock, who tilts his head, subtly asking if I get it.
Shit.
I just witnessed first hand a guy give up his club and his blood without hesitation. I understand where he’s coming from.
Looking Wrath straight in the eye, I apologize. I’m still pissed. But I owe him that respect. “She has her reasons.”
Wrath pins me with a help-me-to-help-you stare. “What are they?”
“It’s…her story. And it’s ugly.”
Rock and Wrath share a look. “You gotta give us something, Teller,” Rock says in the most mellow tone I’ve heard him use all day. “You know this.”
“I…fuck.” Everyone at the table has their eyes trained my way. Am I willing to do this? I’m so fucking torn between my feelings for Charlotte and my loyalty to my club.
“Rock, you know better than anyone how bad blood can fuck you over.” I look around the table. “We saw it today. But almost every one of us has experienced in in one way or another. That’s what binds us to the club and each other, isn’t it? We’d bleed for each other.”
“If you’re wrong about Charlotte, you willing to bleed for it?” Wrath asks.
“Yes,” I answer without thinking.
Silence.
If I’m wrong about Charlotte, I’ll most likely get my ass kicked out of the club in a painful way. Considering my knowledge of the club’s activities and my years of access to sensitive financials, I might not make it out at all.
“Give us something,” Wrath says.
Ultimately, sharing this helps both Charlotte and my club. I just hope Charlotte sees it that way when she finds out I betrayed her.
Clasping my hands together in my lap, I stare at them for a few minutes. Remembering Charlotte’s racing pulse and trembling body when she told me her story.
She didn’t make it up.
“Her second year of law school, she went to a Wolf Knight Christmas party that was only supposed to be for family. They had another club there.”
Rock shifts and sits forward, anticipating where I’m going with this.
“Which club?” Rock asks.
“She doesn’t know or she doesn’t re
member. I’ll get to why in a minute.”
“Go on,” Z encourages.
“One minute she was getting ready to go home. Next thing, she woke up in a bedroom half-dressed and…hurt.”
“They roofied her,” Sparky says.
“Someone did.”
“In her uncle’s club?” Wrath’s tone is full of disgust. “Jesus Christ.”
Fuck this hurts so bad. “It’s fuzzy for her. She only remembers bits and pieces that don’t make sense.”
Knowing my girl went through this and no one was there for her, makes me feel powerless. Even though it happened before we even met.
Never again.
“Anyway, she went to the hospital. It was…bad.” I can’t lay out every single ugly detail for the club.
“She press charges?” Wrath asks.
I sneer at the question. “No. She went to her uncle thinking he’d handle it. Find out who it was and take care of it.” I pin him with a serious stare. “The way this club would handle that situation.”
“Right on,” Stash mutters.
“And?” Rock asks.
“He refused.” I swallow hard because this is the part that wrecked me the most. “Basically told her she probably enjoyed it. To stop making a big deal out of nothing.”
“Son of a bitch.” Murphy’s fist knocks against the side of my chair.
“Ulfric had to be in charge then,” Rock says. “He wouldn’t have allowed that bullshit.”
“It was the holidays. He was away, and Merlin refused to bring it to him when he got back. I’m sure he felt it would make him look bad in front of his brothers.”
Rock shoots a glare Wrath’s way. “Who else they do business with?”
“Fuck if I know. Stump’s crew, but—”
“No,” Rock cuts him off. “He wouldn’t tolerate that either.” He glances back to me. “Go on.”
“That’s it. Her mother didn’t want to hear about it. Merlin’s been giving her cash since her ol’ man died, so she wasn’t going to risk losing that.” At least that’s the only explanation I can come up with for her mother’s shitty behavior.
I have to stop for a second. “Charlotte realized all their family-first stuff was nothing but bullshit. She may be outspoken now, but she grew up around the club. When he shut her down, she gave up.” My lips twitch into a half-smile, thinking of Charlotte’s brave ‘fuck you’ to the club that betrayed her.