Force (The Disciples 5)

Axel tosses his burger, as if being reminded about that has made him lose his appetite.

“And Ryder.” Rodney turns to me. “I would get your stuff in order. I don’t know when, but an arrest will be happening.”

“Fuck them.” Blade stands. “Someone is trying to take us down, using my enforcer as bait. I want a name,” he bellows.

I hold up my hand. “I have nothing to hide,” I say to Rodney, who opens his briefcase as the buzzer goes off again.

“Let Edge in.” Blade kicks at Frosty’s chair. Poor Frosty. I haven’t seen Blade this mad in a long time.

“Rodney, what you need to understand is this is all a lie,” Axel grumbles. “I was the—” Rodney stops him as he tosses a file on the table.

“That’s the bodies. Whoever killed them did it with a 9mm Glock, and all from the same gun. So far, no DNA has been found other than the victims’, but they have someone they are protecting.” Edge walks in and reaches for the pack of cigarettes on his desk, saying nothing, jaw tight.

“I have to be honest.” Rodney crosses his hands. “I want to bring in Jett Powers. I’m not going to sugarcoat this. This is the closest the Feds have ever come to actually getting one of you. Ryder’s just the beginning.” His ominous words reverberate through the slick black-and-pink room.

“This shit happened ten years ago,” Blade says as he looks at the file.

“Jason? I need you to trust me. As your attorney, I advise you to let me try getting Jett Powers. We need him. We stand a chance if he takes this case.” He holds up his hands to stop us from talking. “The man is an arrogant prick, but he is the best defense attorney money can buy. He lives and breathes to win.”

“You and I go way back, Rodney.” Blade rubs the back of his neck. “I’m listening.”

“He’ll stop at nothing, Jason. He has connections. He can get Ryder off, and then anything else the Feds have is all circumstantial. Maybe you guys might have some fines.”

The room is quiet. Blade looks over at me. “Get him.” He nods at Rodney.

“Good. Hopefully I’ll hear from him in the next couple of days.” He closes his briefcase and stands, turning to Edge.

“How’s Dolly?”

“Good.” Edge smiles.

It’s so uncomfortable in here you can almost taste the dread in the room.

“She’s convinced this one is a girl, since she feels better than she did with Gunner.” He walks Rodney to the door.

“You be sure to give her our love, and if she needs anything…” His voice trails off. It’s almost as if he’s already bracing himself for us all to end up behind bars as he shuts the door quietly behind him.

“The fuck is happening in here? I’m not going back to jail. Not now, not ever,” Edge says.

“I want the name. Where is the fucking rat right now?” Blade turns his full attention to Frosty.

“How did they find the bodies ten years later? There was no one there that day but us.” Axel flicks his lighter on and off, staring at the flame.

“Unless it’s one of the women in the truck.” Edge’s voice makes us all look at him.

“If that was true, you two would be included, and they were fucking terrified. Half of them were kids and teenagers,” I say, but my head is already at war. Could it be?

“The fact is, until Frosty gets his head out of his ass, we all stay fucking low.” Blade motions for Axel to hand him the bottle.

Frosty pushes his glasses up. “Okay, look. I have an idea.” He looks at all of us. “I know someone who can absolutely hack into all of these agencies and get us what we need.” He licks his lips, and I can already tell the way he’s acting, this is not gonna make any of us happy.

“Yeah, I know that person: you,” Blade snaps. “Get your ass out of here, go to your lair, and get me what I need. Also, I want details on this Powers. Who is he? Likes, dislikes, friends, who he fucks? Wife? Exes? Everything. Don’t leave anything out.”

Frosty nods, his face pale, which is saying something since he lives like a vampire, sleeping in the day and working for the club at night.

“I can easily get the stuff on Powers.” He closes his laptop and starts loading his equipment into his backpack.

“Frosty?” He looks over at me. “If Rodney is right, you need to be careful at all times. The Feds could be watching you too.” I reach for my phone, not even looking at him.

“That’s why I might need help,” he mumbles.

Ignoring him, I pull up Julianna’s location on my phone. She’s at home. When I get back to the clubhouse, I’ll check on her with my cameras.