“Justice will be served, Lo.” He gently cups my face. “You don’t have to carry that burden. Let the authorities take them down.”
I examine his face carefully. “Who are you, Diesel? Who do you work for?”
His hand drops away from my face. “I can’t tell you who I work for, Lo.” He has the decency to look apologetic. “But I’m the same person you’ve always known.” He grips my face in his large palms. “I will kill every motherfucker before I let anyone lay a finger on you again.” He rests his forehead against mine. “I’m on your side. I’ve always been on your side.”
I ease back, staring into his handsome face. “So, why can’t you tell me who you work for? Do you work for the government and you’re sworn to secrecy? Is that it?”
“It’s better if you don’t know. Safer for you that way.”
I don’t miss how he hasn’t refuted my claims, but he’s still holding back, and that doesn’t instill faith. “How can I trust you when I don’t know why you’re invested in this?”
He takes my hands in his. “I understand fully why you have a hard time trusting people. And you should trust none of The Sainthood. What Galen did tonight proves they are not trustworthy.”
“I think he acted alone.”
He rubs my hands. “I know why you want to believe that, but these guys have been brought up in this organization, molded by Sinner and other corrupt members to act outside the law. Saint is Sinner’s flesh and blood, Lo.” He gentles his tone. “Why do you think he’d have loyalty to you over his father?”
“Because he hates him! And he knows he’s been lying to him, and…” I stop myself before I blurt about our connection, because that will just make me sound weak and immature.
“Did you ask me here for my advice? Or have you already decided, and you just want me to agree with you?”
I remove my hands from his, crossing my arms around myself. “I asked you here to help me, Diesel. I need to know there is at least one person on my side.”
“You always have that in me, but I won’t sit here and tell you what you want me to tell you. Those assholes are dangerous, and I want you nowhere near them.”
“I have little choice, Diesel, because I’m not running away. Sinner will hurt my mom if I just up and disappear. She might be on my shit list right now, but I won’t have that on my conscience.”
He sighs, and his shoulders slump in defeat. “What’s your plan, and what do you need me to do?”
I tell him about my deal with Darrow and how I intend to use it to my advantage. “As far as the guys will be aware, I got the upper hand and escaped. Whether or not this was Galen working alone, the guys will owe me. I’ll be calling the shots and using them to further my aims.”
The difference this time is I’ll be keeping my emotions under sturdy lock and key. I’ll use sex to draw them closer, to get them to deliver my plan, but my heart won’t be invested. I can’t afford for it to be especially where all trust is now shattered.
“I’ll feed Darrow some intel, enough to keep him happy, without compromising my position. And I’ll use it to wreak havoc on Sinner’s plans to dominate in Lowell and crush his opposition. It’ll help distract him while I use the guys to help me locate the missing evidence.”
“Why would they do that? It seems unlikely they would turn on the organization for you.”
I let loose a wide grin. “I think you underestimate the power of my seductive abilities.”
He offers me a grin in return. “Having been on the receiving end of it, I assure you I don’t underestimate you.”
My expression turns serious. “The connection between them and Sinner is flimsy. From what I’ve determined, Galen feels indebted to him because of his family situation, Theo is sticking two fingers to his parents, and Saint shares blood. I’m unsure of Caz’s motivations, but he seems committed to the guys before The Sainthood. I’m not detecting true loyalty to Sinner from any of them. It’s weak enough that I can break it. My sense is their loyalty is to the organization or their idea of what they believe it should be. Right now, their faith is shaky because they know Sinner and the board is lying to them. The organization is rotting from the inside, and they need a purge. Moving product is one thing, but kidnapping and murdering females is a whole other ballgame. Letting Sinner and the board take one for the team will enable them to rebuild The Sainthood the way they want it to be.”
He nods. “That’s a good angle, but will they buy it when your intention is to take the organization down too?”
“They won’t know that, and I think they’ll buy into this. They’ve failed me, and this is the best way of making it up to me.”
Well, that and helping me go after The Bulls, because if what Parker said is true, Ruben and his motley crew will be gunning for my ass. The Bulls are a gang who operates out of Fenton. They used to be allies, but they turned up at the warehouse fight with the opposition. Apparently, they know I was the one who killed Luke McKenzie because they somehow got their hands on a recording of the night we blew the drug house to kingdom come. It was self-defense, not that they’ll care about that. They’ve recently moved into sex trafficking, and McKenzie was their contact, or so we’ve been told.
Can’t say I’ve lost any sleep over his death.
“What can I do?” Diesel asks, extracting a silver chain from his pocket.
“Get me everything you can about Daphne Leydon and her kidnapping and subsequent murder. And let me know if there are any leads or new intel as it becomes available.”
“Isn’t there anything I can say to change your mind?” he asks, toying with the chain in his fist.
“C’mon, Diesel. You know what I’m like when I get an idea in my head. I’m doing this. I’ll do Sinner’s stupid training and initiation tasks. I’ll bring the guys in deeper under my spell, using their guilt to work against them. I’ll use Darrow to help distract Sinner while I work to bring him down.”
He brushes my hair to one side and clasps the chain around my neck. “I need you to promise you won’t take risks with your safety.”
“I won’t,” I agree, running my fingers over the heart-shaped locket resting in the hollow at the base of my throat. “Is this some kind of tracker, or you’re declaring undying love?” I tease.
“I’d declare undying love if I thought I stood any chance, but let’s not go there again.” He brushes his fingers along my cheek. “There is a tracker embedded in the silver. Wear this at all times so I know where you are.”
“I can do that.”
He presses in on the locket. “It doubles up as an audio recording device. Press once to activate it, and press again to deactivate it. It’s set to copy to a secure file on the cloud I have access to.”
I press down on it to switch it off, smiling at him. “You’re amazing. You think of everything.”
He shrugs it off, but I can tell my comment pleased him. “And you need to drive the Lexus all the time. Don’t get lifts with those assholes, and don’t take the Gran Turismo out. You’re making enemies left and right, Lo, and you need to take precautions.”