King pulls my arm. “Come on, brother. We’ve got to go. Now.”
We go back to our bikes and leave, making sure not to leave skid marks on the pavement. We make it back to the club and my rage finally spills over.
“I want fucking answers. How did the fucking Inferno Bastards know where we were going?”
King answers, “I think we need to pay Crow a visit.”
“No. Make him come here. On our turf,” Razor argues. “If he’s in on this he’s going to die.”
“I agree. Get him on the phone now.”
I shove past them, going into the clubhouse. Claws comes toward me wearing a skimpy piece of lingerie.
“Hey, sexy. Looking for a good time tonight?”
“Get the fuck out of my sight,” I roar at her.
Her eyes well and she blinks back tears, but she has the good sense go get away from me.
I go to the gym, going right to the punching bag and pound it until my knuckles bleed and my mind is clear. Someone is out to get my club and I’m going to find out who it is, if it’s the last thing I do.
King knocks on my door around midnight.
“Two things. Crow is on his way, willingly.”
“The second?”
“There was a random power outage two days ago. It lasted for exactly ten minutes.”
“And?”
“The only area it affected was our hallway, specifically your door and the cameras.”
“Is there any way to track how it happened?”
He nods. “They used a virus against our system, but it left some traces behind. It’s enough that we might be able to find the fucker.”
“Good.”
“I have to admit, when you suggested that one of our own might try something, I didn’t believe you. This proves that you were right.”
“It’s not something I wanted to be right about.”
He slaps my shoulder. “I’ll let you know when Crow gets here.”
“Tell Bash to get the shed ready. We’re going to make sure Crow knows just how serious this is to us.”
King nods and I close the door. God damn it. I thought for sure the last run was messed up because of Psycho. Now, I’m wondering just how deep this goes. I go to my closet and rip the calendar down. Someone had the fucking nerve to enter my space, go through my things, and then try to fuck over my club. When I find out who that person is, they’re going to pay. With their fucking life.
22
Saint
Crow arrives at two in the morning, alone, just as instructed. He parks his bike out front and gets off, holding out his hand.
“Saint.”
I make no move to shake his hand, so he drops it to his side.
“This way.”
I lead the way out back toward the shed. Bash and Razor flank his side and King follows behind, in case Crow tries anything. We reach the shed and I open the door. Crow inhales, but walks in. He’s not stupid – he knows what happens in here.
In another lifetime, Crow and I could have been friends. We’re close in age, stature, and we share similar values when it comes to our clubs. That’s why it pisses me off that he hasn’t taken this more seriously.
“How’s your man?”
“He’ll live.”
I don’t mention that we all had vests on last night, in case we were fucked over. Jesus is walking away from this with a big ass bruise on his chest, which is better than leaving in a body bag. We had to make it look believable, though, since we don’t know who in the fuck we can trust, and right now my club officers are the only ones I trust.
“That’s good. He’s a good guy.”
I snort and point to the chair in the middle of the room. “Have a seat and we can get down to business. No need to bullshit around.”
Crow sits, putting his hands on his thighs, where they’re in sight. “Maniac still hasn’t been found, but all of my men were accounted for last night.”
King asks, “How do we know this is true?”
“I have video proof, which should be hitting your email now.”
King’s phone dings and he looks down, eyebrows lifting.
Crow says, “I know how this goes. When you said you were going to flush the mole out, I wanted to make sure my men had an opportunity to prove their innocence. None of the guys that received a text from Maniac left the club last night.”
King says, “He’ll telling the truth. They’re all there, playing… bingo?”
Crow nods. “My members are getting older, with a few exceptions. Our late-night activities have changed as we’ve gotten grayer in our beards.”
“So your crew has an alibi. That doesn’t excuse your lack of control over your Vice President.”
“I agree,” Crow says. “Our club has voted to strip him of his patches and rank. If he shows his face at the Inferno Bastards, he’s dead.”
King meets my gaze, eyes wide. This is almost fucking unheard of.
“Your club was okay with banning a member of the hierarchy?”
Crow shakes his head. “No. This isn’t something we wanted to do, but Maniac left us with no choice. He went against the club when he went after your club. We owe him no more loyalty.” He goes on, “We’re still looking for him, but he’s taken measures to ensure he can’t be found. His phone is off. His car was found in a pond. And, I just got word tonight that his house burned down. Our contact is certain it’s arson.”
I say to King, “Make sure the Mississippi boys still have eyes on Psycho.”
“On it.”
I turn back to Crow. “I don’t take threats against my club lightly.”
“Neither do I. That’s why I’m here, willing to help.”
The funny thing is, I know he’s telling the truth.
I let out a small sigh. “I think there’s someone in my club working against us, too.”
King and Razor scowl at me. We’d all decided that Crow didn’t need to know this information, just in case.
Crow nods. “I wondered as much. What are you going to do about it?”
“We set a trap and whoever is involved fell for it. Hopefully, we’ll have answers soon.”
“I’m not going to be surprised if the trail leads back to Maniac. I’ve seen guys turn on their own over the years, and he fits the bill.”
I nod. “Same with Psycho.”
Crow stands. “My club will work with yours until this is finished. You have my word.”
This time I shake his outstretched hand.
“Thank you, brother.”
“No need to thank me, Saint.” He looks around. “We good?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. I’ve got to get home to my old lady. She’s going to bitch at me for being late again, but the making up will be worth it.”
“Bash will take you to your bike.”
When he’s gone, King and Razor turn to me.
Razor says, “You think he’s innocent, don’t you?”
“I do.”
He nods. “I agree.”
“I wish you hadn’t told him that we set a trap,” King says, frowning. “He might not be involved, but we don’t know who all’s in Maniac’s pocket.”