Shaking my head, I ignored their taunts because I was too fucking happy. I took the seat next to Death and opposite Country’s desk. “You gonna give me this good news or what?”
Country straightened, locking his fingers together to rest on the desk. “Ray Bond.”
“It’d better be the best fuckin’ news by tellin’ me the motherfucker got hit by a car or somethin’.”
“A car will be involved,” Death said.
“Give it to me straight, brothers, please.”
“Tech was all over shit last night while you were in jail. He’s got the proof that Ray killed that victim he was tryin’ to pin on you. The dickhead kept the knife, the victim’s wallet, and bloody clothes in his car that Torch searched last night.”
“You’re messin’?”
“We’re not,” Death replied, grinning. “He’s that much of a dumb fuck.”
“More good news. Ray decided to pay Lisa a visit after you got out of jail. The brothers picked him and his car up. He’s in the basement.”
I stood as my heart slammed into my chest. I clenched and unclenched my hands again and again.
The brothers chuckled, and Country held a hand up. “Hold your jets, brother.”
Grinding my teeth together, I sat back down.
“We have a plan,” he continued. “You know we won’t let him get away with fuckin’ with you and killin’ an innocent. He deserves everythin’ he gets. But we also need to be careful. You can’t be involved.”
“What the fuck?”
“Brother, listen. He arrested you, and with what we have planned, he’s gonna try and pin this on the club, but mostly on you. You need a full cover, people to back up where you were. Stick with your woman. Take her out, be seen in public. I know this is a shit deal, but it’s to keep you out of jail.”
I hated this deal. Knowing I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on the cunt had my blood boiling. “What’s the plan with him?”
“Tech, the smart prick, came up with the idea.” Death grinned. “We’ve got his car stashed at his place. He frequents a bar down the road from his house. Boom, who is a similar size and height and kind of looks like him, is gonna stumble in there actin’ drunk, and he’ll be wearin’ the change of clothes and hat we found in his car. He won’t stay long, and because the barman is a friend, he knows to kick him right back out. But it’s proof he went in there smashed.”
“Where’s this goin’?”
Country grinned. “Ray’s gonna get in his car and have a car accident. When the cops arrive, he’ll smell like a brewery. They’ll search the car, find the evidence, and he’ll be arrested.”
It sounded like a good plan. “But what happens if they don’t search the car?”
“Hell, we’ll leave the trunk open so they’ll look in there,” Death said.
“He’ll rant and rave that this was all us, but he won’t have anythin’ to stick. Not when he’s drunk off his ass from the alcohol we’ll poor down his throat. They’ll think he’s got it out for us after arresting you. It’ll work,” Country stated.
“Who’s crashin’ the car?”
They both looked at me.
Snorting, I shook my head. “Torch.”
“Yeah, the brother’s excited about it.”
Not only was Torch an adrenaline junkie, but he got a little crazy when it came to protecting the club.
“Brother, I’ve got faith. I just fuckin’ hate sittin’ back and not bein’ involved.”
They both grinned. “The best part we haven’t told you is, good old Ray needs to be knocked around a little to make it look like it was him who crashed the car.”
Adrenaline pumped through my veins, and I grinned back. “Let’s get this show on the road then.”
Down in the basement, I found Ray sitting on a chair, not tied, not bound, just sitting there glaring at the brothers who surrounded him. Quake, Tech, Wreck, and Torch. What probably kept him staying put was the way Torch was dancing around him with his blowtorch in his hand.
“Reason number twenty this tool is good to burn people with.” Torch leaned into him. “I like the way my victims squeal and plead, but they know they fucked with the wrong people, and there ain’t no escape.”
Torch spotted us, straightened, and started cackling. “Looks like the party’s about to start.” He bounced over to the wall of tools and placed the blowtorch back where it belonged, turning with a clap of his hands.
Ray’s gaze locked on Country and me while Death slipped further into the room. “Do you know how much trouble you’ll all be in? I’m a police officer. You’re all going to rot in jail.”
Country nodded to Death where he stood behind Ray. Death leaned over him and pinched Ray’s jaw to open it just as Wreck and Torch grabbed his arms, holding him down.
Quake moved in front of Ray and helped Death pry his mouth open. Death poured some bourbon down and stepped back. Ray coughed and sputtered, spilling it down over the front of himself.
“You can’t do this,’ he rasped and coughed again.
Chuckling, I stepped closer. “You’ll soon realize, Ray, that we can do fuckin’ anythin’.”
“Tech?” Country called.
Tech moved over to the counter and picked up an iPad. “We’ve got an hour to play and get him out to the spot.”
“Plenty of time.” I nodded.
They held Ray down again and poured more liquid down his throat.
He thought being a cop made him invincible.
He thought he could mess with me. Mess with the club.
He thought he could kill someone and get away with it.
He would slowly work out he couldn’t, and by the end of the day, he’d know it for sure.
“Enough for now. I want him coherent.”
Ray stopped coughing and looked up at me. “She’ll never be yours—”
Laughing, I shook my head. “You dumb fuck, she was never mine in the first place. She only told you I was hers to get you off her back.”
“No, she wouldn’t.”
“You killed an innocent for someone who acted like she was into you… because it was her fucking job. You let your obsession fuck up your life, and you chose wrong when you came after me and my brothers. Now you’ll know. Now you’ll learn. And pay.”
My fist connected to his cheek, then his gut and jaw.
What sucked was that by the time we were done with him, he was too drunk to even feel the pain. Still, it was worth it, and he could rot in jail for all I cared. Though, from what Tech told me, we weren’t the only ones Ray had fucked over, and he’d soon get to see the others he’d screwed over when he got put behind bars.
Later, outside my bedroom door, I paused and looked down at myself. There were a couple of blood splatters on me, and I couldn’t help but worry what my little mouse would think when I told her what I’d done. I’d made sure to check with Country that I could inform her. He gave me the go-ahead right away, knowing I saw the two of us staying strong, and she’d already proved herself. I also wanted to be honest with her, wanted her to know my real world and see how she’d deal with it.