I was surprised by his acquiesce, but it didn’t abate my surliness. “The payments to the ADA, bet those are sanctioned.”
“Not the way you’re thinkin’.” He shook his head.
“Asshole’s had a hold on us for the last year,” his VP, Dax, sneered. “Bottom-feeding motherfucker.”
I had to admit that piqued my interest, but it was Axel who spoke. “What’s he got you for?”
“The brothers? Nothing we wouldn’t be willing to get locked up for. And he knows it. He’s coming after our women, and one in particular.”
“Mine,” Thorn growled.
Out of everything we’d expected, that hadn’t been it.
“My woman, my wife, is pure class,” he emphasized. “But she had her day, made her mistakes. Somehow that asshole caught wind of ’em. Threatened legal action against her, but more fucked-up, threatened exposing that shit to her parents. He knows they’re both elderly and not in good health.” His nostrils flared, eyes bright with fury as he continued. “She will share her past with them if and when she’s ready. On her terms. Not on his.”
“So he’s blackmailing you,” Cole confirmed.
“What about just taking him out?” Sal asked. The club avoided violence where we could, but there were times the circumstances forced our hand.
Dax grunted. “That’s the plan. But there’s too much heat right now. He’s created some insurance policies for himself. And he has eyes on us, including that lawyer piece of shit.”
My blood boiled with realization. “Fucking Marty.” I stood up, unable to keep still. “That’s why that fuck came by Layla’s a while back when he had no real reason. He was trying to find something on her. Probably already ran through the rest of the Knights’ women, hoped to get something new from mine.” I snarled, meeting Cole’s infuriated gaze.
“If that’s true, this just became more than a Black Riders problem.” Axel confirmed what I’d already been thinking.
“We’re not working together,” Sal growled. “We can’t trust them.” Sal was a guy who said what he thought, when he thought it. He also didn’t back down from a challenge. None of us did.
“I understand why you think that,” Thorn replied. “But we’re not the same Riders from back in the day.” He eyed Sal intently, knowing he’d been on the front lines of those days. That he’d been shot because of them. “We’re not the same men.”
“Your men attacked my woman. She has bruises around her neck. They could have fucking killed her,” I accused, the tension in the room escalating with my outburst.
Thorn eyed me steadily, remaining in his seat, arms crossed at the chest. “You’ve never had a brother go rogue?” he challenged calmly. When no one replied, because we had in fact had it happen, he continued. “What happened to your girl wasn’t something I’d ever sanction,” he repeated, looking at me. “And I’m sorry as hell it happened.”
I had to admit he seemed sincere.
“We have an opportunity to work together to snuff out a common threat. ’Cause I guarantee, the way that weasel works, he’s looking for another payday. It may not be your women; maybe it’ll be your kids.” At that, every man in the room stiffened, a low rumble of menace emanating around the room. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m not gonna sit back and let him think he can get one over on us. Or on you. We’re stronger together.”
Cole sat back in his chair, appearing to mull over the opportunity. When his gaze landed on me, I knew he wanted my opinion. My woman had been wronged; he was showing me the respect of letting me say my piece.
“The man who put his hands on Layla. I want him,” I stated. “After that, the brothers decide if they want to work together. I’m good with it.”
Thorn watched me, and I swore I saw a note of respect flash in his gaze. “He got worked over pretty good, and we cast his ass out. No idea where he’s at. But if you find him, you can have him.”
I nodded, looking at Cole. “Then I’m good.”
Cole turned eyes to Sal, then to Axel and Wes, the four men having a conversation without words, one that spoke of their years of brotherhood. Of a bond so clear, so strong, it had been one of the main reasons I’d prospected in the first place. I’d been lucky enough to build something similar with their sons. My brothers.
“You want to do this,” Sal concluded with a frustrated sigh.
“I do,” Cole agreed.
Axel turned eyes to Thorn, appraising the man with a look that could make most men piss themselves. “We do this and you fuck us over in any way, it’ll be a war that will pale in comparison to the blood we’ve already spilled between us. You get that?”
“I do.” Thorn nodded. “And it won’t come to that.”
Axel looked at Maddox, his son. At his nod, Axel grunted. “Then I’m good.”
“Me too,” Wes agreed.
A moment of tension hung in the air as all eyes turned to Sal. Sal turned to Max, his son-in-law. While tensions had initially been high when Max claimed Sal’s only daughter, the two had formed a bond unrivaled by any blood tie.
“Can’t have this touching Wren.” Max’s deep voice answered Sal’s silent query.
“Fuck,” Sal grunted, more to himself than anyone else, running a tattooed hand over his dark hair. “I don’t like it. But fine. I’m in.”
“How do you want to play this?” Dax asked.
“Rather than jump to takin’ the guy out,” Cole replied, “anyone tried to find some dirt on him? Turn the tables? We can take him out if it comes to it, but it would bring some serious heat on both our clubs that I’d rather avoid.”
“Just a soft run on him,” Dax replied.
None of the Knights were surprised when Gunner spoke up. “I got it.”
Cole nodded. “Good. Find what you can on both him and Marty. We’ll bring it back to the group and decide what we wanna do. In the meantime, you keep payin’ him,” Cole directed the Riders. “We don’t want them to know anything’s up. We do this right, you’ll get your money back.”
“That’d be good, but what I really want is to take the fucker out,” Thorn grunted.
I saw the same protective gleam in his eye that mirrored my own. He wanted to protect his woman, to do right by her. Just as we all did.
And on that note, I was about to go hunting.
Chapter 16
LAYLA
I pulled out of the school parking lot after dropping Riley off with the ever-present rumble of a motorcycle sounding behind me. It was Tatum today, Cole’s son and Grace’s younger brother; the guys took shifts so I was never alone.
Why that was still necessary was beyond me and a growing source of tension between Cash and me—when he was home anyway.
It had been two weeks since my attack. My bruising had faded, as had my patience with feeling like a prisoner in my own home. The only thing Cash had shared was that the men who’d attacked me were no longer a threat. So I should be safe. But judging by my imposed home imprisonment and being under constant watch when I did go out, that obviously wasn’t the case. I wasn’t being clued in on something. Something big. But what troubled me the most was Cash’s prolonged absences. Almost immediately following my attack, he’d been on the road almost constantly. Either there was a threat he wasn’t sharing or there was a different reason entirely he was keeping his distance.