Tuck shook his head.“Even knowing what we do now, I don’t know how urgent that makes things, at least not for the club.”He turned his attention to Ruger.“You heard anything from your in-laws?”
“No, but that’s not out of the norm.The longer we go without hearing from that piece of shit, the happier we are.And that goes for Krissi too.”Ruger sat leaned back and relaxed in his chair, as if they weren’t talking about things that had the potential to implode his life.
“Anything else?”Tuck asked turning back to Demon.
Demon shook his head.“I wanted to bring this to you right away.I don’t want there to be any doubts about my loyalty.I don’t want you to think I’m hiding anything.”He paused and met every man’s gaze one by one.“I also don’t want any of you to think that this means I’d turn my back on family over one small thing.I’d decided before I left that I couldn’t trust Jim Bob.I’d learned before we got out of high school that I can’t save him from himself.”He let his gaze fall to his lap for a moment before shaking his head and looking back up at the three men watching him.
“Don’t get me wrong.If I thought I had a chance of helping him and having it stick, of him straightening out and having a good life, I’d do everything I could to help him.But I’m not a fool.And when his actions threaten those I love.The very people who I have no doubt have my back the way he should have,” he held one hand up and circled his finger, indicating the club and everyone in it, “then I’m going to do everything I can to protect the ones who have proven that they’re my family, not the guy who has shown time and again that he’s not family, we just have a little blood in common.”He took a deep breath, feeling better for having gotten all that out.Nervous, he watched the three men sitting at the end of the table, wondering what they were going to do now.
Was he out?
He didn’t think they’d do that, but this wouldn’t help him get his colors.Of that he had no doubt.
Tuck, Sadist, and Ruger exchanged looks, and Demon wondered for a moment if they were going to have him step out of the room for a few minutes so they could discuss the issue.As he was getting ready to stand to step out on his own, Tuck spoke.
“What’s your plan?”
Demon relaxed back in the chair, then looked up at the president, meeting his gaze.
“I don’t have a plan yet, just an idea.”
“So tell us the idea and we’ll see if we can work it into a plan,” Ruger said.
“A good, workable plan that covers everything we need it to, or at least all we can make it cover.Once we know what, if anything is left undone, then we’ll have an idea of what else needs to be done.”
“My thought, before I knew he was tied to the Devils, was to find him and arrange it so the bounty hunter took him in.”He shrugged.“It gets him out of my hair, lets her collect the paycheck for recovering him, and keeps us out of it, at least publicly.”He watched their faces, one by one, looking for any indication of what they were thinking.
“Not bad, as far as it goes,” Tuck said tilting his head, but keeping his gaze on Demon.
“Agreed.”Sadist’s gaze flicked around the room before landing on Demon once more.“How do you feel about once he’s in jail, if someone tries to convince him to flip on the Devils and potentially Switchblade.”
“I feel I need to warn you that people who agree to testify against my dear old father-in-law, never live long enough to make it to the stand,” Ruger spoke up again, the sarcasm nearly dripping off his words as he referred to the president of a rival club from a neighboring state.
Demon didn’t know all the details there, only that Ruger was determined to see the older man see justice for something he’d done against the treasurer’s family, long before he’d met Krissi, so whatever it was hadn’t been done to Krissi.
Demon looked down at the table, not wanting his brothers to see the conflict battling in his heart through his eyes.He didn’t see any way around it but to be honest, but he could be smart about it, or at least he would try.
“I hate it.”He took a deep breath, then continued.“I hate that it’s come to this.I hate that he’s put himself on this track.I hate that he’s involved in being the kind of person who would kill anyone who got in his way.That said.He’s put himself in this position.He’s going to have to face the consequences for his choices.I just wish those consequences wouldn’t end up hurting so many people.”He met each man’s gaze in turn, letting them see not just the pain in his own eyes but the determination too.“I won’t stand in the way, and I won’t hold it against whoever’s agency can convince him.I don’t know what it will take, or how many of his branch of the family might need to disappear in order to keep him safe.He won’t be able to live without reaching out to someone.He’s not that smart.”He shook his head again and pushed that thought away.If losing them was what it took to keep them safe, then he’d live with it.
“Good to know,” Tuck said after a moment.“How close are you to being ready to put this in motion?”
Demon took a deep breath and looked up the ceiling as he thought about it.
“Nan told me he’s staying with his mom.The trouble is that I haven’t seen Aunt Chastity in about ten years, and I don’t know where she’s living right now.Nan said somewhere over off Craycroft, but she’s not sure the cross street.There are a lot of houses over there and I don’t want to risk an innocent by giving the bounty hunter the wrong address.I asked Gizmo to see if he can find the exact address.Other than that, I think we should watch for a bit, make sure it’s the right house before we turn him over, but that’s all I would say.Depending on how long it takes Giz, we can be done with this in twenty-four hours, if things go right.”
“That all, you want to be sure it’s the right house before we send her in,” Sadist asked.
Demon nodded, not knowing what else to say.
“That can be arranged,” Tuck said.
“One more thing,” Demon knew this was stupid, but he had to say it.It made sense.
Tuck lifted his brow and waited, silent.
“I think I should be the one to reach out to the bounty hunter.”When no one said anything, he continued.“I’m the only one she’s talked to.I feel like it’s safest if we have as little contact between her and the club as we can.Yeah, she’s seen a few others,” he tilted his head toward Sadist, “but I don’t know that she saw the name of the club.Besides, she has no reason to trust information coming from anyone else.”
He'd said too much.He knew it but he’d had a hard time shutting his mouth and all the reasons he’d thought up over the last hour came pouring out.Well, except the one that he couldn’t stand the idea of any of his brothers getting close to her.
