That knocks the wind outta me. Because, fuck me, she’s right.
“You think I haven’t tried?” she continues, voice rising. “You think I don’t see what he’s become every time he shows up at my door shaking, begging for a fix? You think that doesn’t kill me?”
Her voice cracks. Just a hair. She catches it fast, pulling herself back together like it never happened.
I pour another round. Nothing I can really say to that. I can’t imagine what it’s like… watching your brother fall that far. But I didn’t come here to trade pain. I came to find a way not to put a bullet in Ty.
So, I get straight to the point.
“My Chapter President, Jameson, gave the order to put him down.”
She freezes. “What?”
“He wants Ty dead. That’s not a maybe. That’s a now.”
Her expression hardens. “Tell your president to back the fuck off!.”
“It doesn’t work that way, Lolo. I don’t have a choice.”
“Bullshit!”
“You think I get to vote on who lives and dies? All Jameson sees is a threat that needs to be dealt with, and I’m the one holding the trigger. So unless you give me something… something real, I’ve got nothing to stand on.”
We stare each other down, years of friendship, anger, and something else pulsing between us. She downs her second shot and takes a beat.
“After you left, Ty traveled the world like he always planned, Italy, Spain, Colombia. Said he wanted to live, experience things before settling down. He met a group of guys over there. They partied hard, got him into blow. He thought they were friends. They obviously weren’t. By the time he realized what they were mixed up in, it was too late. They were runners for a cartel out of South America.”
“What the fuck,” I mouth in disbelief.
“Yeah. They used him. Made him go on a few cross-country runs. Said he was good at moving things. They pulled him in deep, and he was making more money than any job could ever pay him.”
“And somewhere in the middle of all this shit, you became a cop, and he became your snitch.” It’s a low blow, but I’m not here to play nice.
“Yeah, well, you joined a biker gang. Guess we both fucked up, huh,”
That earns her a small smirk. “Fair.”
“Anyway, he came back a different person,” she continues. “Paranoid. Strung out. I tried my best to help get him get clean, but he always found his way back to it. I finally caught him with product one night and busted him. My Captain made a deal… he stays out of jail if he works as an informant.”
I shake my head. “That was a death sentence.”
“Yeah. I know. And everything was running smoothly until you guys showed up tonight.”
I look at her. Really look. The way her collarbone catches the light. The way her lips press together when she’s holding back emotion. Londyn’s beautiful, but not in the polished way most people chase. She’s raw. Real. But, I need to focus, so I push all that shit down.
“Jameson won’t care about any of that,” I say. “He just sees a rat.”
“It’s not like he knew the Royal Bastards were involved. He’s just trying to survive,” she explains.
“Doesn’t matter. The second Mav saw that wire, Ty was a dead man walking. And if I don’t do it, someone else will. Someone who won’t hesitate.”
She leans in. “Then give me time. Let me get him out.”
“You’ve got days. Not weeks. Days.”
“You talk like it’s that easy.”
“It’s not,” I say quietly. “But if Jameson sends someone else, I can’t stop it.”
