But that didn’t mean it was without consequences.
“I understand.”
Jerome smiled as he nodded.
“I thought you might,” he said. “Keep in mind, one brother to another. I like you guys. I want to work with you guys. But like any other time groups get involved, it’s not up to the individual. It’s up to the group. Figure out a way to make the Hovas happy, Axle.”
And with that, we were back to normal names. Jerome didn’t say another word as he slowly turned, taking the time to give Lane one last glare. He headed back to his bike, ignited the engine, and led the rest of the Hovas out without any further incident. I walked over to Lane, who finally let his guard down and let out a long sigh.
“I really thought some shit was about to go down,” he said.
“It was much closer than you realize,” I said. “We gotta talk.”
* * *
I sat in the church hall with Lane, the one place where I knew we’d be afforded some privacy. The last time he and I were in this room, I was about to be accused of being a spy. It was comforting to know we were building toward a common goal this time.
“The Hovas think we’re attacking them,” I said. “And while that’s clearly bullshit, it’s also true we haven’t done anything for them since the ambush.”
Lane let out a long sigh.
“I get it,” he said. “I’ve been trying to pull the club back in. I felt like, under my father’s reign, we were branching out too much. The Blood Knights, the Hovas, the Street Men… The Hovas are really the only group we trade with now.”
“Hate to say it, Lane, but they’ll be the last group we trade with if we don’t do anything.”
Lane grimaced.
“Can we trust them? Wasn’t exactly a friendly sign for them to ride up—”
“Disagree.”
Lane pursed his lips, keeping the retort just barely sealed in his mouth.
“How do you think it would’ve looked if they’d come up to our place after sunset? Do you know how likely it would’ve been that gunfire would have erupted, whether by accident or on purpose? You know not everyone in this club is as, let’s say, open-minded as the officers are.”
Lane knew I was right. He’d heard the comments from some of the club members. He’d overheard the insults directed my way—insults I was able to ignore, but I knew the Hovas would not.
“Fair enough,” Lane said. “So what do they want? What sort of an olive branch do they want?”
I shrugged.
“Time will tell. I need to talk with them more. But for right now, I would say if they need help with a counterstrike against the Saints, we give it to them.”
Lane nodded, but there was something about how he didn’t look me in the eye that suggested there was something he hadn’t yet said, something that had crossed his mind he hadn’t articulated yet.
“Do me a favor, Axle,” he finally said. “Keep what I’m about to say quiet. Don’t tell anyone else except Patriot. I’m doing a test.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, even though as soon as he said, “except Patriot,” I already knew exactly what he was referring to.
“I’m doing a test to see who the rat is,” Lane said. “I’ve got to start taking some risks. I know that the more I act, the more things might get ugly, but they’re ugly enough already.”
At least he was coming at a place of far more calm than he had when he was about to accuse me. But I still didn’t get the sense Lane understood the risks involved and the need to be airtight about everything, even from me and Patriot.
“Don’t make any presumptions before it’s appropriate,” I said. “Keep in mind, even those who would die for us may not be able to keep their mouths shut. You tell something to Father Marcellus, testing him. He’s clean. But then he makes mention of it to Butch or Red Raven. And then what? Or you tell something to someone else, and word gets out. Or, even then, people see that some officers are going on missions, and they aren’t. People are going to start to figure things out, Lane, and if you’re not careful, they will come back to bite you. And those bites will be fatal.”
Lane nodded, but there wasn’t anything he could do to make me believe he fully understood. Which, truthfully, was fine. I didn’t need him to comprehend what I’d said. I just wanted him to fear it enough that he didn’t do anything stupid.
“We’ll keep things tight,” he said. “Everything will be on a need-to-know basis.”
