They all knew what I was talking about. They’d helped track the financial drain that had hit my business.
“I’m of course talking about the theft of funds from the motorcycle shop. What started out as small amounts seems to havegrown to larger ones. This has been going on for well over a year. And until Juliet, it was happening without notice.”
Wrecker moved his tablet aside and leaned forward, clasping his massive hands together. “Juliet’s expertise is possibly going to draw out the mastermind of the entire operation. I honestly don’t believe it’s some lower level patched in guy.”
Arsenal shot me a concerned look. “So this could be more dangerous than we think.”
The stark truth of it carved itself into me. She’d walked right into another shitstorm. My chest tightened at the thought.
“We can handle this,” Big Papa said. “We’ve handled threats from other packs and other clubs before. They aren’t targeting Juliet. They’re targeting us. She just happened to be the one to take the lid off the pot of shit they’re stirring. We’ll be meticulous as always and find out who’s got beef with us, and then we’ll take their fucking heads off.”
The man had a way with words. I couldn’t help laughing. “Easy enough.”
“Then there’s Sawyer.” Menace’s voice broke through the quiet that settled after Big Papa’s statement.
My eyes shot to his. We’d pulled Sawyer out of the same hell as Juliet, but there was a nagging doubt in my mind, an uncertainty I couldn’t shake. “Is she adapting?” I asked.
Menace took a deep breath. “She’s doing okay. You know how these things are. Takes time.”
“You keeping her warm at night?” I shot back. There was an edge of humor in my voice, trying to lighten the mood that threatened to drown us.
“Fuck you,” Menace said, but there was a smile in it. “It’s a process.” He rubbed the back of his neck and leaned back in the chair.
Big Papa laughed. “More of a process for some than others.” He fixed Menace with a look. “She planning on staying?”
“Hell if I know.” Menace shook his head. “I didn’t think I would care.”
Damn, he doesn’t want her to go. “Why isn’t she reaching out to her pack?”
He looked at me, then down at the table. “She’s a little like Juliet in that way. Might not be telling me everything.”
It confirmed what I’d been afraid of. Her past could come back to bite us in the ass, and it could be as dangerous as what we were already facing. “That girl has secrets. Could be trouble.”
“She’s okay,” Menace repeated, more to himself than to us.
“Juliet should befriend her. We need to know what’s up,” I said, watching for his reaction. “Last thing we need is trouble with renegade packs. I know you don’t like it, but Wrecker’s gonna need to do a full background.”
“She’s gonna stick around, so maybe you’ll see how wrong you are.” Menace looked annoyed by the prospect of us digging. “She’s not a risk.”
“That’d be a goddamn change,” I replied. It was his turn to scowl, and I fought the grin that wanted to spread across my face.
The topic shifted again, this time back to business. Back to the gnawing concern that twisted my gut. “Let’s focus on this mess at the motorcycle shop. We need a plan,” I said, leaning over the table. “What if this hits us harder than we think?”
Wrecker’s eyes met mine, cold and sharp. “We’ve got some theories. Leads to follow.”
“I want more than theories,” I said. My voice was sharper than I intended.
“We need time to figure it out.” Menace was all business again, arms crossed over his chest.
“How much time?” I asked, knowing it was a dangerous question.
“Give me two weeks. We’ll know more by then. We can give a full report when it’s locked down,” Wrecker said. “I’ll keep on it. You know I will.”
“Two weeks. Then we take action, whether we know or not.” I needed this resolved, needed the weight off my shoulders and Juliet safe again. I dismissed the others, gave them their assignments, my mind still running with the possibilities.
They left one by one, leaving me alone in the church room. I sat at the table for a long minute, my eyes staring at nothing, my thoughts lost in the chaos of it all. We’d survived so much, had so many successes, but this felt different.
My head was still spinning when Menace walked back in. I hadn’t expected him to come back. “Sawyer really worth the trouble?” I asked, as he sat down again.
