“Not bad,” Slate assured me, nodding as Diesel, Rocky, and Maverick stepped in, each of them armed with a steaming cup of coffee. “The cameras outside Eliana’s apartment and all the ones along the route to her place, from doorbell cameras, surveillance, and security cameras, all of them malfunctioned for exactly sixty-three minutes.”
“Fuck,” I bit out, knowing that meant we didn’t have footage of this asshole.
“Not so fast. The fact that they all went dead at the same time helps,” he promised as his fingers flew over the keyboard. “I spent all night digging through every last one of ‘em.”
“You found something?” The hope in my voice pissed me off, but this shit was becoming a pain in my ass, more now that it involved my daughter.
“Almost. I got a strip of code used to disable the cameras and I’m running it to see if it’s familiar or if it’s been used anywhere. Ever.”
That didn’t fucking help much, but it was something. “This is personal. It isn’t just some assholes vandalizing the shop.” Hell, it would’ve been easier if that was the case, but this was another clue that held zero meaning until the rest of the picture revealed itself.
“Nope,” he said, still typing. “It means whoever hired the vandals, this Syko asshole, probably also hired whoever wrote this amateur code. I’ll have answers soon, I know it.”
“You think the attack on the shop is linked?” I asked. I’d assumed that shit was aimed at the club.
“Can’t exclude it,” Slate answered.
I just nodded, happily accepting the cup of coffee Hollywood handed me as he settled into the chair behind me. “Fuck, bro, we need more comfortable chairs in here. This shit is ridiculous.”
He wasn’t wrong but right now I had bigger problems. “All these pieces don’t mean shit yet, but I’m sure they’re related.” The fact that I still didn’t know was one problem, the photos of Zoya were another.
“I’ve been thinkin’ about this since Cross showed up last night,” Hollywood began, taking a slow sip of coffee. “At first it was about the whole MC. The ODs at the club, the vandalism at Steel City Ink, that was to fuck with all of us. But this, destroyingthe nanny’s place and putting up photos of Zoya? That’s all for you, brother. Personal as fuck.”
I’d already spent the night tossing that idea around in my mind and coming up blank as to who would be targeting me and my daughter. “Okay but if it was personal, what does it have to do with Zoya? Sheriff Cross said some of the photos were taken before she came to live with me. This is a long ass fucking game.”
“Some beefs are like that,” Rocky said, his words dropping like a fucking anvil on my chest.
Hollywood shrugged. “Maybe nothing. Possibly everything. Good money says they did it to get to you. The question is who have you pissed off lately?”
“Other than Trish? Nobody.” And she wasn’t even all that pissed off. She seemed more than happy to relinquish her hold on Zoya. “She willingly signed over her rights, but shit, I can’t think of anyone else.” But if she was behind this, I wouldn’t hesitate to take that bitch out. She’d sold me out once to save her ass, and then she fucked up my little girl. She was well overdue for some pain.
“Where’s the nanny staying?” Diesel’s deep voice cut across the speculation, low and serious.
“With me,” I admitted, holding my breath and waiting for my brothers to give me more shit. “Last night she stayed at a motel, but it makes more sense to stay with me so I can keep an eye on her and Zoya.” That’s what I was telling myself, anyway.
Silence fell across the room in a tense hush that didn’t last for long.
“That didn’t take long,” Rocky grinned, tossing a twenty-dollar bill on the table. “Gio called it.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I growled. “It had to be done,” I insisted. “Whoever this asshole is, they knew about her which means she can’t stay with her family because it would put them in danger unnecessarily. Because of me.” Shit. I should’ve said all that to Eliana earlier. “Speaking of, I need someone to watch Zoya while I help get Eliana moved in tonight.”
“I’ll do it,” Rebel offered. “I’ll bring Olivia, give Zoya some proper kid time.”
I nodded. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” I didn’t want to leave her for even a few minutes, but I needed to help Eliana. She was in this position because of me, and I’d keep her safe until it was all over.
However long it took.
“Slate will keep digging,” Diesel ordered. “Let me know as soon as you find anything else. Sledge, I want you to stay close to home for now while we figure this out. You’ll only come here with the girls or if absolutely necessary. Everybody else, keep your ears to the ground and press your contacts for anything we can use to nail this fucker to the ground.”
I wanted to argue with my Prez, to tell him that I needed to be a part of every detail, that I was needed here more than at home, but something stopped me. “Yeah, all right,” I grunted in reply.
I walked out of the office and left the clubhouse without feeling the sun as it beat down on me.
***
Once I arrived home, I sat on my bike inside the garage for longer than I should have, thinking about the two girls inside the house. They were vulnerable and in trouble because of me.
I’ll keep them safe.
