He barks out a laugh as I hear him shuffling around papers or something. “I could be making a mountain out of a molehill. I get it. But my instincts are screaming at me that something isn’t right.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s this guy’s name?”
“Sam Davenport.”
I rack my brain trying to recall anyone with that name, but I come up blank.
“You got a photo of this guy?”
“His company doesn’t use them. Something about keeping identities private adds an extra layer of protection.”
“Some people do work that way, especially if they need to move in and out of places they shouldn’t. I have two covert members of staff who don’t come into the office, use pseudonyms for their banking, and frequently change their appearance. That doesn’t mean this guy is on the up and up. I’m just saying that in itself isn’t a red flag. It could, of course, all just be a carefully crafted story told by someone who knows just enough about us to make it sound legit.”
“I managed to get Byte to pull a still from the diner camera where we met. I’ve had him clean it up the best he can. It’s not perfect, but it’s something. I’ll email it over with the rest of the info. Let me know if you recognize him.”
“Will do.”
“Havoc tell you we’re heading up next week?”
“He mentioned it, yeah.”
I haven’t spoken about it with Delphi since the morning she brought it up. I have no idea which way she’s leaning. I worry that if she does agree to go, it might be too much too fast. Something tells me that we’ll get one shot at this. If we fuck itup, Delphi will cut the club out for good, regardless of Legs’s connections to it.
“Yeah, well, he mentioned Del to me.”
I wait to see if he adds more, but he stays silent.
“And?”
He sighs. “Can’t say I wasn’t a dick to her when shit went down, but it wasn’t personal. I’m a dick to everyone. I followed my president’s lead. But if being here has taught me anything, it’s that this excuse wears real thin real fast. A lot of shit was overlooked when it came to Lola because Khan either let it slide or actively encouraged it. Looking back, it’s not hard to see that we pulled something similar with Delphi. Yeah, emotions were running high. We lost brothers and had traumatized women and kids on our hands, but it’s not an excuse.”
“No, it’s not. And I’ve heard the mumbled comments that people think because we fucked up with Lola, we’re seeing shit we shouldn’t when it comes to Del.”
“There is nobody else left to blame, so she’s convenient. You’d have thought they’d have learned their lesson already with this shit. Look, I’m not gonna dig into what’s going on with you two—that has fuck-all to do with me—but she comes with a fuck-ton of baggage that she’s been carrying on her own since we kicked her to the curb. You gotta ask yourself…if it comes down to it, will you stand with your brothers or will you go with Delphi?”
I open my mouth to respond, but he carries on before I can reply.
“Don’t answer that yet. The answer isn’t for me, it’s for you. I can tell you this. The only reason I’m not dead or in jail is because of Ravens, but I’d give them up in a second for Lola. The club might be in my blood, but Lola’s my heart. Without her, there is no me.”
“I get it,” I tell him quietly, watching Delphi stop to stare out one of the huge windows facing the street.
“I thought you might. Word of advice, though, from one fuck-up to another. Always have her back. I understand that the club has to be first in many things, but when it comes down to it, she has to know she can rely on you, no questions asked. The second you hesitate, you’re fucked.”
I hear crying in the background before Hannibal speaks again.
“Gotta go. But bring Delphi over when we come up. Lola remembers her. Said she stuck up for her when nobody else did.”
“Yeah, she’s good at that.”
“It would be good for them both.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
He hangs up before I can say anything else. I lean back and run my fingers through my hair, watching Delphi on the screen before I shut the computer down and head out to find my girl.
Chapter Thirteen
DELPHI
