* * *
The clubhouse is quiet when Tempest and I return, most of the brothers either working or handling club business.I find Ghost in the chapel, going over books with Savage and Rogue.
"How'd it go?"Ghost asks, looking up from a stack of invoices.
"Worse than I thought."I drop the file from Walsh onto the table."Calla was murdered because she found out her sister-in-law was engaged to a criminal."
The silence that follows is heavy with implications.Rogue leans forward, scanning the documents.
"Money laundering, trafficking connections, shell companies," he reads aloud."This Ethan guy's dirty as hell."
"Gets worse.He had my sister and her husband killed to keep them quiet."
"Fuck," Savage breathes."Does Evangeline know?"
"No.And she can’t.Not until we’re ready.If she confronts him too soon, he’ll bury her the way he buried Calla.”
A beat of silence.
Ghost's eyebrows rise.“She’s not going to like being kept in the dark.”
“She won’t.But she’ll be alive to hate me for it.”
"So what's the play?"Rogue asks.
I've been thinking about this since we left Walsh's office."We investigate quietly.Build an airtight case.Make sure we have enough evidence to bury him completely before we make a move."
"That could take weeks," Tempest points out."Maybe months."
"Better than getting her killed."
Rogue shoves a hand roughly through his hair."This is all too fucking close to what happened with Ivy and Lochlann.Different names, same goddamn pattern.Could be an overlap.It’s worth checking."
Ghost sits back in his chair, studying the file."This is dangerous territory, brothers.We're talking about going up against someone with serious connections.Money, influence, probably protection from people we don't want to piss off."
"So we be smart about it," I say."Careful.But we don't back down."
"What about the cops?Isaacs seemed like good people."
"She is, but her hands are tied.Someone upstairs is already trying to bury the case.We can't count on official channels."
Savage rubs his jaw thoughtfully."What do you need from us?"
"Everything you can give me.Manpower, resources, connections.This bastard killed my sister to protect his business.I'm going to make sure he pays for it."
"And Evangeline?"Ghost asks quietly.
That's the question that's been eating at me since I realized the truth.How do I protect her without destroying her world?How do I keep her safe while hunting the man she was planning to spend her life with?
"I keep her close.Keep her and the kids safe while we build the case."
"She's not going to like being kept in the dark."
"She's not going to like learning that her fiancé had her brother murdered either."
The truth of it settles over the room like a weight.There are no good choices here, only necessary ones.
"Whatever you need, brother," Tempest says finally."She's family now."
