Chief Harrison: Bring it by this afternoon. Back entrance.
I show the text to Devil, and he nods. "You want to take it, or should I?"
"I'll do it," I say. "You've done enough today."
"Alright. But be careful. If the Rebels are watching…"
"They're not. Ethan thinks he just made a new business partner. He's not going to waste resources tailing us."
At least, I hope he's not. But I've been doing this long enough to know that hope isn't a strategy. I'll be careful, make sure I'm not followed, take every precaution.
Because we're so close now. So close to ending this. And I'm not going to fuck it up when we're this close to the finish line.
I spend the rest of the afternoon working at the garage, keeping my hands busy while my mind races. When evening comes, I tell everyone I'm heading out to pick up Allison from school, which is true. But first, I make a detour.
The back entrance to the police station is in an alley that's mostly hidden from view. Harrison's car is already there when I pull up, and he gets out when he sees me.
"You got it?" he asks without preamble.
I pull the baggie from my cut and hand it over. "Fresh from Ethan himself."
Harrison holds it up to the light, examining it. "This is good. Real good. We can test this, confirm it's laced, and then we've got probable cause to go after the Rebels directly."
"How long for the test?"
"Forty-eight hours, maybe less if I can rush it." He looks at me. "You did good work today, Grant. Really good work."
Hearing my real name still feels strange, but less strange than it did a few days ago. "Just doing my job."
"Yeah, well, your job might have just saved a lot of lives." He tucks the baggie into an evidence bag. "I'll be in touch as soon as we have results."
I nod and get back in my truck, heading toward the school. When I pull into the parking lot, Allison's already waiting, and the smile on her face when she sees me makes everything else fade away.
This. This is what I'm fighting for. Her smile, her safety, her future.
And I'm not going to stop until I know she's safe from the poison that's been infecting this town.
Not until every last bit of it is gone.
Eighteen
Mason “Menace” Harrison AKA Chief Harrison
I watch as Dime and Devil leave the spot where we had our meeting. Slowly I walk back to my truck and get in before driving back to Laurel Springs.
There's a lot on my mind dealing with this undercover operation. I know I'm losing control of these guys and their desire to still be on the right side of the law, I'm just worried on how to bring it up.
The truth is, I've been running undercover operations for fifteen years, and I've never had two officers go this deep for this long. Most guys tap out after a year, maybe two. The strain of living a lie, of constantly watching your back, of not being able to be yourself—it breaks people.
But Grant and Derrick have been under for almost four years. Four years of wearing cuts, riding with a motorcycle club, earning trust, building relationships. Four years of being more outlaw than cop.
And that's what worries me.
I've seen the way Grant looks when he talks about the club. The pride in his voice when he mentions Storm or Lee. The genuine affection when he talks about working at the garage. He's not pretending anymore. He's living it.
Same with Derrick. The man has built a life here, found a woman he loves, created a family within Saint's Outlaws. And asking him to destroy all of that when this operation is over? That's not going to go smoothly.
I pull into the parking lot of The Cafe. I've been going to this place for as long as I can remember, and since Leigh owns the place, and her husband used to be the Chief of police, she allows us to have the privacy we need.
