"In the kitchen, son."
I find him standing at the stove, stirring something that smells incredible. Brooks Strather is older than I like to admit, with white hair and kind eyes that have seen too much.
"Smells good," I say, coming over to give him a hug.
"Beef stew. Your grandmother's recipe." He pats my back. "You look tired, Lee."
"I am tired." I grab a beer from the fridge and sit down at the kitchen table. "But that's the job, right? Where's grandma?"
"She's having a girls night with Leigh, and you're right. That's the job." He dishes out two bowls of stew and brings them over, settling into the chair across from me. "How's it going at the garage?"
"Good. I'm making progress, earning trust. Devil and Dime seem to genuinely like me, and Storm's been teaching me a lot about the business side of things."
"And the Rebels?"
I take a bite of stew, buying myself time. "That situation is getting complicated. Devil and Dime met with Ethan, got a sample of the product. They handed it off to Chief Harrison, but something's not adding up."
Grandpa's eyes sharpen. "What do you mean?"
"Harrison told them the sample didn't test positive for fentanyl. But that doesn't make sense. We know the Rebels are dealing fentanyl-laced weed. There's no way that sample came back clean."
"So Harrison's lying."
"That's what I think. And I think Devil and Dime think the same thing." I set down my spoon. "They had a meeting in the office today. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they both looked like they'd just made a decision they weren't happy about."
Grandpa is quiet for a moment, eating his stew thoughtfully. "Those two have been under a long time. Almost four years now. That's a long time to maintain a cover."
"Too long?"
"Maybe." He looks at me. "When you go that deep, when you live a lie for that long, it starts to become the truth. You forget who you were before. You start identifying more with the people you're supposed to be investigating than with the badge."
"You think they've gone native?"
"I think they're close to it. And if Harrison's lying to them, if he's trying to buy time to build a case that doesn't rely on their testimony, then he thinks the same thing."
I push my stew around with my spoon. "What happens if they decide they don't want to come back in? If they choose the club over the badge?"
"Then they become criminals. And we have to treat them as such." His voice is hard. "But hopefully it doesn't come to that."
"And me? What happens if things go sideways and my cover gets blown?"
"Then you get out. Immediately. You don't wait, you don't try to salvage it, you just run." He reaches across the table and grabs my hand. "My past put you in this position, Lee. They came after you because of my jail time. Offering me a pardon had a lot to do with this. I'm the one who convinced you to go undercover. If something happens to you because of that, I'll never forgive myself."
"Nothing's going to happen to me, Grandpa. I'm careful. And you didn't necessarily convince me. It sounded worth it." But has it been?
"Careful isn't always enough." He squeezes my hand. "Your cousin Keegan is in this too, working with his dad. There are too many moving pieces, too many secrets. That's when operations fall apart."
He's right, and I know it. This operation has too many layers, too many people playing different roles. Dime and Devil are undercover cops who might be going native. Keegan is feeding information to his father. I'm DEA pretending to be a prospect. And Chief Harrison is in the middle of it all, trying to coordinate everything while keeping everyone alive.
It's a powder keg waiting to explode.
"I'll be careful," I promise. "I'll keep my head down, do my job, and get out when the time comes."
"Good." He releases my hand and goes back to his stew. "Now tell me about the rest of your life. You seeing anyone?"
I laugh. "When would I have time for that? I'm working at the garage six days a week and spending my nights at the clubhouse trying to prove myself worthy of a patch."
"You need to make time. Life's too short to spend it all working."
