“Whatever it is—”
Quinn interrupted her. “No, Charlie, you need to think about Lennox. This is…this is plausible deniability here.”
She looked at him for a few beats, then asked, “But it’s also something that will let me keep him safe?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“Okay then, I want to hear whatever it is.”
Aaron was tense next to Quinn, but nodded in agreement.
“So…Have you guys heard of the Burned Skulls?”
“That biker gang, sure. Every now and then a couple of them come through town and I think Ian’s guys run them off or something,” Charlie said thoughtfully. “I’ve seen some news stuff, that they’re a big operator on the human trafficking that’s happening around Vegas. Why?”
“Because my dad never wanted to do business with them,” Quinn said, ignoring the way Aaron jerked next to him. “Neither does Ian. It’s never been something that the MacGregors are willing to partake in. Drugs and guns, sure, people, never.”
Aaron snorted bitterly. Then he tensed. “Wait, you’re saying Jimmy’s going to change that?”
“Yeah. I heard from a reliable source that he’s been in contact with the Skulls for months now, just waiting for Ian to give him the reins.”
Charlie looked scared for the first time. Then she steeled her spine and nodded. “What does this mean for us?”
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t thinkyouwould do that. So what’s going on, Quinn?”
Quinn wished he didn’t have to do this, but he looked at both of them again. “And this is the part where I tell you something that can’t leave this room.”
They both glared at him, but it was Charlie who said, “What the fuck Quinn? You think you can’t trust us now?”
To his surprise, Aaron exhaled loudly and shook his head. “Charlie, none of us really have any idea who the others are at this point. We were one unit ten years ago. Sure we’re friends again, but trust isn’t easy. Not when it’s about actual safety.”
Quinn nodded. “Exactly.” Then he leaned toward Aaron awkwardly to pull his explanation out of his own back pocket. He tossed it on the coffee table.
“What thefuck?” Aaron breathed out the words.
Charlie’s eyes widened, and she leaned closer to the table, then reached to hover her hand over it.
“So yeah, I’m a cop,” Quinn said slowly. His badge glinted in the overhead lights and suddenly his friends were both staring at him. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner, but those were my orders; to not disclose that to anyone.”
Aaron’s voice was tight when he asked, “Why now?”
“Because I think shit will hit the fan and he’s going to get the Skulls in town and when that happens, there’s going to be cops swarming in.”
“You’re afraid that there’ll be crossfire,” Aaron stated. It hit Quinn again that Aaron was a soldier.
“If it comes to that, will you be in the front lines?” Charlie’s voice was quiet and she couldn’t hide her worry.
Quinn grimaced. “I hope not. I’m here to keep an eye on the situation, although this wasn’t the situation I was expecting.”
“What do you mean?” Aaron looked at him, the frown etched on his face now.
“IthoughtI was here to keep an eye on the family, which really made very little sense, but I took the job because, you know, it’s still my family. But now I realize it wasn’t that at all.” He scratched the back of his neck with an agitated movement. “I’m here because my bosses want to get to the Skulls.”
Aaron huffed. “Wait, you’re saying your bosses want to catch as much of an outlaw biker gang they can on a more neutral territory instead of their own, so they sent you here to keep an eye on the town?”
“I don’t know for sure. I can’t go asking, because my handler who has given me the info I have hasn’t actually gotten it in the ways he should. He’s a great guy, but he’s on another job because this was supposed to be easy. So someone somewhere is holding back information from both of us.” Quinn spat out the words.
“You can’t trust anyone,” Charlie concluded. “There’s a potential fucking battle coming into town, and you can’t trust even your bosses?”
