“I understand.”
We arrived at his office and got out, heading toward the back door of the bond shop. Jagger rang the bell before he opened the door. “Come on in.”
I followed him into the building I’d been in after I was bailed out a day earlier. Jesse Sparks hustled from his office into the large room. “Jagger, get your ass in here. Bring him.” Sparks pointed at me, so I followed.
Jesse slammed his office door and pointed to a table where Hardy was already waiting, his laptop open and ready. I hoped to hell Jesse wasn’t going to have an aneurysm.
“Hey, guys.” Hardy had a big grin on his face.
“Tell ’em.” Jesse pointed to the two of us, skipping any normal niceties.
Hardy opened a folder, handing each of us a stapled stack of papers. There was even a cover page: Boyd Newton Information Packet. Jesse flipped it open, so Jagger and I did the same.
The first thing I noticed on the page…Viper Kings MC. I’d heard of them but had no idea if they were a problem. “Who are the Viper Kings?”
Hardy sighed. “If you’ll read on, I explain that they’re a Dominican motorcycle club that’s affiliated with the Cartel Del Rey Víbora from Colombia. They run about twenty-million dollars a year through the Viper Kings, or so the DEA estimates.”
I glanced up. “And you know that how?”
Sparks pounded his hand on the table. “That’s what the hell I want to know!”
Obviously, we’d walked into the middle of a disagreement. I didn’t want to cause any trouble, but I appreciated all the help I could get.
“Sparky, I was asked to gather information, and I did. Don’t get pissed because I’ll have something to discuss with you when Monty gets back.” Hardy turned to Jagger and me, grinning. “Boyd Newton could be hiding out at the Viper Kings clubhouse, but I know he’s scheduled to do a shoot today for Glory Hole.”
Jagger sat up. “How deep in is he with the Viper Kings? I heard of them when I was detailed to the governor in Carson City. They’re a nasty group from what I remember.”
Sparky—as Hardy had called him—stared at Jagger. “Because the Víbora Cartel isn’t bad enough?”
I chuckled. “They’re no worse than the Taliban.”
The room was completely silent. I glanced at Jagger to see him fighting a smile. “What?”
Sparky chuckled. “You sound like half the guys I employ. Anyway, any idea why Boyd Newton would have a tie to the Viper Kings or the Cartel?”
Hardy rolled his eyes. “If you’ll turn to page three.”
The kid was a piss riot with his nonchalance. I respected the hell out of him, and I turned to page three as instructed.
Jagger whistled. “That’s a hell of a lot of money flowing through Boyd Newton’s bank account.” He glanced at Sparky. “Money laundering?”
Sparky stood and walked to his desk, picking up his cell. After a moment, he grinned. “Hey, Sawyer. How are ya?”
I turned to Jagger with a questioning eye. “Fitz Morgan’s husband, Sawyer Abbot. Former president of the Steel Cowboys. He runs a dispensary for the club after losing a finger in a flooring accident.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “A flooring accident?”
“We’ll see you soon,” Sparky said before he hung up the phone.
Hardy smirked. “There are many trains of thought regarding how Sawyer lost his finger, but the story he told Fitz was that he was helping someone lay new floor in the clubhouse and accidentally cut off his pinky as he was cutting planks. Can you imagine how much that hurt?”
“I’d rather not,” Jagger said as he flipped through the pages in front of him.
We went through the information Hardy had dug up for us, and I wasn’t really surprised by any of it. I was sure Thomas would be, but he loved with a pure heart and took most people at their word, the naïve fool.
I’d wait a while to update him on things, but for now, I was headed out to the Viper Kings clubhouse by myself. No way was Jagger coming with me. I had no desire to see the newest object of my affections in harm’s way.
Jagger sighed. “So, do we think Boyd was blackmailing the governor to launder money?”
