“The dirty judge is going to have an accident soon,” Pix says quietly, which is odd for her. She’s usually more…I wouldn’t say “pumped up” when discussing an enemy’s end, but not this soft-spoken, either.
“No blood, Pix,” Ash warns. “It needs to look like an accident.”
“I got it,” she huffs. “Slipping while getting out of the tub and smashing his head. Boring, but an old-effective tactic.” Her tone is defensive.
I study her, noticing more things off about my sister. She’s tense, standing apart from us. Usually, she’s very tactile and seeks out touch from the few people she trusts, especially with Digits. But ever since Pix and Slade returned from the warehouse where Randolph had kept them, Pix has been off-kilter.
Bane looks worried; I know he feels guilty about what happened to her, even though it helped save Slade.
“So the judge will be taken care of, but what about the lawyer?” Pix asks.
Judge Wheeler has been after the Havoc Guardians for years. He is, in fact, dirty and corrupt—not that we’re squeaky clean. However, he has let criminals worse than us get off scot-free and has been in our enemies’ pocket for years. He approved thesearch warrant based on false evidence, which is another check in the probability column that someone suspects we own Hedon.
As for the assistant DA, he’s a staunch fundamentalist Christian who openly condemns the “devil clubs” in the city, making no secret of his disdain for strip and sex clubs. I’m not sure whether he was just too eager to take Hedon down and skipped proper due diligence on the “conveniently delivered” evidence, or whether he didn’t care and simply wanted to strike a blow against a major player in the sex club scene. Or maybe he was working directly with our enemies.
“The lawyer”—Ash steeples his fingers under his chin—“is left alone for now. We need to figure out where that evidence came from first.”
“We need to keep a close eye on Razor and Thunder,” I voice my top suspects of who is behind what happened at Hedon.
Bane rocks back on his heels. “Putting our own under surveillance is a serious step, and could have repercussions if that's discovered.”
“Grinder had involvement in our money side of things, so he knew we owned Hedon,” I state. “I’m not casting shade on his loyalty, but it’s possible Razor discovered something he shouldn’t have through Grinder.”
Not only does the public not know that we own Hedon, but only the innermost leadership of our club knows as well.
“Grinder would’ve never let something like this slip.” Pix shakes her head, being the one who worked the closest with him regarding the MC’s finances.
“I agree. But it’s possible that Razor discovered something on Grinder’s computer.” This is all speculation, but we need to consider all possibilities.
“No way,” Digits argues. “I protected his computer myself. There’s no way Razor or Thunder could’ve hacked in.”
“Or maybe Razor saw something in print,” I challenge. “There are other ways our involvement with Hedon could’ve been discovered accidentally. We can’t dismiss that possibility.”
“You’re right, Army,” Bane says with a frown. “But it’s a slim possibility, and to put two of our long-time members under surveillance is a decision we can make lightly. We need stronger evidence.”
Frustration rises in me. “I killed Razor’s son.” Guilt nearly chokes me, saying those damning words. “He wants blood-for-blood, but he can’t outright kill me.”
But if he found out about Leeva, he could make a case against me. Or, at least, he could try to, even though Leeva no longer has Guerilla’s tattoo.
“I’m the one solely involved with and in charge of Hedon. You can’t deny it makes some sense.” I look between Ash and Bane. “Plus, Thunder suspects you two had a role in Cutt’s disappearance.”
Cutt isn’t just missing; he’s dead. We were looking for a way to take him out because we suspected he was acting against the MC, but we couldn’t find evidence to prove it, so it was handy that one of our allies took him out instead. Digits had planted sightings of Cutt in various places, supporting the theory that he ran because of the massive drug debt he had incurred from his coke habit, but Thunder has always been suspicious.
Ash’s jaw works as he weighs both sides of the argument about putting Razor and Thunder under surveillance. He runs a hand through his dark blond hair and looks at Digits. “Clone their phones, but that’s it for now. No manpower on them yet.”
Meaning no one will be following them.
“They’re vets,” I argue. “Long-time criminals, and they know how this works. They won’t use their personal phones if they’re doing shady shit against us, Ash.”
He lowers his feet off his desk and rises to stand, then places his hands on his desk, giving me a hard eye. “I know, Army. But at this point, with what we have as evidence—or better yet, what wedon’thave—my hands are tied. If we put an active tail on them, and it got out—”
“Tats and Mauler are our best; they wouldn’t get caught,” I argue.
“Nothing is failsafe,” he counters, being overly cautious about this for some reason. “If it got out, then the old guard would use it as fuel for a mutiny.”
I know he’s right. Ever since the full extent of the threat Slade posed to the MC came out, they’ve been looking for any excuse to stir up shit and undermine not just Ash but all of us on the Council because we enacted a Council-sanctioned decision regarding Slade. That threat was dealt with and gone, but the old guard is itching to stir up shit.
I’m still frustrated as hell, though.
