“Is that wise?” I ask. This isn’t keeping the peace. It’s the exact fucking opposite. “You start putting that kind of pressureon a group of outlaw bikers, you’re bound to get some gunfire. You’re putting the people of South Bay at risk.”
“You want to shut down the Sinners? This is how you do it. And this method, coupled with the growing pressure they’re feeling from a rival gang in the west, will push them into a corner. They’ll make mistakes. We’ll catch them when they do.”
Arms crossed, I widen my stance. “Rival gang?”
Allen snags the remote from the podium and clicks it repeatedly, eventually stopping on a biker emblem—a skull with an eye patch and two crossbones beneath it. “The Road Raiders are rumoured to be pushing towards the east. They make headway, then in the coming months, we’ll see some friction.”
Irritation flares to life in my veins. “Friction? You mean a war.”
He shrugs. “Like I said, we back them into a corner, and there’ll be no way out. With any luck, they’ll all be in prison before war comes to South Bay. That’s it for this afternoon. You’re dismissed.” He shoves his hands into his pockets and pins me with a look. “Decker. A word?”
I stay where I am, and once the room clears, Allen approaches.
“I hear you’re my local liaison.”
I dip my chin. “That’s what I’m told.”
He uses the remote to bring the picture of Donovan back up behind him. “South Bay is in an interesting situation.”
“And what situation is that?”
“You have one of the most notorious outlaw biker gangs right here in your shitty small town. Doing business right out in the open. And nothing is being done about it. Why do you think that is?”
The hair on the back of my neck stands on end. “You’re the expert. You tell me.”
“Could be a lot of things. Sloppy police work, messy casefiles, complete and utter incompetence.” With a shrug, he breaks into a smarmy smile. “Or it could be a lot bigger than that.”
Head tilted and gaze steady, I size him up like he’s doing to me. The implication is clear. He knows. Which means I have to tread carefully. Choose my next words like my life depends on them.
“Any guesses?” he asks.
Scrubbing my hand over my jaw, I lower my voice. “Before my old man took over as chief, Axe’s father had a cop or two in his pocket. Might be a different time, different Donovan, but it’s all the same shit. Guess it stands to reason it could happen again.”
A slow smile crawls up his face. “Gold star, Decker. The South Bay Sinners are still standing because someone in your department is making it so.”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Did my research on you. You’re a decent cop. Shit attitude according to your chief, but your police work is sound. You’ve made more Sinner arrests than anyone in the department. You put Axel Donovan in jail. Twice. And if the reports are accurate, that last time, you shot him.”
Yeah. I did. But not for the reason he thinks. If I’d been shooting to kill, Donovan would have left the scene in a body bag instead of handcuffs. Much as I want him dead, keeping the Sinner president breathing is in my best interest. He’s made sure of that.
“Tore up his shoulder pretty good,” I say.
“That’s fuckin’ awesome.”
I arch a brow. “Is it?”
“Filling a Sinner full of lead? Hell yeah.” Allen stares up at the screen, at the leader of the Sinners glaring down at us. “I pored over that incident report. Top to bottom.”
My stomach drops. “Oh yeah?”
His smile only makes it sink farther. “Donovan lowered his weapon. Bastard gave himself up, didn’t he? But you shot anyway.”
I’ll admit that being the one who dropped him felt kind of nice. Breath of fresh air, seeing the man I hate the most in this world crumple to the ground like he did. It took fucking effort not to kill him. My whole body was screaming at me to reposition my gun a few inches higher and a little to the right.
I didn’t technicallyhaveto shoot him. It was just the most effective way of getting him out of that alive. The cops with me that day? They would have aimed for the head. They would have killed him.
That prick should be thanking me for saving his life.
