I guess we will find out.
I only hope Ridge doesn’t think I’ve lost it when he comes home to see what a mess I’ve made.
Ridge
“Thanks for the help, brother. We appreciate you getting us up here safely,” Hudson, one of the leaders for the Devil’s Den, says as he shakes my hand.
Being the senior brother on this trip, I am in charge. So far, everything has gone well. I still have that feeling in my gut, though, so I won’t let my guard down until I’m back home.
“Anytime. It was a pleasure riding with you. Catch you later,” I tell him.
He nods as he heads off toward his guys. I do the same.
“Good job. You all did well,” I tell them.
I can see the way Jimmy takes the compliment and puffs his chest out a bit.
“It’s not over yet, though. We still have a few hours’ drive home. Be vigilant. We might not be carrying anything illegal, but you never know what is waiting out there for us,” I tell them.
“Understood,” Wolf says. “I’ll take the back this time. Yak, you ride with the prospect.”
I hide my smile. I know Wolf has some words for the prospect when we get home. He has made some minor mistakes, like falling out of formation and such. Nothing that cannot be taught, though, so I will let Wolf handle the corrections.
We get back on the road, heading home. About an hour into the drive, the hair on the back of my neck stands up. I look in my mirror and see two dark SUVs speeding our way. I don’t speed up. I don’t change anything we are doing. When the lights turn on, I indicate for my brothers to pull over.
I take off my helmet while the others keep theirs on. The man from the SUV approaches.
“Do you know why I am pulling you over?” he asks, full of attitude.
He’s an undercover cop. He isn’t wearing a badge or anything indicating he is police.
“I’m sorry, but who are you? I don’t see a badge or anything telling me who you are,” I tell him.
“You don’t need to know who I am.” His words are hard and cold.
“I’m sorry, but without identification, how am I supposed to know you are even a police officer? Maybe you bought those lights online and are playing cop,” I say casually.
Another man walks up then from the second SUV. “Stand down, Lee.”
The man in front of me looks put out, but steps back and lets the new man take his spot.
“Hello there. I’m Detective Hampton from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office Gang Division. I wanted to have a little chat with you and your brothers here. How about you follow us down to the station?”
I frown. “You are a bit outside of your jurisdiction, aren’t you? We won’t be in Boulder County for another twenty minutes.”
“We have permission to be here. So will you be following us?” he asks.
“Are we under arrest? If so, I will need to call our lawyer. We don’t speak to cops unless one is present,” I inform him.
“Really? Yet you have one in your midst. Hello, Asher. Nice to see you again. Settling into your assignment well?”
My back steels. He is trying to paint a target on Asher, but he doesn’t know him like we do. There is no way in hell he is playing both sides. Not with the way he loves Aspen.
“Larry, great to see you too,” Wolf replies as he takes off his helmet. “I really am liking this side of the law much better. A lot less red tape. We really can help people here instead of watching them suffer, all for the good of the many. Nice try, though. I wouldn’t work with you if it was the only thing to keep me alive.” He snorts.
“Oh, but what if it kept Aspen alive? Or perhaps your sister, Ashley?”
Wolf looks like he is about to get off his bike when Yak speaks up, flipping up his visor, “You could never touch them. See, the difference between us and you is that we actually protect the people we care about, while you exploit them. I wonder what your daughter would say about you threatening innocent women. She is a humanitarian, is she not?”
