“Did she?” I tilt my head and stare at the fuck.No shit, asshole.
He matches the mood.
“We all agree that it’s a serious offense,” Loki states, hands raised as though to calm things. “I think what we want to hear, Fang, is how you think she should be punished for that.”
“I think the reason she took it goes some way to negating that punishment, don’t you?”
“Which is?” Jinx presses.
“She pressed her old man for the truth, and it’s a fucking good thing she did; otherwise we would have invited a man who had no intention of wrecking the Devil’s Breed to come here, toourhouse, and likely given him insider information that would have fucked us if he’d taken it back to Acid.”
I know I throw Chaos under the bus by saying what I did—questioning his judgment—but it’s the truth. And it could very well be Jenna’s life I’m fighting for here.
There are no cards left unplayed.
“She’s also got murder, deceit, and the targets those two things put on her back working against her,” Highway mumbles with a one-sided shrug.
“Show of hands,” I say. “Who’s concerned the murder will make the Blood Eagles an issue for us?”
Five out of seven hands go up.Fuck it.
“Again,” I snap. “Show of hands. Who still thinks she could be working for the Devil’s Breed?”
Only one rises. Jinx.
I lean my chair on its back legs and fold my arms. “Why?”
He assesses the rest of the table as though questioning why he was the only one who voted yes. “She’s made herself real at home here. Are you all buying her victim story?”
Highway shakes his head. “Dude. You got to get your face out of Kayla’s snatch and fucking pay more attention around here. She’s never played the victim, just always been in the losing position, is all.”
A couple of the guys laugh at his jest.
“Her father had her bound and gagged in a fucking closet when we got there,” Loki states. “I don’t think that was a lie.”
Jinx shrugs. “Could have been a front. Maybe they staged it.”
“For what benefit to her?” I challenge.
“Our sympathy.” He stares me dead in the eye.
I know the guy is doing his job and putting the club’s best interests first, but fuck me.
“She has a clean criminal record,” Chaos says, then explains. “It’s one of the first things the sheriff’s office checks when they want to learn about a displaced person. No rap sheet, no mention among the grapevines about her. Her mother’s details check out—the death registered as she says and a health history to match.” He raps his thumbs against the table. “The numbers don’t add up to someone who’s a narc.”
Darko nods, as though to affirm the facts he dug up.
“She attended high school, but no college,” Chaos continues. “Little footprint of her among other people’s socials or the school’s records for extracurricular activities, which would line up with her being kept off the radar by her mother.” He sets both hands on the edge of the desk and shrugs, telling Jinx, “I don’t believe she’s ever lied to us. Just withheld the truth, thinking it would keep her safe, same as any scared person not accustomed to how we do things would.”
“What doyouwant us to do with her?” Jinx asks, voicing the question burning on my mind.
“I think she stays under surveillance regardless. Her ignorance means she could inadvertently do something to attract the attention of the Devil’s Breed or the Blood Eagles. Even Marty. So I want her babysat through how to keep a minimal online footprint. To stay undetected. Acid’s sister may or may not have told the Breed what went down with Flinch—depends on how much of a risk it is to her to reveal that association. But we can’t count on her fear to keep her complicit; we need to act as if theydoknow. Which means they’ll eventually put two and two together and figure Jenna’s an asset to us now.” He draws a breath. “Make no mistake. Shit’s about to go down between them and us. And in the grand scheme of things, I don’t think Jenna will be a concern. She’s merely a dry piece of kindling on an already raging fire.”
A grumble of agreement circles the table.
He has a point, and everyone knows it—even Jinx.
Chaos turns his head toward me. “She’s your responsibility, Fang. Your problem. Yours to be held accountable for. If she fucks up, it’s on you. Does that sit with you?”
