Slate asks from across the room, “How did Coal’s broke ass club afford that?”
I already know before he says it. “It was Stripe, right?”
“Yeah, of course it was,” he replies. “Stripe is the old brother with the white streak who’s so fuckin’ creepy he can’t manage to get laid even by club girls. The man who has had his eye on your old lady since she was a little girl.”
Before I even think about what I’m doing, my fist flies out and slams into his mouth.
Jasper gives me a rough push, “Don’t shoot the fuckin’ messenger just because you don’t like the message, Jinx.”
Our club prez is not wrong about that. I shoot him a sorry but not sorry look before stepping back.
“Continue, asshole,” Jasper says.
“Stripe has been a good little earner in his club for a lot of years. He doesn’t have a house or anything of value. He’s been saving all this time for one thing. He paid for Coal’s buy-in, in exchange for having their pretty little club princess all to himself.” He shifts in the chair, easing the bad leg. “If Coal can’t provide the girl, then he’s gonna need to give Stripe backhis money. He doesn’t make this right with his road captain, no brother’s gonna trust him.”
I murmur, “Coal would have a mutiny on his hands.”
Slate snorts a laugh. “So, Coal didn’t promise his daughter to a loyal brother. The filthy fucker sold her to cover a debt.”
“And instead of giving herself to Stripe, she rode off on the back of my bike.”
“Coal has been obsessed with takin’ down the Sons for as long as anyone can remember and you just keep giving him more incentives to grind your club into dust. What with stealing the woman he traded to get access to our organization and torching a quarter million in product the other night, I don’t see him makin’ a deal anytime soon.”
Slate says one word from the wall. “Truth.”
Jasper asks, “So Coal has to get the girl back and tear down our club just to keep his own men from turning against him. Is that what I’m hearing you say?”
“Yeah, and even after you burned down his warehouse, he’s still got enough brothers, bikes, and weapons to make a run at your compound.
When the interrogation is over, I go back to check on Nora. I tell her what we discovered only because she needs to know what her father is capable of. And we’ve both learned the costs of keeping secrets from one another. I want to build a family and life with her based on truth, respect and trust.
She sets her book aside. “I’m not surprised my father did something like this, I’ve always known he would throw my brothers under the bus to get what he wanted. I’m a woman, and worth less in his eyes, so it makes sense.” She smooths her hand over her flat stomach.
“Nora, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault that I was born into an MC where people are money. The thing my father is about to learn is that I refuse to be sold. It’s going to be a rude awakening for him.”
“We’re gonna keep you safe, sweetness. I promise you that.”
“Are you sure I’m worth the fight? My father’s coming, and he has always had a way of getting what he wants in the end.”
“Of course you’re worth it,” I tell her. “Our kid is worth it too. Let your father come. We’ll have the home court advantage.” I bring her hand to my lips and drop little kisses on each knuckle. “I’ve got a trick or two up my sleeve.”
“I still worry for you,” she says quietly. “Don’t turn your back on my father or my brothers, Jinx. They play for keeps.”
Chapter 14
Nora
The horn wakes me in the middle of the night. I hear two long blasts, the signal for danger incoming. I bolt out of bed even though I’m supposed to take it easy, because it’s an emergency. Emergencies mean all hands on deck. Still, I can feel a twinge of pain in my midsection. Jinx is already gone, probably working with the other club officers to maintain security.
I go to look out the window and see an explosion on the other side of the left wall. I don’t know what it is, but dark smoke is billowing high. I don’t know how this happened, but the brothers are moving into place on the roofline and around the compound, like they planned. A chill creeps up my spine to see the gate standing wide open when it should be closed. Both of the chains that were wrapped around the bars are swinging free as bikes swarm around the compound.
They’ve come to get me and force me back home which is the last place I want to be. This breach is my father’s doing. I grew up watching him use fire to destroy but also as a distraction. While all the brothers are running towards the fire and trying to keep the ghost bikes we can hear but not see from entering the property, I’m all alone and I’m vulnerable. And somewhere in the dark my father is watching and waiting for the perfect moment to grab me.
I open the window to shout a warning, but I suddenly hear Jinx yell, “Close the gate!”
He’s standing in the middle of the front parking lot with a gun in his hand and his back to the clubhouse. He’s standing between me and danger, just like he said he would. He’s realized the same thing I just did and he’s doing everything within his power to deny my father his moment.
