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She looked away but her cheeks flushed pink. “Take your time.”
“Soon,” I said. And meant it.
And then I left, taking the big ass art book with me.
Hatchet was right where I expected to find him, sitting outside while the sun sank behind the horizon, a book open beside him and a cigarette pinched between his lips. “Knox.”
“Hey,” I said breathlessly before I placed the book in front of him on the table.
He looked at the cover before flicking a gaze back up to me with his brows raised. “Not much into art, son.”
I laughed. “Open it, you might like this.”
His knotty knuckles creaked as he grabbed the front cover and flipped it open. His eyes grew wider as he flipped through the ledger pages and the photos. He picked up the flash drive and let out a low whistle. “What’s this?”
“Everything we need to take down Rex,” I said.
“Ivy gave you this?”
“She did,” I answered with a nod.
He shook his head slowly, still smiling. “She trusts you. That means you must’ve done something right.”
“I treat her right.” It was easy as fuck to treat her right. Ivy had a spark she was just finding. She was tough despite her soft top layer. She deserved at least that.
“Sometimes that’s all it takes,” he said. He flipped to another page, studied it, and looked up. “We need Switch to go through all of this first. Find out what it means and what we can use.”
“Agreed. I just wanted you to see it first.”
Hatchet nodded, taking a long, slow pull from his cigarette. “Good job with this. I know it wasn’t your goal, which only makes it more impressive.”
Earning my father’s approval meant the fucking world to me. I’d worked my whole damn life to earn it, but seeing the signs of age twisted me up inside. “Thanks.”
This…” he placed a hand over his President patch, “will be yours soon. I have no doubt.”
Heat mixed with pride in my chest and spread out until it settled into something heavier. The weight of responsibility. “When it happens,” I told him. “I’ll be ready.”
“Don’t I know it.” He grinned before lifting the cigarette back to his lips.
“I’m gonna get this to Switch,” I said, taking the book and heading back inside the clubhouse.
The door to his office was open as usual and I called in.
“Got somethin’ for ya.”
Switch looked up and his eyes widened at the sight of the book.
Before he could make a smart-ass comment, I flipped it open to reveal the contents inside. “This is what Ivy’s managed to gather on Rex over the years. Dig through it and do your thing.”
He took it, giddy like a kid who’d been given unfettered access to a birthday cake. “On it, brother.”
“Hey, do me a favor. There’s this clothes shop called Colibri. I don’t know shit about them but apparently, they’re a big deal. Ivy thinks it might be a connection to her mother.”
Switch nodded slowly. “What kind of connection?”
“Not sure, but something’s up and I’d like to ease her mind if I can.”
“Holy shit,” he sighed. “You like her. You actually like her.”
