“Hawk—” I began, ready to argue my point further, but he shot me a look that told me I could walk or be carried.
Clenching my jaw, I pulled my hand free of his and walked into the clubhouse behind Jenkins. I followed him up to Bash’s office, while Hawk went to get the MC’s president. Closing the door behind us, I turned to my boss. “What’s this about?”
“I don’t want to have to tell it twice, Gracie. Let’s wait for the other two, okay?”
My brows lifted toward the ceiling. Jenkins never hesitated to tell me anything. He knew I would need to know eventually anyway, so there was no use in keeping it from me. But now that we were alone, I saw just how stressed my boss was. His face was drawn and pale, his eyes full of exhaustion. He wasn’t just the MC’s lawyer, but also a private investigator when needed. When he retired, I was really going to have my work cut out for me where they were concerned.
The office door opened, and Hawk and Bash entered a minute later. On a good day, Bash looked intimidating and scary. Today, after having just lost his cousin and MC brother, after having his kids screaming because they were frightened, Bash Reid looked absolutely terrifying. His electric-blue eyes were full of dark energy that could have easily lit up the entire building.
Hawk closed and leaned back against the door while Bash crossed to his desk and leaned back against the front of it. “What’s going on, Jenks?”
“A few things, actually.” Jenkins motioned for me to sit down, and begrudgingly, I sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. “One, Bubbles was spotted outside Creswell Springs last night.”
“Fucking cunt,” Bash snarled. “Where is she? I want her brought to me, right the fuck now.”
The old lawyer lifted his hands, urging Bash to calm down. “I know your reasons for wanting to get your hands on her. Just shut up now, so I don’t know what you plan to do with her. I can’t defend you if I know your part in it.”
“Where is she, Jenks?” Bash roared.
But the old man didn’t even flinch, too used to the mood swings of his best clients. “Last night, she was at the motel just off the interstate. But when I went to follow up on the lead I’d been given, she had already bailed again.”
“That fucking bitch could be working with Santino,” Hawk growled, shifting with agitation. Heck, even I wanted to take a few swings at Bubbles. She had nearly made Raven miscarry Max, dang it. “She didn’t have any qualms about teaming up with Samson to burn down my bar and hurt Raven. Those goddamn Italians have a bigger bank account. The greedy cunt wouldn’t think twice about getting involved in their vendetta against us.”
“That’s one possibility,” Jenkins said with a nod. “But I have another theory. One substantiated by something else that has come to my attention this morning.”
“Spill it, old man,” Bash commanded.
“How well do you know Kelli Murdock?”
That had us all blinking at him in confusion. I didn’t know much about Colt’s girlfriend other than she worked at Paradise City and was Quinn’s roommate. The other woman tended to keep to herself, but I’d liked what I did know about her. While she was closed off, she didn’t seem fake to me.
“What does she have to do with any of this?” I asked, because I seriously couldn’t fit her into any of the crap that had taken place today.
“I recently did a background check on her. Don’t ask me why, I can’t really explain it to myself, let alone you. But I saw her going into the DA’s office last week, and something just didn’t feel right. When I got the report back on her, I realized my instincts are still pretty spot-on. She’s the daughter of one of Senator Samson’s mistresses.”
“Are you telling me that Samson had a hand in the bombing?” Bash questioned, his voice deceptively soft, which had all the fine hairs on my body standing on end. Bash shouting was scary, but when he got quiet like this, even Raven took notice. Hawk took a few cautious steps in my direction, putting himself between his brother-in-law and me.
“No, boy. I’m fairly sure that was solely a hit from the Italians, as you’ve said. What I’m saying is, Bubbles worked with the son, so why not the father? When I asked around this morning, I was told Bubbles only had one visitor.”
“Kelli,” I guessed, my stomach churning all over again.
“Kelli,” Jenkins confirmed.
Bash’s gaze shot to Hawk. “Is she here?”
“I haven’t seen her, but I wasn’t exactly looking.” He tilted his head back, glaring at the ceiling as he gritted his teeth for a moment. “Fuck!”
“Just pause for a minute,” I urged Hawk, getting to my feet and crossing to him. I touched both hands to his crossed arms, effortlessly pulling his gaze down to me. “We don’t know what’s going on here. Kelli has worked for Paradise City since before the bar was burned down. She was assaulted by Kevin Samson while at work one night, remember? Just because she’s the daughter of the senator’s mistress doesn’t mean she’s involved with anything.”
“She’s right,” Bash surprised me by saying. “We don’t know shit about this girl, and until we do know one way or the other about her motives, we aren’t going to do anything to her. But I want her watched. I want someone’s eyes on her at all times. She doesn’t leave our sight.”
“What the hell do I tell my little brother?” Hawk demanded. “She’s sleeping in his bed every damn night. If she’s working against us, that means she’s working against him.”
“Who the fuck do you think I want to keep an eye on her?” Bash twisted his neck, popping it and making me shudder at the sound. “Get him up here. I want to know everything he’s found out about her.”
Hawk muttered something under his breath but nodded. Pressing a kiss to the middle of my forehead, he opened the door and stomped down the stairs. “Anyone seen Colt?”
I shut the door to the sound of people telling him to look out back, and I turned to face the other two men. “I’d like to read the background report you have on her, Jenkins.”
“It’s at my office. I’ll give it to you when you come into work in the morning.” His gaze went to Bash. “Want to hear the rest of my theory, boy?”
Bash clenched his jaw but gave a single nod, silently telling him to go on.
“Samson tried to get the ATF in here after you boys. But that backfired, and the Feds told the senator to go home and stop making a stink. My theory is that maybe Samson found out just how big a hard-on Michaels and Campbell have for you, and he wanted to cash in on that. Maybe he’s got this girl spying on the MC through Colt, and she’s reporting everything she sees back to the mayor and the DA.”
“Colt is too smart to let anything club-related slip past his lips.”
“But she’s now staying here in the clubhouse. You and your boys are vulnerable right now, Bash. Some of those hotheads down there aren’t exactly as close-lipped as you and he are. She could find out all kinds of juicy information she could take back to Michaels. All they need is confirmation of one incident to invoke RICO and charge every last one of you.”
“Fuck,” Bash groaned and popped his neck again.
“I’m just saying that maybe you want to do more than just keep an eye on her, son.”
“Noted,” the big man growled. “Now, is there anything else you need to tell me?” Jenkins shook his head. “Then I need you two to get the fuck out. As you said before, Jenks, you can’t defend me if you know what part I have in something.”
Chapter Eight
MATT
WITH A GROAN, I REACHED for my girl, only to find the bed empty. I opened my eyes, scanning the spot where she had fallen asleep beside me and then across the room to find Rory standing at the door, her head stuck out into the hall. She was fully dressed again, but her hair was tousled, the only visible proof of the fucking she had gotten earlier.
“Bash needs to talk to Matt. Could you wake him for me?” Raven’s voice sounded strained to my ears, but after the events of the day, it was little wonder. My brother might
have gotten on her nerves on a daily basis, but she’d loved him.
“Are you sure that’s best right now? He’s not himself yet.”
“It’s okay,” I called over to her, and Rory’s head snapped around. Concern darkened her eyes, and I could see the protest that was about to spill from her lips. “I need to be doing something. Just lying around would only drive me crazy, and you’d end up smothering me with a pillow,” I tried to tease her.
Raven nudged the door open a little farther until she could see into my room. “Hey, I’m glad you’re calmer now. And I really do hate bothering you, but the brothers are getting riled up, and Bash said he needed to talk to you.”
“It’s fine, Rave. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll head out.”
Rory grimaced, but she turned her gaze on Raven. “What can I do?”
“How good are you in the kitchen?” Which had me forcing back a laugh. My girl in the kitchen? Cooking? Was Raven trying to burn the clubhouse down?
“My talents with a stove extend to boiling water, but I can make sandwiches like a champ,” she assured the older woman with a smirk.
Raven nearly smiled. “You’re just what I need, then. Half the ol’ ladies are still too upset to be of any help, and these people need to be fed soon. Come into the kitchen when he’s ready to go up to see Bash. I’ll have plenty for you to do if you’re willing to help.”
“I’ll be out soon, then,” she promised.
When Raven was gone, Rory shut and locked the door before coming back to the bed. She sank down onto the edge and, leaning over, kissed me. “Are you sure you’re up to going out there? Not two hours ago you were tearing this place apart.”
I tipped her chin up so I could kiss her again, fighting the madness that was trying to consume my brain again. “I’m sure, girl. Having you here with me has helped. Knowing that you’re not going anywhere will keep me sane enough to deal with club business.”
I couldn’t let losing Tanner put the rest of my life on hold. I had responsibilities, people who relied on me to do my share. But mostly, I wanted to find every last Santino family member and exact justice for my brother. I couldn’t do that locked in this room with Rory.
“Please be careful, Matt. I-I just got you back, dammit. I don’t want to lose you again. I can’t.”
I pulled her head down onto my chest and buried my face in her sweet-smelling hair. My body came awake from having her in my arms, but I reined in my reaction, wanting to savor just holding her. “I’m not going anywhere—ever—without you,” I breathed close to her ear. “You’re mine, Rory, and I’m not letting anyone take you from me ever again. Or me from you.”
I held her for a few more minutes, gave her one last deep kiss that left us both wanting more, and then forced myself to climb out of bed. She stretched out on the bed, watching me while I pulled on a shirt and grabbed my keys and wallet.
“Do you have money?” She’d told me she’d left all the stuff attached to her father’s name behind, which meant her credit cards too.
She narrowed her eyes on me. “I’m not taking your money.”
“It’s our money, Rory. You’re mine, and that means I take care of you.” I pulled out all the cash I had, which was close to two hundred dollars, but she was already shaking her head, glaring up at me. “Take it, so I know if you need or want something, you can get it.”
“I’m going to find a job, so I don’t need this money,” she argued, which only pissed me off.
“You’re not getting a damn job. You’re going to finish school, and I don’t want you to have to work yourself to death with your course load and work too.”
“Matt, stop, okay? I can’t afford school right now, and honestly, I hate the classes I’m in.” She stood, the look on her face so stubborn it made me want to spank her beautiful ass.
“I can afford it, Rory. You know I fucking can. And what’s mine is yours.”
She let out a frustrated breath and shook her head. “Look, the past three years, I’ve been doing nothing but complying with what my father wanted from me, all because I thought I had to in order to keep you out of prison. Ever since I came back and you told me jail wasn’t a possibility, all I’ve been thinking about is those damn classes I’ve taken over the years to make him happy. My entire college experience has been to please him, not myself. I don’t even know what classes I would actually want to take, but the ones I’m in right now aren’t among them.”
When I looked at it from that point of view, I had to agree with her. I wanted her to be happy, wanted her to have a life she wouldn’t look back on and regret ten, twenty, even fifty years down the road. I didn’t want to stand in her way, but at the same time, I wanted to make sure she made the right choices for herself. “What’s the plan, then?”
She put her hand to the middle of my chest and gave me the barest hint of a smile. “The plan is to love you forever and take life one day at a time, because as long as I have you, everything else can go to hell for all I care.”
***
I walked Rory to the kitchen before heading up to see what Bash wanted. I hoped he had something for me to do because even with Rory around, I was going fucking crazy thinking about what had happened to Tanner. I owed it to my brother to kill the bastards who had cut his life far too short.
As I turned away from the kitchen door, Jenkins was coming toward me. “Sorry for your loss, boy.”
I grimaced and nodded, unable to do more as my throat tightened.
The lawyer cleared his throat. “I heard Aurora Michaels is here. You mind if I talk to her?”
I stiffened, the lump in my throat dissolving instantly. “If you’re going to try to talk her into going back to her father’s house, you can go fuck yourself. She’s not going anywhere.”
“That’s not what I need to speak to her about. I just want to ask her to come down to my office in the next few days. Her twenty-first birthday is next week, and her mother charged me with handling the contents of her will. Aurora gets her inheritance when she turns twenty-one.”
“Fine. Ask her what day suits her best, and I’ll bring her in to see you. Anything else?” He shook his graying head, and I stepped around him. “Then we’re done here.”
Upstairs, there were two brothers outside my cousin’s closed office door. Brody, a skinny guy with his blond hair pulled back into a low ponytail, stepped forward and gave me a bear hug. “You need anything, you just say the word, brother. You hear me?”
I clenched my jaw and nodded. “Yeah, B. I hear you.”
He stepped back and opened Bash’s door. As I entered the office, I wasn’t surprised to see all four Hannigan brothers and Spider. The tension in the room didn’t even surprise me. We were all hyped up after the explosion.
What surprised me was the way Spider was holding on to Colt’s shoulders, as if to hold him back from something.
“Colt decide to kill Raider after all for knocking up Quinn?” I was only half joking. It wouldn’t have surprised me if Colt actually had changed his mind. Even I knew that Quinn was special to the youngest Hannigan brother, and we were all watching and waiting for Raider to fuck up.
The door was shut behind me, and Bash motioned me forward. “I don’t want this getting back to anyone else, so whatever is said in this room stays here. Understand?”
I stood a little taller, my fingers automatically cracking the knuckles on my uninjured hand. I’d tossed the cast, but my hand was still aching after the beating I’d given the walls down in my room earlier. “What the fuck’s going on?”
“We don’t know one hundred percent, but it has been brought to my attention that we could possibly have someone feeding the mayor and DA information.”
“Not Rory,” I growled, ready to take on any and every single one of my MC brothers in that room if that was what it took. My girl was loyal, the years away from each other only attesting to that even more. “She would never do shit like that. And she wouldn’t have anything to take back to her father any
way. Club business stays club business. I don’t talk. Ever.”
“We don’t think it’s Rory,” Hawk assured me, his eyes going to Colt. “Kelli is who we suspect.”
Colt jerked against Spider’s hold, but not even his strength could budge the enforcer. “You don’t fucking know that. She would never betray me.”
“Like she wouldn’t let Quinn start dancing at Paradise City while we were gone?” Raider taunted, his eyes shooting flames at his little brother. “You don’t even really know that bitch. She could be fucking the mayor behind your back for all you know. She could be fucking that damn senator just like her whore mother.”
“Shut your fucking mouth!” Colt roared, making the windows actually shake. “Don’t you fucking ever talk about her like that again.”
“Chill out, Colt,” Jet commanded, his voice booming, and got between his two youngest brothers, despite Spider still not having released his hold of Colt. “Raider is right. You don’t really know Kelli. Did she tell you that her mother used to fuck the douchebag who brought in the motherfucking ATF on us? Hell no, she didn’t. Did she tell you she had seen Bubbles, or let you know where we could find that skank? No. She’s kept secrets, major ones. What the hell else has she not told you?”
“I don’t know, goddammit. Okay? I don’t know.”
“Then we need to find out,” Bash growled at him. “And you need to keep your damn head before you fuck it all up and she goes running to Michaels with something that could put us all away. You, more than anyone, know he’s about to nut off in his expensive suit when he gets his hands on us once and for all.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Colt muttered. “You won’t have to worry about Kelli anymore.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Raider demanded.
“It means I’ll motherfucking deal with her, brother.”
“How?” Jet snapped.
“My way, and that’s all you need to know.”
“You know she’s going to have to be taken care of if you do find out she’s been leaking shit back to them, right?” Hawk bit out.