CHAPTER TWELVE
ACID
“What time did he say he would be here?” Spider asks before taking a sip from his coffee. Lizzie had kindly shut her diner for 1 hour to let us have this meeting without any of the women being aware of what was going on. We still weren’t any closer to finding out what Eugene’s plans were. It had been few weeks now, and I know the not knowing was making Ghost twitchy.
“Jared said he would get here for midday, or as close as he could to that time,” Cash answers.
I know trusting a cop or a Fed of any kind makes Ghost nervous. Hell, it makes us all nervous, but Jared is a decent guy. He saw right from wrong, and he knew that things like our world wasn’t always black and white. Our world way grey. Hell, everything was grey. We kill, we torture, but for good. We would never hurt an innocent, and we would never hurt a woman or child. So as much as our way of doing things would be considered as law breakers to the normal civilian, to the normal cop, Jared knew to stay out of our world as much as possible, and he knew that justice, no matter in what form, would be delivered.
“What makes you think Jared will have any information on Eugene that we don’t already have?” Beast asks.
Cash sighs. “We discussed this at church the other day. He has eyes on all of them. They watch them to make sure no wars break out. That’s when they would have to get involved, when an innocent is killed, or when a cop is killed. Only then will the Feds get involved.”
“Why not arrest them straight away? Why sit on it?” Hawk asks.
“Because the government makes money for every overdosing crack-head and for all the dirty investments. They need the money. Hell, most of the guys like Eugene give them donations in return for a quiet life. Guys like Eugene can end their career or life within a click of their fingers,” Cash informs us.
A bad feeling swirls in my gut. I look at Spider who is staring intently down at his mug of coffee.
“If it comes to it, I will meet with Eugene. I will hand myself over to him,” Spider declares.
I sit up straight. “Like fuck you will,” I growl.
His eyes snap to mine. “I will. I brought this trouble to the club. I will not drag you all in on this fucking mess. If Eugene wants blood, he can have mine, a life for a life. I won’t be the one responsible for putting your women, kids, or Nova’s life at risk,” he affirms.
“It won’t come to that. We will find a way,” I say through gritted teeth. Like fuck will I let him sacrifice himself like that.
“It doesn’t work like that. If he wants blood, then we will fucking fight him alongside you. We will keep everyone safe, and we will make sure that it doesn’t spill over to them. No one is alone in this club. No. Fucking. One,” Ghost growls in a low threatening warning.
The door to the diner opens and in walks Jared, looking like the typical Fed in a sharp suit and sunglasses, his face vacant of any expression. He pulls out a chair on the opposite side of Ghost and holds his hand out in greeting. He shakes Ghost’s hand before taking his seat. He removes his sunglasses and nods his head in greeting to the rest of us before lifting the right side of his suit jacket and reaching inside it.
Rage jumps from his chair, pulling a gun swiftly from his holster and aims it at Jared’s head. “One more move and I will blow your mother fucking brains out,” Rage growls.
Ghost rolls his eyes and sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Rage, sit your ass down. He is pulling out a file on Eugene.”
Rage doesn’t let up as Jared slowly pulls out the file, holding it up in clear view while holding his other palm up in surrender. Rage gives a brief nod and places his gun back in his holster.
“Your man’s a little jumpy, isn’t he?” Jared states as he opens the file.
“Rage is loyal, and he trusts little to no one outside of our club. We haven’t had many trustworthy alliances, so you’ll have to forgive him for not trusting you—a cop—straight away,” Ghost says, his voice cold, sharp, and to the point.
Jared doesn’t flinch or seem phased by it as he takes out a piece of paper and hands it to Ghost. “Well, this isn’t the first time I’ve helped your club, or a club like yours,” he counters. “However, here is the last known whereabouts of Eugene,” he says, point to the address on the paper. “Here are the men he has, the ones that have stayed loyal to him. There aren’t many, only three. Those men will lay down their life in a heartbeat for Eugene. They are trained and they are fucking dangerous,” he informs us as he pulls something else out, a photograph this time. “This is his wife. Do not be fooled by her good looks. I’ve seen what she can do with a blade. She is loyal to her husband and will stand by him, no matter what,” he says, pointing to the picture of a good looking woman with long black hair and bright green eyes.
“Jesus, she could fuck me to death any day of the week,” Scar snorts, looking at the picture.
“And finally, you have his daughter. She is the only surviving heir to his empire, now that his son is dead.” He points to a black and white photo of a young woman. It’s a bit blurred and we are unable to make out her features. “We don’t know much about her. She is quiet, keeps herself to herself. I’m pretty sure she knows what her father is and what he does. She just doesn’t ever seem to be involved in any way,” Jared finishes. He pauses as he places down one last sheet of paper. “This is a list of all the people Eugene has dealt with, and all of them are dead.” He pauses and sighs. “He wasn’t close with his son, as you well know, but his son would have been expected to take over his father’s crown as it were, when he dies. Now he has no heir.”
“He’s got his daughter,” Hawk points out.
Jared shakes his head. “He sees her as weak, and the mother despises her. There is more to that than what I know, but I’d be surprised if that ever came about.”
“What do you think Eugene’s next move will be?” Ghost asks.
“He will ask for a meet, or he will create an accidental meeting. He will size you up, get a feel for you and your club, and decide if he can use you to his advantage, or if he would be better off killing you,” Jared warns. “He will expect a sacrifice though. If he thinks you and your club are of use, he will except a token, someone to compensate the loss of his son,” Jared adds. His phone beeps and he looks down at it before standing. “Look, I’ve got to go.” He stands and pushes his chair back under the table. “My advice to you is think smart and always play him one step ahead of the game. If that don’t work, I’d patch in someone you hate for when he wants to cash in that life he is owed.” He places his sunglasses on, gives Ghost a brief nod, then leaves.
“We are going to have to warn the women,” Cash states.
“No!” Ghost snaps.
“We will watch them and keep an eye on them, but to them we keep it normal. Until we know what Eugene is planning. We keep our eyes open and wait for Eugene to make his first move, then we will carefully make ours,” Ghost orders.
We all nod, knowing that for a while, we will all have to live looking over our shoulders.
The next day, the women are acting weird, like they are on edge. I’m not the only one that noticed it. Ghost, Cash, and Hawk have all been watching them, wondering what the hell is going on.
“Okay, so Oliver needs to be in bed by 10 at the latest. I’m trying to get him into more of a routine before he starts school next week,” Rhea explains to me. Her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes keep flickering behind me to look at Star.
“Sure, what’s going on?” I press.
Her deep chocolate eyes land on mine. She smiles and shakes her head. “Nothing, nothing at all,” she rushes out, like she is breathless.
I frown as I look around to Star having a similar conversation with Ghost. I raise a brow. “You sure about that?”
She nibbles on her bottom lip. “Uh-huh,” she mumbles.
“Rhea,” I say, a note of warning in my tone.
Without warning, she lunges for me, slamming her mouth down on mine. I hold my arms out straight, my body stiffening as I wonder what the fuck is going in on. That soon changes with the feel of her soft lips on mine, as if my body moves of its own accord. My hand cups her face, while the other threads through her thick brown hair, gripping it tight. My tongue pushes against her lips, making them part. I caress her tongue with mine, resulting in her letting out a small whimper. She doesn’t pull back, nor does she stop it. She kisses me back, her fists gripping my T-shirt.
A throat clearing has her abruptly stopping the kiss.
She looks at me, her eyes wide and her lips swollen. She swallows anxiously, her eyes wide. “Shit,” she breathes. “Got to go, bye,” she quickly says before jumping up and grabbing Star’s hand in hers. All the ol’ ladies practically run out the door.
“What the fuck was that?” Hawk asks, frowning.
I shake my head. “I have no fucking clue.” Not once had Rhea or I ever crossed that friendship line. That kiss. It felt good, too fucking good.
“Bambi, Happ!” Ghost barks. Both prospects appear by his side, waiting for their orders. “Follow them,” he orders.
“But we will already be there for them later tonight,” Bambi explains.
Ghost turns his gaze slowly to him, a look of pure anger and death directed at Bambi. “I don’t give a fuck. I am giving you the order now. You do what I say, what you are ordered to do. Now go follow them, stay out of sight, and trail them. Want a report every hour. Send me a text with a photo of them. Do I make myself fucking clear?” Ghost growls. Bambi and Happ nod. “Good.” Ghost nods. “Now fuck off,” he seethes. They both turn to leave, but before they could walk through the door, Ghost stops them. “Bambi, you ever question my order again, you will be stripped from this club,” Ghost threatens. Bambi’s eyes are wide as he nods and leaves.
As much as Bambi is a fuck up, all he has is this club. Without it he would be back on the streets, fighting to survive. However, he must learn. He needs to earn the respect of the club, but more importantly, he needs to earn the respect of Ghost.
“You really think they’re up to something?” Beast asks.
“Without a fucking doubt. I know my woman, and I know when she is lying. Plus, I spoke with Rip earlier, who confirmed that they are not attending the Gala tonight. Rose was supposed to cover for them, but Rip soon got her talking.” Ghost smirks.
I spin around and look at him. “Jesus, you’re fucking kidding me?”
Ghost shakes his head. “Nope,” he says as he walks to the couch opposite me and takes a seat.
“So, when do we go after them?” I ask, now knowing why Rhea had kissed me as a distraction. Although by her whimper, she wasn’t expecting me to kiss her back like that.
“We aren’t,” Ghost states.
Beast stands. “I ain’t about to let my woman, my pregnant woman, go somewhere I don’t know if she’s going to be safe.”
“Sit your ass down. Why do you think I sent the prospects after them?” Ghost sighs. “They will ring as soon as they know where they are. If there is any trouble, we go to them. If there isn’t, I say we wait. Wait for them to come back and play this to our advantage.” Ghost smiles.
That had the brothers’ attention. Rage walks in after saying goodbye to Dixie and takes a seat. “Why have you got the prospects following them?” he asks.
“Because they lied. They aren’t going to the Gala,” Hawk informs him.
Rage looks to all of us, his face void of expression. “I know, they’ve gone out,” he says with a shrug.
That has our attention. “You mean to say you know where they’ve gone?” Cash asks.
Rage nods. “Yeah, Dixie told me that it was a girls’ only night. That’s why I couldn’t go or follow them, because it would break the rule of it being a girls’ only night,” he states firmly. “So, I gave her a handgun, taser, switch blade, and some mace,” he says, shrugging.
“Well, I guess that eases your worries about them being in any trouble tonight.” I cough back a laugh.
“If anyone even attempts to threaten her, or any of the others and Star finds out that Dixie has all that on her, there will be fucking trouble, and it will be Star fucking causing it,” Ghost states, amusement in his eyes.