Chapter Seventeen
Logan
The clubhouse buzzed with tension as I surveyed the room. For once, all of us Swift Angels were off duty, an unprecedented occurrence that only heightened the gravity of the situation. The Dixie Reapers, led by Savior, filled the remaining space. The air felt thick, laden with unspoken questions and simmering anxiety.
“All right, let’s get down to business.” Justin’s voice cut through the murmur, his gaze scanning the faces around him. I couldn’t help but notice the slight tremor in his hands as he gripped the edge of the table. Our president rarely showed signs of stress, but this was far from a normal day.
Wire stepped forward, his weathered face grim. “Since we discovered Tinker is still alive, I’ve been working round the clock. I don’t know why he’s laid low all these years only to pop up now. But despite all the unanswered questions, I’ve got some new intel. He’s been operating under an alias -- John Parker.”
The room fell silent, and I felt my heart rate quicken. This was the break we’d been waiting for, but something in Wire’s expression told me there was more to come.
Wire’s eyes locked onto Justin, and I saw our president stiffen.
“There’s more,” Wire continued, his voice lowering. “John Parker… he’s your father, Justin.”
The words hit like a physical blow. Justin stumbled back a step, his face draining of color. I fought the urge to rush to his side, knowing he’d want to maintain his composure in front of both clubs.
“That’s impossible,” Justin whispered, but I could see the doubt creeping into his eyes.
Wire shook his head. “Your mother ran while she was pregnant with you. Raised you on her own until she married William Lackland. He adopted you, became your dad in every way that matters. But I’m going to take a guess and say you knew at least that much already.”
Justin nodded. “Yeah, it came up when I tried to donate blood before he had an operation. I already knew I wasn’t the same blood type as Mom, which meant I should have been a match for him. I wasn’t.”
I watched Justin closely, noting his rapid breathing and the slight tremor in his hands.
“How…” Justin’s voice cracked, and he cleared his throat before continuing. “How can you be sure I’m his son?”
Wire pulled out a folder, sliding it across the table. “That’s the paper trail, but Tinker’s DNA is on file. The why isn’t important. But the fact it proves you’re his son is what matters.”
The room erupted into chaos, voices overlapping as everyone tried to speak at once. But all I could focus on was Justin, who stood frozen, staring at the folder as if it might bite him.
Wire held up a hand. “For the record, if you hadn’t sent in one of those DNA kits for that ancestry site, I wouldn’t have found the link. Not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing. Just something for everyone else to consider before doing something like that.”
I stepped closer, keeping my voice low and calm. “Justin, you okay? Need a minute?”
He blinked, seeming to come back to himself. “I’m fine,” he muttered, but I could see the turmoil in his eyes. This revelation had shaken him to his core. As the noise level in the room continued to rise, I couldn’t help but wonder… How would this change our approach to the Tinker situation? And more importantly, how would it affect Justin, our president, and my friend?
Wire’s voice cut through the din, silencing the room. “There’s more. I’ve found records of Tinker contacting Scarlet and that ex-con who approached Akira.”
My stomach clenched. Scarlet Matthews, our flaky dispatcher, and the ex-con she’d teamed up with. It was all connected. I’d thought it seemed odd for her to do all this on her own.
“He used them,” Wire continued, his eyes hard. “Pawns in his sick game. And when he was done…”
“Are they…” I couldn’t bring myself to finish the question. I’d known about Scarlet being burned and beaten, but last I’d heard she was still alive. Had something changed?
Wire shook his head. “Scarlet’s alive, barely. She’s in critical condition. The ex-con wasn’t so lucky. They found his body a few counties over.”
Justin’s head snapped up, his eyes blazing. “Why? Why would he come after me now? After all this time. I don’t understand. What does he want?”
I placed a hand on Justin’s shoulder, feeling the tension coiled beneath his skin. “We’ll figure it out, Pres,” I said softly.
Justin nodded. This wasn’t just about the club anymore. It was personal, and I knew Justin well enough to know he’d be wrestling with his strong sense of justice. Now he’d discovered the man causing chaos in our lives was his biological father.
“I need to know,” Justin said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I need to understand why he’d want to hurt me. I didn’t even know about him!”
The room fell silent. I watched my friend, the man I’d come to respect as our leader, grapple with a truth that threatened to unravel everything he thought he knew about himself. It had to hurt, being a police officer and knowing his father was a criminal, one who’d committed murder no less.
Savior’s voice cut through the tension. “I think I might have an idea about that, son. Tinker, he’s old-school Dixie Reapers. Back when the club was… well, let’s just say they didn’t exactly play nice with the law. He was gone before I’d even joined as a Prospect. But Venom and Torch knew him. Same for Bull and some of the others.”
I felt a chill run down my spine. The implications of Savior’s words hung heavy in the air. So Tinker was worse than Wraith, who wanted to gut the man for kidnapping his daughter? Jesus. What sort of monster were we up against?
“You think he’s pissed because I became a cop?” Justin asked, his voice tight.
Savior nodded slowly. “Not just that. You started a whole damn club of first responders. To a man like Tinker, that’s not just turning your back on him. It’s a betrayal of everything he stands for.”
I watched Justin’s face, saw the conflict warring in his eyes. “But I didn’t even know him. I’d never heard about him until now. How can you betray someone you’ve never met?”
“Doesn’t matter to someone like Tinker,” Savior replied. “In his mind, you’re his blood. You should’ve followed in his footsteps, not become everything he hates.”
The room fell silent as we all absorbed this. I couldn’t help but think about how different Justin’s life could have been if he’d grown up with Tinker instead of the man who raised him. Then again, Dawson had been raised by the Dixie Reapers and he was sitting at the table with us as a Swift Angel and not a Dixie Reaper.
Wire cleared his throat, breaking the heavy silence. “There’s more. I’m pretty sure Tinker is in town.”
My heart rate kicked up a notch. “You’ve found him?”
Wire shook his head. “Not exactly. I can’t pin down his location, but all signs point to him being close. Too close. He doesn’t know about me and my skills, not that I’m aware anyway. Which means he’s used his credit cards. I’ve been able to track him that way, but I don’t see any transactions for hotels, home rentals, or anything along those lines. No clue where he’s holed up.”
“What do you mean?” I pressed, a sense of unease growing in my gut.
Wire’s piercing gaze met mine. “I think he’s been here for a while, and he’s watching us. Both clubs. Biding his time, waiting for the right moment to strike again. He didn’t choose you and Akira as random targets. Which tells me he’s been taking notes for possibly months. Maybe even longer. He’s been right under our noses.”
The implications of Wire’s words hit me like a punch to the gut. I looked around the room, at the faces of my brothers and the Dixie Reapers. We were all potential targets now, and the enemy was lurking in the shadows, unseen but ever-present.
“We need a plan,” I said. “We can’t just sit around waiting for him to make his move. Do you think he might try to hit both clubs at the same time? If that’s his plan, then he must still have a lot of men working with him.”
Wire’s eyes narrowed. “That’s my theory. It’s a strategic move, hitting two birds with one stone. But we can’t know for certain until we find Tinker and get some answers out of him. Assuming we can make him talk.”
I felt a chill run down my spine at Wire’s words. As a paramedic, I was used to dealing with life-and-death situations, but this was different. This was personal, and the stakes were higher than ever. I didn’t think the Swift Angels were coming out of this one without getting our hands dirty. Would we be able to look at ourselves in the mirror once this was over and not be filled with self-loathing?
Suddenly, Wraith’s fist slammed down on the table, making everyone jump. His eyes blazed with a fury I’d never seen before. “I’ll make him talk.”
Savior cleared his throat. He looked directly at me and my Swift Angels brothers. “Listen up, boys. This isn’t going to be a clean fight. Tinker’s not playing by any rulebook we know.”
As first responders, we lived by a code, a set of ethics that guided our actions. But I could see in Savior’s eyes that those rules wouldn’t apply here. I’d been right to be concerned.
“Even if we manage to get him locked up,” Savior continued, “it won’t be the end. A man like Tinker? He’ll find a way to escape, or he’ll recruit more pawns to do his dirty work from behind bars. There’s only one way to stop him.”
The implications of what Savior was saying hit me hard. We were stepping into dangerous territory, far beyond the boundaries of what I was used to. But as I looked around at my brothers, I knew we had no choice. We were in this fight together, no matter how dark it got.
I shifted in my seat, the wood creaking beneath me. Justin seemed to pale even more, and I hadn’t thought that was possible.
“I can’t… I can’t be a part of this,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “We’re talking about murdering my father. A man I’ve never even met. I took an oath. To uphold the law, to protect the innocent. You’re asking me to throw everything I believe in out the window.”
The silence that followed was deafening. I could feel the tension in the air. Wire leaned forward, his gaze boring into Justin’s.
“Think about what happened to Akira. She got lucky. She escaped, but it could have been so much worse. They could have tortured her, raped her, killed her. Or sold her to someone overseas.”
I felt my stomach churn at the thought. Akira’s face flashed in my mind. No, Akira wouldn’t have been sold. She’d have fought them, and they’d have probably killed her. I had a feeling Wire wasn’t done making his point, though. And I was right. He leaned in closer, his next words hitting me like a punch to the gut.
“Now imagine that happening to your little girl. To Kelsey.” I felt rattled by his words, and I noticed Justin felt even worse. It looked like his entire world had just ended. “She can’t protect herself, Justin. She’s counting on you to keep her safe. Are you willing to risk her life because you’re not comfortable bending the rules?”
I closed my eyes, trying to steady my breathing. Fucking hell. Wire had just gone in for the kill. I didn’t know what Justin would say or do now. The picture Wire painted was gruesome, but after all the things we’d seen, I knew it was something that could really happen.
And I had a feeling Justin would make the choice to do whatever it took to keep his daughter safe. In that moment, I understood why the Reapers handled things the way they did.
Justin finally let out a breath. When he spoke, I could still hear the tremor in his voice. “I… I can’t condone murder. It goes against everything I’ve ever stood for. But you’re right. I have to protect Kelsey, no matter what.”
I could tell that hadn’t been easy for him to say. At the end of the day, he wasn’t just a cop. He was a dad, and Kelsey relied on him to keep her safe. If that meant he had to break the law, then that’s what he’d do. I just hoped he could live with the decision he’d made.
“I’m not saying I’m on board with everything,” Justin added. “But I understand the need to do whatever it takes to keep our loved ones safe.”
Savior nodded. “That’s all we’re asking, Justin. You’re finally starting to see where we’re coming from. We’ve been dealing with the worst of the worst for decades, long before you were even a twinkle in your mama’s eye. Sometimes, playing by the rules just doesn’t cut it. There are monsters in this world, son. Real, honest-to-God monsters. And they can only be handled one way.”
I still didn’t like the thought of killing someone. Even if my club didn’t do the deed ourselves, we’d know about it or take some part in it. This was so far beyond what any of us was used to, what we’d agreed to when we started the Swift Angels. Would we lose a part of ourselves before this was over?
“Think of it this way,” Wire said. “How many men have you put away who just went out and broke the law again? How many repeat offenders are taking up space in prison? I’m not saying slaughter drug dealers or prostitutes. But rapists, murders, pedophiles? You think those people can be rehabilitated? Maybe a very rare few… the rest will continue to harm innocent people until someone puts them down.”
Justin nodded. We all got it. Although, I didn’t really see that side of things with my job. I patched people up, got them to the hospital… I didn’t arrest anyone. But the police officers in my club? Yeah, they got what Wire was saying and had probably seen it all firsthand.
“All right,” Justin said. “The Swift Angels will work with the Dixie Reapers as much as we can. But… We have our limits. When things cross too far into illegal territory, we’ll have to step back. Hell, it would be better if we didn’t even witness whatever happens after that.”
Savior’s expression remained unreadable, but I saw a flicker of understanding in his eyes. He nodded slowly. “Fair enough. We can work with that, as long as we have your word on one thing.”
“What’s that?” I asked, though I had a feeling I already knew the answer.
“No one turns us in for what needs to be done,” Savior said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “We do what’s necessary, and your club looks the other way. That’s the deal. You’re willing to go this far to protect your daughter, Justin. We all have families too.”
“Agreed,” Justin said after a pause. “It’s a truce, for now.”
As I looked around the room, I saw a mix of relief and determination on the faces of both clubs. It was an uneasy alliance, built on shaky ground, but it was a start. And right now, with Tinker out there somewhere, it was the best we had.
The meeting began to break up, but I remained seated, lost in thought. I had just crossed a line I never thought I would. My entire club had, and I could only hope it was the right decision. For all our sakes, it had to be.