Chapter Eleven #2
She swallows hard. Her chin lifts like I’ve slapped her. I realise I’m standing over her like a storm, casing her in and keeping her close enough to feel the anger vibrating from me. She’s looking at me like I’m a stranger, like she doesn’t know who the fuck I am.
Her phone’s still hot in my hand. I want to crush it, throw it, grind it into the gravel until the screen doesn’t scream Darren at me anymore.
Instead, I breathe hard through my nose and wait for her to speak.
“I didn’t reply to hurt you,” she says, her voice tight. “I just . . . I needed answers. After what Poison said—”
I grit my teeth so hard, my jaw pops. “Poison doesn’t know shit. Don’t go listening to clubhouse drama like it’s gospel.”
Liv’s shoulders stiffen. “She said I started a war.” Her eyes meet mine, and this time, they don’t flinch.
“That the fire last night at the Scorpions’ strip club was because of me.
” I hold her stare, not able to lie but bound by club rules to keep our shit quiet.
“Jesus, Bully,” she cries, shoving me back a step and putting space between us.
“It was a message,” I say, my voice steady and measured.
“A message?” Her mouth falls open. “You torched a building because of me. Someone could’ve gotten hurt.”
“I did it because of them. Because they walked into that bar, knowing you were there, and shot it up. That wasn’t random, Liv. That was bait.”
“That you could have ignored. Where will it end?”
“With bloodshed, maybe death,” I mutter.
“So, stop it now before it goes that far.”
My eyes reach hers. “You know I can’t.”
A sob escapes her, and she rushes to me, grabbing my arms desperately. “Yes, you can. They’ll come back at you for last night, but you don’t have to do anything else. I won’t message him. I won’t ever speak to him again. Just walk away.”
I want to laugh, to tell her how stupid and na?ve she’s being. “Do you think I wanted this, Liv?” I ask. There’s so much fear, I can hardly catch a breath. “That I wanted you to be caught up in this? That I want you anywhere near it?”
“You get to decide—”
I slam my hand against the tree, and she cries out in surprise, flinching.
“If I don’t fight back, Liv, shall I tell you what will happen?
” I yell. “They’ll kill us. Me, Taz, Boss .
. . they’ll wipe us out like we’re nothing and they’ll take everything.
Every shipment, every weapon from here to Russia, will be in their hands.
An entire lifetime’s work for this club gone because you couldn’t follow my fucking rules.
” She gasps, not bothering to swipe her tears away as they trickle down her cheeks.
“So, don’t ask me to sit by while they taunt me by using my own. Fucking. Wife.”
I drop her mobile to the ground and crush it under my boot, the satisfaction easing my anger.
“This life will always come with blood,” I warn, pinching her chin in my fingers and forcing her to look me in the eye.
“I didn’t start this, Liv, but I’ll burn every fucking piece of them down if it keeps you safe. ”
The clubhouse is thick with smoke and tension. The door shuts behind me, muffling the outside world as my brothers gather for church. Misty jumps down from my chair, a spot she seems to frequent like she’s keeping it warm for me.
“Alright, talk to me,” I say, cutting through the weight in the air.
“There’s still a heavy presence,” says Boss. “If anything, they’ve increased their movements.”
“The fact they’re not hiding doesn’t mean they ain’t scared,” says Taz, tapping his lighter on the table.
“He reached out to Liv,” I mutter, and all eyes fix on me. “Texted her,” I add. “I should’ve took her mobile, but I didn’t think, and that’s on me.”
“When?” asks Taz, his expression full of anger.
“Half-hour ago.”
“What did he say?” asks Boss.
“Checking in with her.” I give a cold, empty laugh and push to stand in irritation. I pace behind my chair. “Imagine that, he’s checking in on my old lady, like it’s his fucking job.” I shake my head.
“He’s taking the piss,” mutters Taz.
“Did anything come back on his associates?” I ask.
We all look over to Whizz, who’s hunched over his laptop, his eyes bloodshot and his fingers twitching over the keys like he’s trying to crack the devil’s own vault. He doesn’t look up, just tilts the screen towards me. “Yeah, you’re gonna want to sit back down for this.”
He clicks open a series of folders. Screenshots. Spreadsheets. Names. Numbers.
“Shit, Whizz, have you been at this all night?” asks Taz.
“You wanted answers, I’ve got them,” he mutters, his brow furrowed as he opens the folder he wants us to see.
“I started by checking payments. There’re loads connected to the Scorpions’ affiliated businesses, but I focussed on the UK ones first. There’s a fake security company just out of Manchester.
It doesn’t run guards, it runs money.” He pulls up a map and pins stretch across it like bullet holes.
“They’re laundering through their strip clubs, which we pretty much suspected, but they also have betting shops and a fake construction company.
But the money trail gets interesting here,” he taps the screen, “when it jumps offshore.”
“Where to?” Boss asks, leaning closer to see the screen.
“Malta, Belize, and back to London. The loop is tight. Clean. Would’ve missed it if I hadn’t cross-referenced transaction times.”
I nod once. “So, what are they hiding?”
“Guns, for sure. Maybe drugs. But after looking at this empire, I reckon they’re just using that to throw us off.
Make us think they’re no real threat to our business.
But in the background, they’re shifting weapons, ready to make a move when they bring us down.
” He takes a deep breath, releasing it slowly as he clicks open another folder.
“Here’s the kicker. See this shell company?
” He zooms in on one labelled ‘Griffin Holdings Ltd.’ “It’s been wiring payments to a third-party logistics company .
. . that also did work with a buyer we sold bikes to last year. ”
I freeze. “Are you saying they’re trying to pin us for their shit?”
“I’m saying there’s a trail that looks like we’ve done business with them. Whether it’s staged or not, I don’t know yet, but it puts us in the firing line if the heat turns up.”
I lean over the desk, eyes narrowing. “Anyone in our crew tied to those payments?”
“Still working on that, Pres. They’ve a shit tonne to go through.”
“You need extra eyes?”
He nods, and Tally raises a hand to offer. I give him the nod.
“Keep digging. Discreetly. And if you find out anyone’s feeding them info, I want to know before they draw another breath.”
He nods and turns back to the screen. “Already on it, Pres.”