Chapter Thirteen
Falcon
“You got something for me?” I stood in the office doorway with my arms folded and brows knitted tight after a horrible fucking night of sleep.
I was up all night thinking of that fancy fucker invading Vivian’s life every single time she thought she’d put some space between her and the bad shit.
He had no goddamn right, and yeah, I was also pissed because he was partially to blame for why I was just now meeting my son. I wanted him dead by my hand.
Eventually Slate looked up, scowling. “Yeah. Been up all night gathering everything I could find. Wanna hear it now or wait for Diesel and Rocky?”
My fingers twitched with the need to hear it all right fucking now, but I’d lose my shit if I had to listen to it twice.
“I guess I’ll wait,” I answered on a grunt before I took a seat.
The anxiety was a motherfucker, and I found myself tapping on the table until Slate tossed a cordless mouse at my head. “What the fuck?”
“I stayed up late getting this for you. I slept like shit and my back hurts, don’t annoy me this early in the day.”
“Early? It’s eleven.”
He glared at me. “I said what I said.”
Rocky was the first to enter, followed by Diesel a few minutes later. I bit the inside of my lip to avoid giving either of them shit and then I waited for Slate.
And waited some more.
“What did you find,” Diesel finally asked, putting me out of my misery.
Slate pointed to the screens behind him, which looked like a scene out of a fucking movie, a bunch of digital shit that meant next to nothing to me.
“Dr. James Thomas St. John III grew up rich. Filthy fucking rich. His daddy was the plastic surgeon to the rich and infamous for more than forty years and his mom? Well she’s a socialite from one of those old money families, you know the kind who can trace their blood back to the Mayflower? That kind of old money.”
Which meant the asshole had resources. A lot of fucking resources. “What else?”
“He’s got a good reputation. He’s good looking and charming with rich people manners that makes it easy for most folks to ignore his darker side.”
“Darker?” I sat up taller, hungry for details.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “The asshole can’t take rejection and he’s prone to obsessing.
I found several complaints at the hospital that were ultimately swept under the rug by the hospital administration.
Inappropriate behavior, obsessing, stalking from harmless to terrifying.
He can’t take it’s over for an answer.” He flipped across dozens of documents, each one with names redacted and no resolution. “So far, he’s gotten away with it.”
My stomach tightened as the truth of Slate’s words hit me.
The picture that took shape was worse than I imagined and I fucking hated that.
For years I believed she left me to go live the good life with that asshole when the truth was that he was part of the reason she left me behind.
But she hadn’t lied, or she hadn’t just lied about him, she’d hidden things because the truth of what she’d gone through was even worse. “Fucker.”
“Yeah. He’s got a few more serious complaints around the country, but nothing went anywhere with the law. Women were reluctant to deal with the cops or he paid ‘em off.”
I didn’t like what this was all saying, dammit. But it wasn’t just what Slate had uncovered, it was that niggling sensation that was taking root at the base of my spine, the one that warned me when to trust my gut. “Do you think you can dig deep into his connections, business and personal?”
Slate nodded. “Anything in particular?”
“I’m not sure yet,” I admitted and blew out a heavy breath. “Just everything you can find, I guess. All of this shit that’s happening to Viv seems too coincidental.” And I was a man who didn’t like and didn’t trust coincidence.
“I agree,” Rocky’s deep voice bellowed. “Something don’t smell right about this, but I don’t have enough information to say what exactly.”
That was exactly how I felt.
Slate nodded, fingers flying across the keyboard.
He was either making notes. or he was already digging deeper into the asshole ex.
“I’m trying to access Petrov’s medical records too.
Gotta see what happened in that fucking OR.
I’ve seen your woman in action, no fucking way she made a mistake.
” He tapped the screen and got a buzzing sound that wasn’t pleasant.
“I’m looking into everyone who was on duty that night, checking paperwork to see who else might’ve been to blame. ”
“Thanks,” I stood just as Dagger entered the room with his face pinched into an angry expression.
“Who pissed in your oatmeal,” I asked with a smile I didn’t feel.
“There was a drive-by at Leather & Chrome.”
“A fucking drive-by,” Rocky asked, his tone matched all of ours. We didn’t often tangle with gangbangers, who were most likely to do shit like that.
“Yeah,” Dagger answered, his expression more grave than usual. “First reports says it was a bunch of homeboys, but I was tattooing Frenchy when it happened, and he said that’s bullshit.”
I sat up and leaned close. Frenchy was part of the Black Brotherhood MC, who we had a good working relationship with which meant we could trust his intel. “Anything else?”
“Yeah. Said he saw a dark green Impala rolling deep past the tattoo shop as he headed in. He thought it was for him at first until he saw them.”
“He saw them?” I couldn’t believe this shit. “And?”
“According to Frenchy, they aren’t affiliated but they are wannabes. He said they’re kids.”
Fucking kids didn’t just wake up one day and decide to go after our MC. “Frenchy tell you where we can find these assholes?”
“Yeah, said they hang out at the park near the high school.”
I was on my feet in an instant. “Let’s go.”
Diesel stood and stared me down until I relaxed. “Take Gio and Rebel with you,” he ordered. “I want more answers than blood. Got it?”
“Yeah,” I answered with a half-smile. “I got it.”
Diesel narrowed his gaze. “Go.”
It took less than a minute to find Rebel and Gio and explain to them our mission. “Why the fuck are you going?” Gio asked. “I thought you were keepin’ an eye on Dr. Viv.”
“I am,” I answered as we left the clubhouse and headed to our bikes. “But I need to hear with my own goddamn ears that it was the Russians, and I want any other details they have on these assholes. No offense.”
“None taken,” Gio grinned. “I’m fine with being the muscles of this operation.”
“I guess that makes me the babysitter for you idiots,” Rebel grunted and started his bike.
***
We made quick time to the park where we easily found the four little shitheads decked out in hoodies and oversized jeans.
They didn’t even look old enough to drink yet, but they’d been responsible for scaring the shit out of a club full of people.
They sat around smoking cigarettes and drinking from something hidden inside a paper bag.
We approached slowly with me in the lead, and then I waited.
One of them, a blue-eyed kid with dreadlocks. “We don’t got any weed, grandpa. Try the dispensaries and stay the fuck out of the park.”
Rebel had the shortest temper, and he wore his all-business mask. “We ain’t lookin’ for weed. Just answers.” His voice was low and gruff, using that don’t-fuck-with-me tone.
The other kid with a lightning bolt cut into his fade laughed. “We don’t talk to strangers, and we don’t know shit so move along.”
Rebel’s jaw clenched. It was imperceptible but I saw it before it disappeared. “Fine. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I’m feeling generous today, so I’ll let you decide.”
The little assholes were stupid but even they recognized that tone. The smiles fell but nobody said a fucking thing.
I stepped forward and tried my best to look unintimidating. “What do you know about the shooting at Leather & Chrome last night?”
They all looked uncomfortable. “Don’t know shit about that,” the blue-eyed wannabe answered.
I sighed, reining in my annoyance because I wanted answers more than I wanted to beat the fuck outta these boys, but I’d accept a beatdown if that was the only thing I walked away with.
“Look boys,” I started. “We know it was you. Our club has cameras every fucking where. How do you think we found you so quick?” It wasn’t a complete lie, we did have the place wired like it was a goddamn CIA op, but we hadn’t looked.
Yet. “All we want to know is who put you up to it? Who paid you?”
I was still met with silence.
“Okay then.” I turned to Rebel and nodded before doing the same thing with Gio.
“If no one paid you or put you up to it, then congratulations, boys, you now got a beef with the Steel Demons.” I folded my arms and glared at each of them because these baby gangsters hadn’t faced any real shit yet, but they would.
“What the fuck ever man,” the blue-eyed kid grunted. “Some fuckin’ dude with an accent paid us five grand to just roll past that stupid fuckin’ club and spray the place. That’s all.”
What the fuck?
“You did that shit for five grand? Do you assholes know if you hit anybody?”
“Five grand each,” the one with braces and a big as fuck gold chain answered. “We didn’t aim for nobody.”
Okay, so the plan was mayhem and not murder. “What kind of accent?” Not that I had to ask, but I did.
“I don’t know bro, like Dracula or some shit. It was real thick.”
I nodded. “You were paid in cash?”
They all nodded.
Of course, because you couldn’t trace cash. “Okay, how did they find you? Did they come here? Call you?”
“Call?” The one with the gold chain cracked up. “Nah, I’m fuckin’ with you. This big ass dude showed up at the corner store when we were gettin’ snacks. Handed us a phone and said answer it if you want to make a lot of money.” He mimicked the accent that was definitely Russian.
“Gimme the phone,” Gio demanded.
The kid looked like he wanted to argue but thought better of it, pulling the phone from his back pocket. “He called us to do the job on this and that’s it.”
“Thanks,” Gio growled.
Rebel stepped forward. “Two things. First, if you fuck with the Steel Demons again, for any reason, nobody will find your bodies. Ever. Got it?” They all nodded, no longer tough guys but scared little kids.
“Second, get rid of that fuckin’ Impala.
Cops will find it and then they’ll find you.
” He stared at each of them for another second and then turned away. “Let’s go.”