Chapter 25
Army
The last two days have been hell. I’ve monitored Leeva as much as I could through the bugs planted in her hotel room, fitting that in between dealing with the warrant and search shitfest while catching up on urgent MC duties I’d neglected over the past week.
My worry escalated as I watched her seclude herself, hardly speaking except when her stepkids—another mindfuck right there—called to check in on her. I could tell her mind was running nonstop. I didn’t need to wonder what she was thinking; she was convinced her masked man had fucked another woman.
Then I could tell she had woken up with a migraine yesterday.
She finally took the pain medication she hated so much and was basically comatose.
Last night, I couldn’t help myself, and I broke into her suite again.
I didn’t jack off and rub my cum into her skin like a moisturizer, though; I just held her while she slept, getting some much-needed sleep myself.
I had reluctantly left her a few hours ago, knowing she’d soon begin to wake from her sedated sleep.
I stopped by Hedon and met with Riveria to make sure everything was as fine as it could be.
Attendance had dropped slightly, and some members had canceled their memberships after the fake news and rumors about what had happened.
Hopefully, the news conference with the police commissioner and the DA will set the record straight and clear most of the smear from Hedon.
But still, damage was done. Once accused, always guilty in some people’s eyes. And unless we wanted to combat this publicly, outing ourselves as the owners, we couldn’t do shit. At least, not publicly.
Out of the public eye, there was plenty we could do. The evidence was false, which meant someone was trying to strike at Hedon. What wasn’t clear was whether they suspected we owned it and were targeting us specifically.
If that was the case, then I had a top suspect. That’s why I was supposed to be in Ash’s office right now, strategizing.
But it’s a struggle to tear myself away from monitoring Leeva. However, as I listen to her side of the phone call, I’m glad I overheard it because it sounds like she’s leaving the hotel in the morning.
And I’ll be waiting, ready to follow her wherever she goes.
After she’s back on her bed, watching a rom-com and eating her soup, I close the app and tuck my phone into my jeans.
I leave my bedroom, lock the door, then exit the second-floor area where the Council members have our private rooms. Hurrying down the stairs, I make my way to Ash’s office on the main floor.
The clubhouse is a sprawling building with all the amenities for living on-site.
There’s a small private kitchen reserved for Council use, as well as a commercial kitchen for everyone else, and a large dining area, like a mess hall.
Laundry facilities, game rooms, and a gym are also available.
There are bedrooms for the brothers and prospects who live here, as well as for the Bunnies, who are also known as the Club Pussy.
They aren’t required to live on-site, but they all choose to because they want to be around and available—they’re as ravenous for sex as any of the brothers who want to indulge.
For me, I’ve never indulged when it came to them. Not even after Leeva had become “forever forbidden territory” to me.
But now, miraculously, and due to a loophole, she isn’t forever forbidden to me.
I still needed to get to the root of how she had managed to erase all evidence of Guerilla’s tattoo. But for now, I need to focus and be at the top of my game, because I still haven’t admitted my sins to Ash, Bane, or Pix. Plus, I’m not in the clear yet because the MC could still decide I’m guilty.
Digits had given me a week’s grace, but that was over. He’s been consumed with the situation with Hedon like the rest of us, on top of his already overflowing plate of duties to manage the MC’s risks and threats against us. But my time has run out, and I know I have to come clean soon.
I enter Ash’s office and shut the door behind me.
The room is soundproof, and Digits would’ve done a scan to ensure no one planted anything in here to spy on our discussion.
We trust the people we allow to come into the compound, but only within reason.
Some we trust less, though, especially lately, such as the old guard lately.
And with what we talked about in here, one could never be too careful.
The office isn’t what you’d expect for the leader of a criminal faction.
It’s relatively small and bare; Ash chose not to take the office his father had once used.
Partly out of respect for Zeus—because in Ash’s eyes, there was no better leader—and partly out of mourning, since Zeus was taken in his prime, far too soon for any of us.
And partly because Ash wasn’t about displays of power.
Though you’d never know it, he’s among the wealthiest men in the city: a sly, cunning businessman.
Ash prefers the small, almost cramped space.
He sits with his boots propped on his desk, his fingers intertwined over his stomach, and the silver rings on his fingers glinting in the overhead lights. He watches me with hooded eyes. “Glad you’re finally gracing us with your presence, Army.”
I’m sure he suspects I’ve been trying to track Leeva down now that we all know she’s back. Bane and Pix would, too. Aside from my urgent MC duties, I’ve been MIA this past week.
I lean my shoulder against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest. “Riveria said things are settled down at Hedon,” I dive right in, not responding to his taunt. “The press conference went off as it was supposed to.”
“The dirty judge is going to have an accident soon,” Pix says quietly, which is odd for her. She’s usually more…I wouldn’t say “pumped up” when discussing an enemy’s end, but not this soft-spoken, either.
“No blood, Pix,” Ash warns. “It needs to look like an accident.”
“I got it,” she huffs. “Slipping while getting out of the tub and smashing his head. Boring, but an old-effective tactic.” Her tone is defensive.
I study her, noticing more things off about my sister.
She’s tense, standing apart from us. Usually, she’s very tactile and seeks out touch from the few people she trusts, especially with Digits.
But ever since Pix and Slade returned from the warehouse where Randolph had kept them, Pix has been off-kilter.
Bane looks worried; I know he feels guilty about what happened to her, even though it helped save Slade.
“So the judge will be taken care of, but what about the lawyer?” Pix asks.
Judge Wheeler has been after the Havoc Guardians for years.
He is, in fact, dirty and corrupt—not that we’re squeaky clean.
However, he has let criminals worse than us get off scot-free and has been in our enemies’ pocket for years.
He approved the search warrant based on false evidence, which is another check in the probability column that someone suspects we own Hedon.
As for the assistant DA, he’s a staunch fundamentalist Christian who openly condemns the “devil clubs” in the city, making no secret of his disdain for strip and sex clubs.
I’m not sure whether he was just too eager to take Hedon down and skipped proper due diligence on the “conveniently delivered” evidence, or whether he didn’t care and simply wanted to strike a blow against a major player in the sex club scene.
Or maybe he was working directly with our enemies.
“The lawyer”—Ash steeples his fingers under his chin—“is left alone for now. We need to figure out where that evidence came from first.”
“We need to keep a close eye on Razor and Thunder,” I voice my top suspects of who is behind what happened at Hedon.
Bane rocks back on his heels. “Putting our own under surveillance is a serious step, and could have repercussions if that's discovered.”
“Grinder had involvement in our money side of things, so he knew we owned Hedon,” I state. “I’m not casting shade on his loyalty, but it’s possible Razor discovered something he shouldn’t have through Grinder.”
Not only does the public not know that we own Hedon, but only the innermost leadership of our club knows as well.
“Grinder would’ve never let something like this slip.” Pix shakes her head, being the one who worked the closest with him regarding the MC’s finances.
“I agree. But it’s possible that Razor discovered something on Grinder’s computer.” This is all speculation, but we need to consider all possibilities.
“No way,” Digits argues. “I protected his computer myself. There’s no way Razor or Thunder could’ve hacked in.”
“Or maybe Razor saw something in print,” I challenge. “There are other ways our involvement with Hedon could’ve been discovered accidentally. We can’t dismiss that possibility.”
“You’re right, Army,” Bane says with a frown. “But it’s a slim possibility, and to put two of our long-time members under surveillance is a decision we can make lightly. We need stronger evidence.”
Frustration rises in me. “I killed Razor’s son.” Guilt nearly chokes me, saying those damning words. “He wants blood-for-blood, but he can’t outright kill me.”
But if he found out about Leeva, he could make a case against me. Or, at least, he could try to, even though Leeva no longer has Guerilla’s tattoo.
“I’m the one solely involved with and in charge of Hedon. You can’t deny it makes some sense.” I look between Ash and Bane. “Plus, Thunder suspects you two had a role in Cutt’s disappearance.”
Cutt isn’t just missing; he’s dead. We were looking for a way to take him out because we suspected he was acting against the MC, but we couldn’t find evidence to prove it, so it was handy that one of our allies took him out instead.
Digits had planted sightings of Cutt in various places, supporting the theory that he ran because of the massive drug debt he had incurred from his coke habit, but Thunder has always been suspicious.
Ash’s jaw works as he weighs both sides of the argument about putting Razor and Thunder under surveillance. He runs a hand through his dark blond hair and looks at Digits. “Clone their phones, but that’s it for now. No manpower on them yet.”
Meaning no one will be following them.
“They’re vets,” I argue. “Long-time criminals, and they know how this works. They won’t use their personal phones if they’re doing shady shit against us, Ash.”
He lowers his feet off his desk and rises to stand, then places his hands on his desk, giving me a hard eye. “I know, Army. But at this point, with what we have as evidence—or better yet, what we don’t have—my hands are tied. If we put an active tail on them, and it got out—”
“Tats and Mauler are our best; they wouldn’t get caught,” I argue.
“Nothing is failsafe,” he counters, being overly cautious about this for some reason. “If it got out, then the old guard would use it as fuel for a mutiny.”
I know he’s right. Ever since the full extent of the threat Slade posed to the MC came out, they’ve been looking for any excuse to stir up shit and undermine not just Ash but all of us on the Council because we enacted a Council-sanctioned decision regarding Slade.
That threat was dealt with and gone, but the old guard is itching to stir up shit.
I’m still frustrated as hell, though.
Pix comes over to me and touches my shoulder. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
She shakes her head. “Leeva’s back in town; I know you’re not fine.”
Bane regards me, crossing his arms. “You’ve been oddly absent, Army.”
I feel Digits’ stare burn into the side of my face, but for some reason, I keep my secrets to myself.
“Leave him alone,” Ash orders, then motions to the door. “I need the room for Army and me to chat.”
My heart rate spikes, but I rely on my training from the Marines to remain calm and collected, even under threat of an attack.
Digits follows Bane and Pix out, muttering as he walks by me, “Tell him.”
Once we’re alone and the door is shut, Ash sits back in his chair and motions for me to sit.
“What did you want to talk about?”
He drums his fingers on his desk, eyeing me. “You want me to believe that you haven’t been searching the city for Leeva?”
“She’s here but hasn’t sought me out. It’s pretty clear she doesn’t want to see me.”
Those words are the truth and make me feel sick.
He regards me for a moment. “Digits has little capacity for anything else right now—not with the regular security work he handles and the request I’ve made for him to help Massimo assess potential threats, both to him and to the Chamber as a whole.”
The Chamber is a collective alliance of the city’s top five criminal organizations—us, the Santoro mafia, the Saints, the Triads, and the Fire Clan. Due to recent events, the need to expand membership was being explored.
It doesn’t take a genius to know what Ash thinks, or maybe even knows: that Digits has been helping me.
Again, I keep my secrets to myself, regardless of Digits’ warning, because I first need to know how there’s no evidence of Guerilla’s tattoo on Leeva’s neck. And when I confess all my sins to Ash, I want to have a game plan of how I’ll not only survive this but also keep Leeva in the end.
That’s assuming she wants me when she discovers it’s been her best friend hiding behind the wolf mask, fucking her.
“I don’t need Digits’ help,” I say without admitting he has been helping me.
And I'm not lying. Because I don’t need his help anymore. Once I follow Leeva tomorrow morning to wherever she’s going, I’m making my move to claim her officially.
He sighs, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his desk. “We’re family, Army. You don’t need to go at this alone.”
“You just told me Digits’ help is off-limits.”
He scowls at my taunt. “This is really how you want to play it, brother?” When I keep quiet, his expression turns pensive. “I’m worried about you.”
“I’m fine, Ash.” And I am…for the most part.
He relaxes back in his chair with a shake of his head. “You know we have your back and where to find us when you decide not to face this alone.”
He thinks that I’m struggling mentally because Leeva has returned, and I can’t have her.
But he doesn’t realize how wrong he is.