11. Dax #2
“Beautiful,” Cam coaxed, reaching out to place a hand on my leg.
“Brian is one hundred percent loyal to you. The first year, he’d give his reports like he was supposed to, but soon after that, he was selective in what he gave.
Brian was moving up the ladder right on your heels, and I knew he should know more than he was letting on.
That man has protected you just as much as I have over the years.
Dax, you managed to flip an FBI agent to the dark side, becoming a truly loyal soldier to you.
It got to the point where I had to tell him who I was and what I was really trying to accomplish. ”
I held out my hand to Cam. “Phone.”
Without hesitation, he handed it to me, and I already knew my fingerprint was stored so the phone unlocked for me easily. Pulling up his contacts, I looked for a ‘Brian’ but didn’t find one. I suppose that would be too easy for someone else to possibly discover who he was doing that.
“What’s the name his number is under?” I asked.
“Bishop Black,” Cam divulged. “Everyone believed he was my cousin who I was close to.”
Switching places, I found the name in the favorites section of his phone and hit the dial button. There was a pause and then the sound of ringing. It rang three times before Brian answered, sounding out of breath and a little flustered.
“What the hell, Cam? You go radio silent after what went down last night, and then you just decided to call me as a group of bikers show up from some place in Arizona,” Brian snapped.
“This better be important… is Dax okay? She didn’t get shot again getting the hell out of there, did she?
I keep telling her she really needs to be more careful. ”
The tightness in my chest that I’d been feeling ever since Cam told me about Brian eased.
My friend was still the same, nothing about him had changed just because I knew the truth.
In an odd way, Brian was like a brother to me, and we looked after each other when we went on jobs.
Then I moved up, and Jeff entered the picture being paired with Brian because I needed to manage more Tricks-related things.
“No, I’m not shot, perfectly fine sitting in an insanely overpriced hotel in the city,” I said, only to be greeted to dead air for a moment.
“Dax… I mean, boss,” Brian blundered, realizing this wasn’t a typical phone call.
“You know I’d never expect you to call me that,” I pointed out. “Cameron came clean, told me everything.” Pausing, I glanced at Cam with a raised brow. “At least I think that was everything.”
“Should I be expecting my executioners soon?” Brian asked, his voice resigned to the reality of the situation.
Taking a hand, I rubbed my temple. The headache that had been lingering in the background was now fighting to take over. “Is there a reason I should put you in the ground? Cam made quite the case that you were genuinely loyal to me of your own choice. Would you agree with him?”
“Dax, I’m all in,” Brian stated. “I joined the FBI because as a young, stupid twenty-something-year-old, I thought it was gonna be like it was in the TV shows. It’s not, though.
The red tape they have to follow keeps us from being able to make a real difference.
When they asked me to go undercover and get in good with the Hidden Empire, they never thought I’d end up where I am today.
Cameron has been my shield from the FBI for a long time, but with his help, I’ve gone dark.
The FBI has no idea where I am or if I’m still alive.
That’s why I couldn’t be seen by them, or it would blow the whole thing. ”
“Why? Why am I not in jail right now?” I questioned. “You have so much shit on me, there’s no way you couldn’t have taken me out and gotten yourself a promotion.”
“What good would it do the world to put you in jail?
Dax, you gave me a family, purpose, and meaning more than the FBI ever did.
While we might be criminals, you offer protection to a shit-ton of people and control the drug movement throughout the whole West Coast. It used to run rampant with laced shit that would get people killed.
They still might be using drugs, but those drugs are pure and safe if used right.
Not to mention just making it safe to be in the city.
No one can move in on your turf without your say-so, and then they have to play by your rules.
“So knowing all that, seeing it for myself and knowing what you’ve done for me and so many others, why the fuck would I want to destroy that for someone worse to take over?
That’s the thing they don’t get, we take you out, but that doesn’t mean crime is magically gone.
Some asshole steps in and turns the city to shit in a month.
They’d be begging to put you back out on the streets,” Brian explained.
“Trust me or don’t, but I’ve always had your back, Dax.
You’re like the sister I never wanted but grew to love and respect.
Whatever you choose to do, I’ll accept.”
Tears burned in my eyes at his words. Hearing him say that if I chose to kill him to protect the Empire, he’d accept it told me everything.
Brian understood the game and knew the stakes and what all of us put on the line living this life.
It wasn’t an easy one, and most of the time you were left picking the less shitty option of a situation.
Difference was, this time it wasn’t like that.
“I’ll tell you the same thing I told Cam, I own your life now.
It’s up to you to decide how long you’re gonna live it,” I said and cleared my throat.
“Don’t make me have to choose to end it for you, Brian.
To me, you’re part of an exclusive group of people I consider a true friend, don’t make me regret it. ”
“You got it, boss,” he teased. “Are you planning on coming back to LA anytime soon? The natives are getting restless with you being gone so much.”
“I think we’ll be out here a few more days to make sure things are good with Tommaso taking over the cartel.
Can’t put a new guy in power and then just dip, but we’ll be back as soon as we can.
Oh yeah, what were you saying about some bikers showing up from Arizona?
” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
“No clue who they are or how they found the compound, but the weirdest part is that they came looking for Dani,” Brian shared.
This had Eagle walking over to me, reaching for the phone. “Let me talk to him.”
I handed it over and snuggled back into Sprocket’s side, incredibly interested in what Eagle had to say on this matter.
“Hey, it’s Eagle,” he announced. “What crew are they from?”
“Something aces, why? Do you know who they are?” Brian asked.
“If it’s the Wild Aces, that’s the crew Dani’s ex is a part of.
She left him and came to California to start over.
If the fucker is back looking for her, I’m not inclined to help him.
Dani is one of ours now, and no one can touch her.
She’s protected by the Phantom Saints and the Hidden Empire,” Eagle declared, making me smile.
There was a pause before Brian said anything, making me quirk a brow. “Their president wants to have you take over the crew and patch them in as Saints.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not there to have that conversation, am I?
” Eagle snapped, angrier at the dick move by the new crew than Brian.
“Tell the fucker to get off my land, or I crush his crew and take it from him for being an ass. He knows the rules, and already he’s playing a dangerous game.
Is Dani still at the compound? I thought Dax got her a new apartment for now until we figured out where best to place her. ”
“She’s not here right now. A few of our guys got jumped while transporting some goods. They held them off, but two got shot, and the compound was closer than making it to the city. I called her out, and she should be arriving in a few minutes,” Brian informed us.
Leaping to my feet, I grabbed the phone. “What happened?”
“Nothing out of the norm,” Brian reassured me. “The Crazy Eights gang got cut off and punished because they were caught lacing their cocaine with shit. They know the rules, and it seems they weren’t happy about it and thought to jump one of our transports.”
“You weren’t kidding when you said the kids were getting restless with me not being there,” I muttered.
“Brian, I want you to be glued to Dani’s side and get those idiots off our compound.
Like Eagle said, if they can’t play by the rules, we’ll just have to make a stop on our way back and burn their clubhouse to the ground.
I promised Dani she’d be safe, and you’re going to make sure I keep my promises. ”
“Already would have done that, but now I have an order, she can’t yell at me for doing as I’m told,” Brian said, seeming just a little too happy about my request. “If there’s more trouble, I’ll reach back out, but I’m pretty sure I can handle this douche canoe, no problem.”
There was a knock at the door, making me whip around, going for my gun. Wes waved me off, miming that it was just food, and I relaxed. Shit had been so crazy today, I was jumpy as hell, but I wasn’t going to take a chance when I was still in someone else’s territory.
“I trust you’ll be fine. Remember, I taught you everything you know,” I teased Brian. “Have a good night. I’ll keep you in the loop about when we’ll be back once we figure that out.”
“Night, boss,” Brian said before he hung up.