Chapter Seven
Bailey
Was love at first sight a real thing?
I’d never believed it was, but goddamn if Jagger Hansen hadn’t melted my heart right there in his kitchen, especially after he handed me a cup of coffee in a travel mug fixed exactly the way I liked it.
“Ready to go? Hardy’s probably there by now.” I was anxious as hell to find out more about Boyd Newton.
Jagger nodded as we prepared to leave. “You need to pick up your bike? We can load it into the back of my truck, or you can ride it back here.”
I nodded. “I’ll go with you to the office and get a ride to the hotel parking garage to pick it up. You’ve got work to do, baby.”
He perked up a little when I called him baby.
He liked it, and I had a feeling I knew why.
My guy wanted someone to love him and show him affection, which, based on what he said about his parents, I guessed he didn’t get growing up.
He was a badass, but he was unsure how to let someone show him he was lovable.
As I stared at him while he poured himself some coffee, I had the feeling I would have no trouble showing him love. Maybe it would help his confidence level if I made sure he knew he was loved?
We hurried out to Jagger’s nice truck, and I slid into the front passenger seat.
He hopped in and started the truck, turning toward me with a smile.
“Are you sure you want to hear what Hardy found? Plausible deniability might be the way to go if your brother is somehow involved. I can handle it for you.”
Now, that was a predicament, wasn’t it? If my brother were involved, I could be an accessory after the fact, depending on the part my brother played in Boyd Newton’s criminal activities.
But could I let Jagger handle the bullshit Boyd Newton had rained on my brother? It was sweet of him to offer, but it felt as if it were my responsibility to clean it up.
“If you don’t mind, Trooper, I’d like to sit in on Hardy’s briefing. I want to know what the fuck that Newton asshole has done so I can judge how much it will damage Thomas’s career.”
“I understand.”
We arrived at his office and got out, heading toward the back door of the bond shop. Jagger rang the bell before he opened the door. “Come on in.”
I followed him into the building I’d been in after I was bailed out a day earlier. Jesse Sparks hustled from his office into the large room. “Jagger, get your ass in here. Bring him.” Sparks pointed at me, so I followed.
Jesse slammed his office door and pointed to a table where Hardy was already waiting, his laptop open and ready. I hoped to hell Jesse wasn’t going to have an aneurysm.
“Hey, guys.” Hardy had a big grin on his face.
“Tell ’em.” Jesse pointed to the two of us, skipping any normal niceties.
Hardy opened a folder, handing each of us a stapled stack of papers. There was even a cover page: Boyd Newton Information Packet. Jesse flipped it open, so Jagger and I did the same.
The first thing I noticed on the page…Viper Kings MC. I’d heard of them but had no idea if they were a problem. “Who are the Viper Kings?”
Hardy sighed. “If you’ll read on, I explain that they’re a Dominican motorcycle club that’s affiliated with the Cartel Del Rey Víbora from Colombia. They run about twenty-million dollars a year through the Viper Kings, or so the DEA estimates.”
I glanced up. “And you know that how?”
Sparks pounded his hand on the table. “That’s what the hell I want to know!”
Obviously, we’d walked into the middle of a disagreement. I didn’t want to cause any trouble, but I appreciated all the help I could get.
“Sparky, I was asked to gather information, and I did. Don’t get pissed because I’ll have something to discuss with you when Monty gets back.
” Hardy turned to Jagger and me, grinning.
“Boyd Newton could be hiding out at the Viper Kings clubhouse, but I know he’s scheduled to do a shoot today for Glory Hole. ”
Jagger sat up. “How deep in is he with the Viper Kings? I heard of them when I was detailed to the governor in Carson City. They’re a nasty group from what I remember.”
Sparky—as Hardy had called him—stared at Jagger. “Because the Víbora Cartel isn’t bad enough?”
I chuckled. “They’re no worse than the Taliban.”
The room was completely silent. I glanced at Jagger to see him fighting a smile. “What?”
Sparky chuckled. “You sound like half the guys I employ. Anyway, any idea why Boyd Newton would have a tie to the Viper Kings or the Cartel?”
Hardy rolled his eyes. “If you’ll turn to page three.”
The kid was a piss riot with his nonchalance. I respected the hell out of him, and I turned to page three as instructed.
Jagger whistled. “That’s a hell of a lot of money flowing through Boyd Newton’s bank account.” He glanced at Sparky. “Money laundering?”
Sparky stood and walked to his desk, picking up his cell. After a moment, he grinned. “Hey, Sawyer. How are ya?”
I turned to Jagger with a questioning eye. “Fitz Morgan’s husband, Sawyer Abbot. Former president of the Steel Cowboys. He runs a dispensary for the club after losing a finger in a flooring accident.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “A flooring accident?”
“We’ll see you soon,” Sparky said before he hung up the phone.
Hardy smirked. “There are many trains of thought regarding how Sawyer lost his finger, but the story he told Fitz was that he was helping someone lay new floor in the clubhouse and accidentally cut off his pinky as he was cutting planks. Can you imagine how much that hurt?”
“I’d rather not,” Jagger said as he flipped through the pages in front of him.
We went through the information Hardy had dug up for us, and I wasn’t really surprised by any of it. I was sure Thomas would be, but he loved with a pure heart and took most people at their word, the na?ve fool.
I’d wait a while to update him on things, but for now, I was headed out to the Viper Kings clubhouse by myself. No way was Jagger coming with me. I had no desire to see the newest object of my affections in harm’s way.
Jagger sighed. “So, do we think Boyd was blackmailing the governor to launder money?”
I sat forward and turned to the handsome man. “How? How would Boyd ever convince my brother to launder money for him?”
Hardy cleared his throat. “If the governor never reported the blackmail, then the money he paid to the blackmailer could be deposited in an offshore account. Then the dirty money could be filtered through the account and come out clean. It’s not pretty, but if there are no flags on the blackmail money, it’s possible. ”
“Except I took the money from the blackmailer and beat the shit out of him. Turns out, I don’t think it was Boyd Newton. There’s someone else involved.”
“What did you do with it? With the money?” Hardy stared at me.
“I gave it back to Thomas. He’s na?ve. He thought Boyd was a good guy. Obviously, he was wrong.” The more I said, the more pissed off I became.
The bell over the front door rang, and Dixie, the office mascot, began barking like crazy before she flopped on her back and exposed her belly. A tall man reached down and scratched her, and that tail pounded the floor like a drum beat. He was a big bastard with a gorgeous smile.
The lady who sat at the desk walked over and hugged him. “Sawyer, honey, how are you?”
“I’m good, unless you’re gonna tell me something happened to Fitz. I haven’t heard from him since yesterday. Tell me there’s no bad news.”
Sparky walked out of the office and stepped over to the man. That’s when I spotted his missing pinky. “Fitz is just fine. I wanted to talk to you about the Viper Kings. You got a minute?”
The man followed Sparky back into the office and stared at Jagger and me as we sat at the table with Hardy.
“I’m Sawyer Abbott.” He extended his right hand. I shook his hand as would be polite.
“I’m Bailey Gregory, the governor’s twin. It’s nice to meet you.”
Jagger stood and shook his hand. “Good to see you, Sawyer. How’s the club?”
The big man laughed. “I guess they’re okay. I’m running the dispensary for them, but I’m not exactly hanging out with them.”
I had no idea what that meant, but I had more pressing issues on my mind. “Okay, so the Viper Kings. What do you know about them?”
The man, Sawyer, turned to Sparky. “Are the Viper Kings involved in one of your bail cases?”
Sparky nodded. “Sort of. It appears someone is trying to blackmail the governor, but we’re not making that public.”
Sawyer nodded. “Okay. What do you want to know about the Vipers? They’re into some heavy shit.”
I turned to Jagger, seeing his grin. “As much as you can tell us.”
Sawyer Abbott had a lot of information on the Viper Kings, which wasn’t a surprise. The tie to a Colombian cartel wasn’t a surprise either. His willingness to share, though, was.
“It should be no surprise that the Cartel would be in on a blackmail scheme. The Vipers do everything the Cartel orders. If they roped Boyd Newton into blackmailing the governor, then Newton owes the cartel or the Viper Kings for something.” Sawyer scanned our expressions and nodded.
“Do you think what Boyd owes the Cartel is close to what he tried to get from my brother?”
Sawyer sat back in the chair, his gaze fixed on the ceiling of Sparky’s office. “It’s possible.”
I turned toward Jagger. “So, what do you propose we do now?”
Jagger grinned. “I suggest we show up at Glory Hole Studios and make Boyd Newton tell us what he’s done that would cause him to blackmail someone who cared about him.”
Yeah, that was an option.