Chapter 10
NICKEL
With construction on the kids’ nursery school starting next week, Coal has split the brothers up today. Half are at the paintball doing maintenance and getting it ready for opening day, and the rest of us are breaking ground for the wet room.
We’ll receive the first delivery tomorrow with supplies to shore up the sides, including hydraulic struts to support the walls while we strengthen them. We’ll have to add drainage before pouring the concrete floor, but Cross has a plan and knows what he’s doing.
I’m just the muscle, but it feels good to be working with my hands. I love numbers, but now and then, mindless manual labour like this is just what I need. It gives me time to sort through all my thoughts and what’s happening in my life.
Nora and I have settled into life together as if we’ve always been a couple. It helps that she’s easy to live with.
Then there are the nights and the mornings.
There’s nothing better than falling asleep and waking up with Nora.
I love both equally: one day ending and another day dawning with the woman I love.
Sliding inside my woman, my favourite place on earth.
If we didn’t have responsibilities, we’d never leave the bed.
“Hey, Nickel!” Cross shouts, pulling me from my thoughts of Nora.
I look up to see him gesturing for me to get out of the foundation we’re digging for the room we’ll be using for future interrogations.
Climbing the ladder, I step out of the hole. “What’s up?”
“Church. Sterling found something.”
“Fuck. Okay.” I remove my shirt and use it to wipe away the dirt clinging to my skin. “I need to shower. I’ll meet you there. Let Coal know I’ll be a little late,” I say over my shoulder as I jog towards home.
He gives me a thumbs up, so I know he’s heard.
Twenty minutes later, I walk into Church to find everyone waiting for me.
I slip into the seat next to Nora and take her hand in mine, wrapping my fingers around her cold ones.
She’s taken care of the man who hurt her sister, but I know this is hitting close to home if Sterling has found Miles Burres.
My arse is barely on my seat before Coal slams the gavel to the table.
“Church in session. Sterling?”
“Pres.” Sterling acknowledges Coal’s order and presses a key on his laptop.
An image appears on the screen of a man in his early sixties, tall, well-groomed, not bad-looking, dressed in a suit at some swanky function.
“This is Miles Burres, or rather Andrew Miles Burres-Winston,” Sterling explains.
“It took me some time, but I eventually found him. He’s the CEO of several companies and is extremely wealthy.
Married to his fourth wife, no children.
Once I figured out his legal name, it was easy to track him via his money. ”
“Always follow the money,” Cross mumbles with disgust. “Gets them every time.”
“Now we know who he is, how do we get to him?” Bolt asks.
That’s something I’d like to know too. Given his high profile, we’ll have to be careful.
“I guess we could follow the motherfucker and run him off the road,” Blue growls. “Or if he goes somewhere on the regular, Nora or I could take him out.”
Coal shakes his head. “As much as I’d like to do that, we can’t.
We need to interrogate him to see if he’s the last of this line of traffickers or if there are more.
I mean, we know there are others, but if he’s the head of this snake, we need to cut it off completely.
Someone else always has a finger in the pie.
We’ll go over all the information Sterling has uncovered piece by piece and make a solid plan. ”
Coal eyes our tech expert. “Sterling, start at the top from when this fucker was born until today.”
“That’s a lot, Pres,” Sterling replies with surprise. “It’s going to take hours.”
Coal shrugs and looks around the table. “Any of you got anything on today that can’t wait until tomorrow?”
When we all shake our heads.
Coal nods at Sterling. “Get to it.”
“Okay.” Sterling turns to his screen and starts pulling up data—and there’s a lot of fucking data.
“Wow,” Nora whispers, “that’s serious data, Sterling.”
I hold back a laugh when Sterling blushes. I shit you not—the big, brooding, ex-military man blushes so much that the tips of his ears turn pink at her praise.
“Thank you. I’ve been working with Ramzi.” Sterling shakes himself. “Anyway, this is what I have…”
Sterling takes us through everything he’s found out about Miles Burres, but we don’t have much we can use to get to him safely.
Hours later, I’m wondering if we’ll have to go with Blue’s plan of taking the wanker out, when Bee suddenly pushes her chair back as she stands.
“Wait, Sterling! Go back. Did that say Bancroft Ball?”
Sterling goes back a slide to an event list of names and potential charity donors. There, in black and white, is the fucker’s name.
“Yes! You motherfucker. We’ve got you now.” Bee claps excitedly.
The rest of us are confused as hell, and it shows on our faces.
“Um, Spice… maybe you can tell us why this helps.” Copper grins up at Bee.
“Oh, yeah.” Bee smiles and sits down again. “Sebastian and Hope Bancroft run the Bancroft Ball. It’s an annual charity event attended by the movers and shakers in the UK, as well as a few from abroad.”
She pauses, taking a deep breath, and smiles gleefully. “They’re also family to Alan Goode, better known as Navy, an enforcer in the Crow MC. My family attends most years, and if I explain to Navy why we need tickets, we’ll get them.”
Copper gapes at Bee. “Holy shit, your family has so many connections.”
“I know.” She grins at him. “They’ve worked years to get them, but Navy was a fluke. He was in the military with the brothers. Until a few years ago, nobody knew who his family was. Caused quite a stir.”
Coal looks sceptical. “Will he agree to something like this? A prominent figure going missing from one of his family’s functions?”
Bee laughs. “Oh, this is exactly something Navy would get involved in, trust me. Especially when we explain why. Besides, I have a plan for how we can cover up Miles Burres’ disappearance. All we need is a cadaver to fool the authorities.”
“A cadaver?” I query. “Why?”
“So we can blow it up,” Bee replies casually, as if it’s obvious.
Nora’s shoulders shake, and when I look at her, she’s trying to hold back laughter.
Everyone else looks stunned.
Coal pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation before giving our sister-in-law a wary look. “Bee, why the fuck would we need to blow up a cadaver?”
“To make it look as if Miles Burres died in a car accident. And it gives us time to get him out of the ball to interrogate him,” Nora answers for Bee.
“Yes. Exactly, Nora. I knew you’d get it,” Bee says with a huge smile.
“Holy fuck,” I mutter, chuckling. “You two are diabolical. I love it.”
“Agree, brother.” Copper grins at me, holding up his hand for a fist bump.
Coal sighs. “You two had better explain, so the rest of us can catch up. And where the fuck will we get a cadaver?”
“I’ll get one,” Sterling replies. “I know someone who can help with that.”
“Jesus.” Coal shakes his head. “I don’t want to know. Just make sure it doesn’t blow back on the club.”
“It won’t.” Sterling grins.
“Nora, Bee, lay it out for us,” Coal orders.
Bee and Nora exchange a look, then stand and walk to the front of Church near the projector, where we have a whiteboard.
They explain how we’re going to kidnap a prominent businessman and blow up his car with a body inside to make it look like he died in an accident.
While the authorities are busy investigating and muddying the waters, Nora or Bee will lure Miles from the ball, knock him out with something the Skulls have manufactured, and transport him back here for interrogation.
Like I said… diabolical. And I’m proud to be Nora’s man.
“Okay,” Coal agrees once they’ve laid it all out for us. “Who’s needed for this op?”
“We could all go to the ball if you want,” Bee suggests.
Thea and Jeanie shake their heads.
“Maybe next time, when it’s not for an operation,” Thea replies, running a hand over her extended belly. “Coal wouldn’t relax with me there, and he needs to be alert. Same for Bolt with Jeanie in her second trimester.”
Thea pauses to look around the table. “I suggest Bee, Copper, Nora, Nickel, Maggie, and Tinman. That way, you can sit with the Crow MC, and it won’t look strange, as Maggie and Tinman are friends with Bee’s folks.
Jeanie and I will stay home with the kiddos.
Coal, Bolt, and the rest of the brothers can set up the car accident. What do you all think?”
Coal runs the back of his hand over her cheek, his love for Thea clear for all of us to see.
Nora’s breath hitches. I turn to look at her, surprised to see a sheen of tears in her eyes as she watches them.
Wanting to comfort her and let her know I feel the same way for her, I lean over and whisper in her ear, “Love you, Nora.”
I sit back in my seat, smiling at her wide-eyed look of surprise. Guess she wasn’t expecting declarations of love in Church.
“Sounds like a good plan to me, babe. I’m relieved,” Coal says to Thea.
She smiles softly. “I figured you would be.”
“Is everyone okay with Thea’s suggestion?” Coal asks, picking up the gavel.
His answer is a resounding “Aye.”
“Okay. Sterling, organise the cadaver,” Coal instructs. “Bee and I will speak to Navy and arrange tickets. The ball isn’t for a week, so we have time to get everything in order. Once all the details are buttoned down and all loose ends are tied up, we’ll go over the plan again, step by step.”
He pauses, looking everyone in the eye. “I want this operation to run smoothly with as few mistakes as possible. I don’t want anyone caught off guard, and nothing is to fall through the cracks.
The Skulls may cover us, but I don’t want to put their reach to the test if we can help it, so let’s stay out of jail. Yeah?”
We confirm we understand the order.
Coal gives a satisfied nod. “Church is ended. Ride safe, brothers.” He bangs the gavel on the table.
Everyone rises to leave and handle whatever they have planned for the rest of the afternoon.
Me? I’m spending my afternoon with Nora.