Chapter 14
Breezy was sitting with Daya at the townhome while the brothers had church.
It wasn't our usual day, but after what happened yesterday, we knew it couldn’t wait.
Bull hadn’t called it yesterday after our return.
He said everyone needed time to settle, and he knew we wouldn’t want to be away from Daya.
He was correct. Even now, it was hard to step away, but she was doing great.
It was more trying to keep her resting rather than up, moving, and doing things.
We were gathered around the table. Bull wore a solemn expression. He brought the meeting to order.
“I don’t have to remind you of why we’re here.
Yesterday, some of ours were targeted. Daya was shot.
Thankfully, it wasn’t life-threatening, and no one else was injured.
Based on the inspection done by Ace and Keenan, it has been confirmed that the only ones shot at were Stalker and Daya.
I know everyone’s mind has gone to the logical suspect, Marshall Webb.
I’m not saying it wasn’t him, but we can’t assume. ”
“If it was Webb, how did he know where to find them? The odds of him accidentally stumbling across them and being in the right place with a gun are astronomical,” Bear stated.
“I thought the same thing,” I added.
Predator nodded. He and I talked about it last night as we watched our woman sleep in our bed. We took turns safeguarding her throughout the night.
“That is a question to ask. And if it wasn’t him, then is there a reason to target Stalker or Daya that we’re unaware of? A run-in or altercation that ticked someone off?” Bull asked.
I sat there racking my brain to see if I’d offended anyone lately. No one was coming to mind.
“Pres, I haven’t pissed anyone off or annoyed them as far as I know,” I informed him when I was done.
“What about Daya? She works in security. Could she have done it?” Tank asked.
“It’s possible. We’ll have to ask her,” Predator said.
“Do it. If she can’t think of anyone, then we’ll have to assume it’s Marshall Webb or an unknown enemy making a move on the club, though it sounds unlikely. Outlaw, any luck with your research?” Bull asked wearily.
He appeared tired. I wondered how much sleep he got last night. Our president took the defense of his club family seriously and personally. It was even worse with his actual family. The fact that his son-in-law and daughter had been exposed would make Bull more determined.
“Pres, I wish I could say I found that fucker, Webb, but I haven’t.
And the place where the ambush happened has no cameras.
The perfect spot was picked. I wondered if the person picked it for that reason or just got lucky.
Anyway, I have been doing other work.” He glanced over at Predator and me, then jumped to Stryder.
“Stalker, Predator, and Stryder asked me to investigate Jessup Crane.” He paused, and the murmurs got louder around the table. Outlaw continued.
“After the way he acted, trying to remove Breezy and Daya and calling the cops on us. And then how he was with Stryder when he went to ask him what was up, there’s something wrong.
The three who know him the best say this doesn’t sound like Jess at all.
I went back to the moment he found out what Marshall had done to Breezy.
I worked my way forward from there. There’s no doubt that he was infuriated about what his best friend did.
He was vocal and even tried to attack him once after he was arrested.
“And the way he talked to Stryder when they met at the bar to discuss Marshall’s early release only reinforced that dislike and thirst for retribution. You all saw him when we planned for Marshall’s punishment. He was on board. So, what changed in a week?” I asked.
“Did you find anything?” Predator asked.
“I think so. I went through Jess’s email and call logs.
I don’t know the significance, if any, but two days after Marshall was released, Jess got a call from an unknown number.
It lasted twenty-seven minutes. I tried to trace the number.
It’s a burner phone. That raises the question, who was it?
I looked for that number or any other unusual, rarely seen numbers in his calls.
I went back six months. Nada. However, I checked, and after his talk with Stryder, Jess got another call from that same number. ”
That bomb left the room momentarily speechless, then it exploded with chatter. There was speculation on who it was and why. There was swearing, too. Finally, after letting us absorb it, Bull yelled for us to resume.
“Alright, let’s get back to the topic at hand. Clearly, this is suspicious. Stryder, what do you think Jess will do if you confront him about the calls?” Bull asked. Poor Stryder appeared sick.
“I-I don’t know, Pres. If it were the old Jess, he’d tell me. But this new person is evasive and hiding shit. I think he’d get offended, bluster at me, and lie. Outlaw, what about his email? Did you find anything there?” Stryder asked.
“Not yet. However, if he had any computer savvy, he could’ve hidden it and password-protected it on his PC or laptop. Without those, I can’t say for sure he hasn’t had that form of communication,” Outlaw clarified.
“Son of a bitch! Are we seriously thinking we have a traitor in our midst? We’re talking about a man who hated someone for molesting his baby sister.
He then discovers he has even more reason to hate the guy.
Webb did the same thing to his other sister, only worse.
Why the fuck would he have anything to do with Webb?
And if he did, how did Jess know where his sister would be yesterday? ” Scourge asked.
“Fuck it! I don’t have a clue,” Bull growled.
As we sat, trying to unravel the mystery, I saw this look come over Outlaw.
It was one he got, that some might think was a getting-a-nut expression, but it was him having an epiphany.
Suddenly, he was tapping almost urgently on his laptop.
None of us dared to interrupt him. He was on to something. I prayed.