Chapter 19 Rekindling
KNUCKLES
I didn’t want to tell Cassidy that we believed Simone shooting at us and Tiffany’s death might have been linked, especially since she gave me that useful insight that she had clocked a few of his tattoos that indicated he was a member of the Rivera Cartel.
It couldn’t have been a coincidence that Simone was Tiffany’s realtor.
Knuckles: Tiffany Baker’s boyfriend was Rivera Cartel. Cass noticed tats that link him when he paid her and her friends a visit before she left town.
Knuckles: Pull her friends in for their safety. She’s mine, that means they are, too.
Bigfoot: I’ll get the others working on the new info. Darkhorse has been here at the club a lot anyway. Think we found a new prospect.
“Prez thinks your buddy Finch might want to join the club.”
Cassidy smiled and gave a knowing nod. “Makes sense. I was sure he’d try to go back in the Army.
Of the four of us, he spent the longest time in and he hasn’t adjusted well to life as a civilian.
Too much estrogen around for him, I think.
” She chuckled lightly with the pillow tight against her chest as she did.
“Finch needs a chain of command and a trusted team around him to function. He has the trusted team, but we’re more like sisters than buddies to him. ”
“A lot of MCs are full of ex-military for the same reasons. That and the fact that so many of them see the corruption in the system for what it is after serving and they don’t want any part of normal society under those conditions.”
I held Cassidy’s hand in my own. It was one of the small luxuries I had at the hospital with her.
She never pulled away and I treasured the moments when I was able to touch her, skin-to-skin.
It anchored me in the present with her rather than being lost to the nightmares where I relived the moment she got shot.
I didn’t want to dwell there, so I turned focus back to the things I could control.
“I have a question for you,” I said after we both sat on the Finch information for a while. She gave me a look that told me to ask it. “Do you have a Will that designates who gets your land if anything happens to you?”
“I do, why?”
“I was thinking about Tiffany, the land sale, and the cartel possibly being the other party who tried to buy it, to get close to our property.”
“You think that Simone was working with them to kill me, so that Tiffany could inherit the rest of my land, and when that didn’t work, they killed Tiffany in the hopes that they could squash the deal to sell it to your club for more money than the cartel offered her?”
Yeah, I didn’t know what I was thinking when I kept shit from Cass. The woman was whip-smart and didn’t miss a beat even while laid up in the hospital. She cracked a grin and rolled her beautiful eyes at me.
“I’m stuck in this stupid bed with nothing to do but think everything through. I’ve done nothing but connect dots and invent what I thought were just wild theories. Do you really think Simone got herself involved with a cartel?”
“The club is bringing your friends in for their protection until we know more about what really happened.”
“I appreciate them looking out for my family. And for the record, they’re my beneficiaries.
Finch, Collette and Amberlee inherit equal shares of my land and the businesses if something happens to me.
The only stipulation is that they can’t sell until after Mitch Thompson passes because he has a place there as long as he lives and he won’t accept any portion of the land from me.
The stubborn bastard,” she added the last bit under her breath.
I squeezed her hand and smiled at her as she took another sip of her water. When she put it down, her eyes locked on mine and she was dead serious when she asked again, “Do you think Simone got involved with the cartel?”
“Won’t know for sure until she talks, but it is looking that way. The question is, how long has she been feeding them information.”
“You’re worried because I pointed out that she initially had her sights set on Jasper back in high school and he was closer to the club then than you were.”
“Maybe we should bring you in as a new prospect, too,” I teased.
“Nah, I’m not coordinated enough to ride a motorcycle.”
“Bullshit.”
“Seriously, all the shifting gears with your feet is confusing to me. I’ll stick to my car the work truck, and maybe riding bitch with someone.”
“Me, Cass. Your only option for riding pillion will be with me.”
“Pillion?”
“Motorcycle passenger. Not calling you a bitch in any context. You might be laid up, but I have zero doubt you’ll still kick my ass.”
“Good that you know better,” she said as she tried to contain her laughter so it wouldn’t hurt. Cassidy still ended up with a coughing fit that left her in tears and me pushing the button to get the nurse to her room.
“What did I tell you about upsetting your beautiful wife?” The nurse chided when she hustled in.
“Didn’t upset her. She was laughing at my dumbass,” I informed her.
“Well, don’t do that either. Tell her sappy, romantic things that will make her quietly swoon.”
“Honey, she would laugh harder at my attempts to be romantic, I promise.”
“He’s not lying,” Cassidy agreed. It surprised me that she continued to play along with being my wife. “And, hubby dear, you really shouldn’t call other women ‘honey’ in my presence, or out of it for that matter.”
Her nurse threw her head back and laughed. “You two are a riot. My name is Honey Davis. Your husband here decided I’m his long-lost sister since we share a last name.” She helped Cassidy get situated again after checking to make sure she didn’t bust open any of her stitches.
“It’s possible,” I told her. “My dad was a dog and didn’t even claim me for a years.”
“Well, he missed out, didn’t he?” Honey asked. “Let me know if you need anything else. Dr. Roberts should be around in about an hour to check in on you.