Chapter Sixteen #2
“I know, believe me, I know. Let’s get through church this afternoon, and then tomorrow we’ll sit her down and work to get some answers,” I tell him.
“Yeah, that should be fine. Now, onto Shea and her fucked-up bullshit. She has been connected to the club since she was barely eighteen, when she hugged up to Relic at a hang-around party. Long before the party the night you have zero memory of. So, then it makes me wonder, did she bring this shit to the club? Did they do it together, or did they start it together?” Hermes runs his hands over his face in frustration.
“What I don’t get is that a month after the party, we never really saw her again.” I’m leaning back in my chair once again, flipping through the files.
“That’s just it. After that, she disappears for nine months that she’s pregnant, and I mean gone—no sign of her until she gives birth.
The next time after the hospital records that I was able to get any details on her was when she showed up in Hilton Head with Jose and his cartel.
After that, she shows up on the fringes.
I’ll find her on camera leaving a club, the fucking fight ring, the fucking college just before we show up. ” His words cause my stomach to drop.
If he has images of her in and around the college, that means in some way Shea is connected to Jenny. If that’s true, no matter what Anastasia means to me or the fact Shea is Rusher’s mom will save her from the psycho twins.
Hermes stops his pacing, laying both hands flat on my desk and leaning on them.
“Raider, there were images of her with Jenny for months before she disappeared. She would show up wherever Jenny was. That means Ainsley might have some answers for us, just like Anastasia. Damn, man, will we ever get this poison out of our club?”
“Fuck me, brother.” I groan. “How in the fuck did we miss all of this? How have we been so out of touch with what’s going on here?
I mean, I know Relic was doing it and did a good job keeping it from the club.
We fucking killed him and the partner he had in the club, but now with finding out Pecker Head has been fucking feeding information to the Cartel … what else will we find?”
“I don’t know, Raider, but I need us to get this shit figured out soon.
I can’t keep going back to that night. It’s tearing me up, and I can’t move on.
It kills something inside of me knowing I looked up to the man who took her from this world.
” He drops his head between his arms and whispers, “From me. My Jenny. I just can’t keep doing it. ”
Standing from my seat behind my desk, I walk around it, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry Hermes I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re dealing with. All I can offer at this moment is a promise that we will take care of everyone involved.”
He stands at his full height, the weight of grief in his eyes shocking. “Yeah, I know. It won’t bring her back, but at least then I'll know it’ll never happen to another. That’s going to have to be good enough for me.”
“Alright, I’ll break the news to the club so you don’t have to, and hopefully Blender has shared all his toys with Pecker Head and has nothing left,” I joke trying to lighten the mood.
“Yeah, that seems the right thing to do, being the Prez and all.” He grabs his iPad off my desk and walks out of my office.
“Can this shit get anymore fucking complicated?” I should have known better than to test the universe because she is an evil bitch and will make me pay for testing her.
Knowing I’ll get nothing else done before church, I make my way there to wait for the guys to show up.
I’m kicked back with my feet on the table as the men trickle into the room.
Everyone looks exhausted with an edge of excitement.
Pecker Head broke before Blender did much more than peel a single layer of skin off.
The problem with the information he gave us is that it seems to confirm what Hermes and I are thinking about who the head of the sex ring is.
As much as Relic bragged about being the one to run the show, he was full of shit.
At this point, I wouldn’t be shocked in the slightest if Jose did nothing but provide Shea with the cover and protection she needs to do what she does.
The last brother through the door is Pope.
He gives me a nod before closing the door.
I take a long breath before dropping my feet to the floor and propping my elbows up on the table.
“Does anyone have anything that is not related to the shitshow that is sex trafficking?” I toss out.
“Larson and Giaco are coming to town,” Terro throws out, sounding bored.
“Well, fuck, when will they be arriving?” I ask him.
“Said they would let us know when they had a firm day and time but to expect it to be soon.” The look on his face tells me he is not happy about this.
“We’ll get plans in place for their visit and have a great big welcome.” I smirk at him because we both know how much the Italians do not actually love to party with the bikers.
“Anything else?” I call out.
No one says anything, so I jump right into the shit. “Now, what I am about to say is going to ruffle feathers and piss several of you right the fuck off. Let me get through the entire thing before anyone jumps off the fucking deep end. Do I make myself clear?”
I make eye contact with every man at the table, getting nods of agreement until I reach Mercy. His eyes are dark and stormy, letting me know the monster is very close to the surface.
“What the fuck happened after I left the fucking slaughterhouse?” I order looking over at Anvil.
“We finished the job as we were told. Blender decided to play some more. He had several new toys he wanted to try. So, we let him for a while and then let him bleed out like the rat he was,” Anvil states like it’s an everyday thing.
“That motherfucker didn’t sufferer long enough,” Mercy grinds out.
“This is great,” I grumble, looking over at Terro. “Be prepared to have the crew here to fix some things and make sure someone has Ainsley on speed dial because this is going to go from a tremor to a full-blown earthquake.”
“That great, huh?” Terro looks between the brothers.
“Yep.”
“Care to share with the whole class or are we just here to keep you company?” Blitz snaps.
I cut my eyes to Mercy, so there is no mistake about what I’m about to say.
If I’m honest with myself, I’m banking on the fact that he still respects me enough to heed my words.
“What you’re about to find out, you will not like.
Know this—when things finally come to a head, you and Blender can do whatever, however, to whomever you choose.
What we are not going to fucking do is tear my goddamn club up. Do you understand me?”
Mercy says nothing at all, his eyes filling with fire hot enough that I’m surprised he’s not breathing fire.
“Do I make myself fucking clear?” I growl.
He arches an eyebrow before standing to go stand beside Blender.
They watch us all with matching glares, arms across their chests, not saying a word but giving a subtle nod.
I have to take that for what it is and pray they do as I asked.
I run my hands over my face and up into my hair, closing my eyes, preparing for what’s to come.
I give the men the rundown of everything Hermes and I talked about, leaving out the part of him and Jenny having a thing. When I get done, everyone is sitting there not saying a word. As if speaking would mean it wasn’t a dream and we'd been being screwed over for nearly twenty years.
“I can’t even. What the fuck, man?” Token shakes his head.
“A woman? A motherfucking woman has been doing this to other women?” Rhino whispers, looking as if he has been punched in the gut.
“From where I’m sitting with all the information we’ve gathered, that is what it looks like.” I tell them.
“Why Auntie Lynn though? She had nothing to do with any of this.” Terro’s question catches me a little off guard.
“Honestly, at this point I think Auntie Lynn has more to do with Anastasia than the sex trafficking.” I answer him honestly.
“When are we going to have this sit-down with Anastasia and Ainsley to work out the missing pieces they might have?” Anvil probes.
“Let’s plan to sit-down with them tomorrow after lunch. It’ll give Anastasia a chance to get some rest and time for us to check with Ainsley and make sure she is free.” I answer him.
We all sit there quietly processing all the information for a long moment. When no one says anything, I dismiss everyone, letting them know they don’t all have to be here tomorrow except for Terro, Anvil, and Pope. I know without a doubt Mercy will be here.
Blender kicks off the wall, comes to the table and tosses a throwing star into the table in front of me. I look at it and then look up at him with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk.
“Something you want to say?” I challenge him, knowing he’s looking for a fight, and right now I’m about ready to give him one.
“The fact that she’s a woman means nothing,” is all he says before he storms out of church.
When he is gone, I sigh, knowing that I’ve dodged a very large bullet that would likely kill me.
Church clears out, and a soul-deep tiredness takes hold of me.
I finally find the strength to make my way to my room where I will shower and try to catch some sleep before talking to Anastasia about the sit-down tomorrow.