Chapter 4
Bear
W hoosh had a vested interest in monitoring Carl Wingren .
He also had street connections in Harrisburg .
Which meant that when his buddy witnessed Carl getting dropped off by a police cruiser with quote, “some frumpy chick” in tow, he knew within hours, maybe even minutes.
I found out almost as soon as I walked in the door of our clubhouse because, like Jackson unfortunately pointed out, he wasn’t president anymore, and it left a void when Wolf filled his shoes. And Whoosh targeted me as next in line.
Rumors the club could ignore. In fact, rumors were good for business.
I didn’t mind anyone spreading the word that the Destroyers were “bad news,” and “don’t mess with them, because they’ll kill you.
” As long as no one mentioned names, and certainly not to the police.
But if that last part happened, it became not only something to handle, but something that needed to be handled urgently by me.
And that fit my plans perfectly.
Before I went into Carl’s house, guns blazing, I needed more than a rumor for information. “ Who is the chick?” I snapped my fingers at our tech twins, Hickey and Skinner . “ And which cop was it?” Then to Whoosh , “ Your guy, he’s cool, right? Does he need anything for the tip?”
Whoosh shook his head. “ I go way back with this dude. Maybe an invite?” He said it tentatively.
I stuck my thumb in Sprout’s direction. “ Waterskiing at the house.”
To which Sprout asked, “ Aren’t we waiting for Wolf ?” At least he understood hierarchy, but failed to understand urgency .
“ We’ll catch him up when he gets here. If the cops are asking around to figure out who and what went down last week with Whoosh , Izzy , and Sketch , this can’t fucking wait.”
Not more than a week ago, Sketch and Whoosh tangled with a lowlife, pissant gangbanger named Victor who stole the car Izzy sat in right out of Carl’s backyard.
That asshole and one of his buddies ended up dead behind an Italian restaurant.
Whoosh stepped up that night, big-time, tagging one of the bodies. Sketch took care of the other.
A day later, two other members of his gang disappeared without a trace—courtesy of yours truly.
I knew exactly where they were buried. No one else did.
I planted Whoosh’s unregistered gun at one of their homes with the hope that the cops would think this was an internal gang dispute and look no further.
But there was one person who could take Sketch and Whoosh down— Carl . He was present when the whole mess started and was instrumental in identifying the leader. That was a problem. One we needed to correct ASAP .
With Wolf , our president, on route, and Griz , the club’s sergeant at arms, out of town, and no one filling the VP role yet, Sprout technically was the highest-ranking officer present, and I should be listening to him.
But taking time to listen to the village idiot wasn’t what this club needed right now.
So , I barked orders, fruitlessly hoping they’d be listened to.
But maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to kiss his ass?
“ And Sprout ? Unless you want the VP role this minute, can you please make a good suggestion for damage control?”
“ Naw , I think you’re covering it. Bear for VP , anyone?”
Several “yeahs” sounded around the table.
I had to squash that shit fast. “ Who’s on kiddie patrol then?
Anyone want to tangle with Jackson’s spawn for me?
I’d gladly hand that over.” I waited to see who’d bite.
No one did. Obviously . “ Fuck off to all of you assholes. Let’s just work this shit in front of us and worry about the other steaming piles of excrement later, okay? ”
Hickey snorted. “ Steaming piles of excrement,” he muttered as he tapped away on his laptop. “ Might have a hit.” He flipped the unit around and showed Whoosh a picture. “ This her?”
I peeked over his shoulder. “ Yup .”
The room went quiet.
Whoosh broke the silence by stating the obvious. “ Considering it was my friend who saw her, not me, I can’t say, but Bear seems pretty convinced. Are you clairvoyant now?”
Fuck .
“ I saw that chick climb into a green F /8 Charger last week.”
“ And that’s how the mighty fall…” Sprout propped his arm up on the table and made creaking noises until his hand hit the table. “ Boom . Snatched up by the pussy.”
My fists curled in on themselves. “ Are you calling me a pussy?”
Sprout’s grin was a little too broad.
I might have to wipe it off his face.
He hesitated, knowing full well I’d clean his clock for giving me shit.
“ Seriously , you kept a sighting like that secret?” Hickey asked. “ We need intel on this guy. He’s been a good earner despite the obvious ‘serial killer’ vibes, but if he’s talking to cops, and this mysterious ‘woman’ shows up all of a sudden, that just smacks of a task force making moves.”
It did.
And Hickey was right. Which meant I needed to own up to my bullshit. “ I got distracted.”
“ By pussy,” Sprout stage-whispered.
I glared at him. “ Now you’re calling Jackson a pussy?”
Wisely , Sprout wiped the smile off his face and pretended to be interested in something very far away.
“ How’d you find that photo?” I asked.
“ Tracked a rumor to a mega-church directory. Found Carl , he’s the pastor’s son, and this woman?
She was his sister’s best friend. They’re in a lot of photos together from a decade ago and older.
Not as many recently. Carl’s sister has cancer.
There’s one of them prayer request sites online for her. ”
“ Name ? I mean, for the woman, not the sister.”
Hickey tapped a few seconds more. “ Huh .” He sounded stumped.
“ Is that a good huh or a bad one? Skinner ?” I asked Hickey’s counterpart, who wasn’t as easily distracted by unnecessary details.
Skinner stopped searching the police databases to see who was dispatched yesterday and looked over. “ Name change.” He scanned farther.
“ At age twelve. Whoa , and age six from the one she was born with. Damn . She’s used up her quota.”
These guys and their trivia. A few years back someone discovered you can legally change your name three times without incurring a fee. Trust one of these two to remember that tidbit but not give me a straight answer.
I drummed my fingers on Wolf’s desk because I didn’t have a name…yet. This was why I didn’t want the damn VP job. No one listened to me. If Jackson or Wolf had asked for a name, they’d have it. No commentary, no side convo. No fucking trivia.
They didn’t get the hint. “ Well ?”
“ Current name is listing as Rosin Black . That screams alias. Figures , she picked it when she was twelve.” Skinner pronounced her first name like the stuff in the bag you use on pitching mounds.
That couldn’t be right, not for a woman as alluring as her. I looked at what Hickey had dug up. The spelling was Roishin . Pretty name. Perfect for the cute little divots behind her knees.
“ It’s pronounced, ROEsheen . It’s Irish . And Black ? That’s Irish , too.”
Hickey stared at me.
“ What ? You think I can’t know things?”
That shut his mouth. Skinner jumped into the breach. “ It’s just that you seem to know a hell of a lot about a woman you saw climbing into Carl’s swamp green Scat Pack .”
I counted twice on my fingers. “ I don’t know why she’s with him, or whether she’s working with the cops, do I ? That’s what I need you two for.”
Hickey tapped some more. “ She ain’t working with the cops. She ain’t working period. ‘ Got fired from a local pharmaceutical research facility last month.”
That was too coincidental. I spun my thoughts out loud. “ Pharmaceutical ? Carl loves his pill customers…”
A set of nods followed my logic.
“ Do you think she’s a cook?” Skinner asked.
A methamphetamine cook would make sense. More sense than someone actually being in love with the asshole. Then again, would he let his cook drive his car?
That didn’t fit with what I knew of Carl . He never did anything decent unless he could profit off it, or get favors for it.
“ I think we need to give him a visit.”
“ You got a mouse in your pocket? You need to give him a visit.” Hickey said.
Sprout chimed in. “ Once Wolf approves it.”
“ Thanks , VP .” Giving Sprout a promotion sounded funny in my head. But no one else was stepping up. It might as well be him.
The men around the desk laughed. I pointed at the idiot they all thought so little of. “ We all know he’s the power behind the throne, don’t let him fool you.”
“ That’d be Danielle ,” he fired back.
“ She’s the power under your throne,” Skinner said.
“ Between your knees,” Hickey joked.
Sprout rubbed his crotch. “ Hell , yeah. That’s the best part of being married. Except the whole pregnant part kind of fucks with her being on her knees for very long.”
“ When is that woman finally gonna pop?” She had to be due any minute now.
She was as big as a house. Not that I’d say that in front of Sprout .
For that, it was a sure bet that he’d knife me.
Everything else ran right off him. But bad-talk about his woman or his ma?
Boom . Suddenly , he turned into his father.
Don’t get me wrong, Sprout’s deceased father, Jolly , was a great man, and left big shoes to fill when it came to enforcer legends.
I was trying my best to live up to his example.
I couldn’t imagine the weight of it on Sprout .
No wonder he was a fuckup — he had less to prove that way. My epiphany was cut short.
“ She’s due December 25 th .”
Damn , no separation between Christmas and birthday presents. “ That poor kid.”
“ Hey ! He’s going to be spoiled rotten.”
“ That’ll be Ma’s doing, not yours.” Hickey laughed. “ Poor kid.”
“ All you all can fuck off.”
“ You sure it’s not a girl?” I asked.
“ The Great Dane does not shoot X chromosomes.”
Dumb ass . He willingly gave himself a nickname ripe for ridicule.
“ Uh …” Hickey started, finger in the air, but I interrupted him.