28. Bear
28
BEAR
“ T he war with the Caputis is over,” I announced to the club when we’d gathered at the clubhouse for church. “Today marks the beginning of a new reign. A tentative stalemate, but peace nonetheless.”
I ran my hand over Julia’s spine and curled my palm around the back of her neck, massaging her tense muscles. She’d been nervous to face the brothers after everything that had happened. Understandably so. We’d lost good men because of Gabriella Caputi, but their sacrifice had not been wasted. We were stronger for it, ushering in a new era of trade with people we’d once considered enemies. As our closest neighbors, it made more sense for us to be allies, especially now that I knew how much we had in common.
“What about the Kings of Carnage and the Hell’s Knights?” Wheels asked, rubbing his hand over his head.
“They’re still a threat,” KC said, crossing his arms. “We’re monitoring them closely.”
“They live far enough away that we’ll have ample time to prepare if they decide to come on our territory again,” Thor added.
“They sided with Gabriella,” one of our brothers said. “They deserve our wrath.”
“Definitely,” I added. “But we just buried our fallen brothers. We need to let the dust settle and regroup before we do anything reckless.”
The mostly positive mumbling echoed through the crowd.
“Anyone have anything to say to that?” I barked. “Speak now or hold your fucking tongue.”
No one said anything else.
“Good,” I said.
“We’ve heard from Berkshire,” KC added. “The case against Aris and Crow isn’t good. The DA is pushing for maximum sentencing, upward of ten years in prison.”
More grumbling came from the club, and I heard words like “Get them out,” or “We need to rectify that shit.” I didn’t disagree.
“My family has a few very talented lawyers,” Julia added. “I can ask them to take a look, if you’d like.”
KC pursed his lips and Hollywood smiled.
“That would be wonderful, wife,” I said, kissing her cheek. “The more help we have, the better.”
She nodded and retrieved her phone, no doubt sending out commands to the lawyers in question to get involved.
“The IRA is sniffing around,” Hollywood said, explaining how our Irish friends had been upset about the supply disruption while we fought off Gabriella. “If we don’t straighten it out soon, they’ll come do it themselves.”
“I’ll call their boss and get it sorted,” Thor said.
“Perfect,” I said. “What about the upcoming run?”
Lore filled us in on what had happened out in Montana. The Royal Bastards were all too willing to keep our business, which was good because we needed to find other customers to buy the arms we got from the cartel.
“They want me to be their exclusive liaison,” Lore said. “I’m happy to do it if you think it’s a good idea.”
I agreed, and the conversation moved on. We had three upcoming runs in the next few weeks, and my time had come up in the rotation. I’d take the ride to New England and back. It wasn’t my usual trip, but I didn’t have a problem with that. Maybe I’d even get Julia on a bike by then and take her with me.
After all the business had been sorted, most of the club got up to leave, except for my officers. KC stayed in the spot on my right and Hollywood on my left. Wheels, Doc, and Thor leaned on the table to glance up at the head where I still sat with Julia on my lap.
“How’s the alliance coming along?” Thor asked, glancing at Julia. “Is everyone in the Caputi family playing nice?”
She shifted. “We might have a problem, but nothing my brother can’t handle.”
“Good,” Thor said as he crossed his arms. “Because the Hell’s Knights aren’t gonna stop coming for us. We owe them for what they did to Alba and Julia.”
“When we took out their prez earlier this year, it set a precedent,” KC added. “They’re pissed. It may have started because of some shit Crow did to the prez’s brother, but now it’s about the whole thing.”
“We killed more of them on our turf. It may have created another war.” Doc stabbed out his cigarette and looked at me. “The men are right. We should mount an attack now before we find ourselves on the wrong end of a Knights’ invasion.”
“They’ll have to regroup first,” I said, clearing my throat to get rid of the lump that had suddenly formed in my gut. I hated the thought of more bloodshed so soon after we’d just ended it on our home turf, but I wouldn’t let the Hell’s Knights disrespect us any more than they already had. My father wouldn’t have stood for it, and nor would I. They were a national club as big, if not bigger, than the Roses. If they wanted to start shit, we could finish it. “Enough. The night is young, and most of you have old ladies to keep happy.” I nodded toward the door. “Go.”
Everyone stood to leave except for KC and Hollywood, who both looked at me like they had more to say. I sensed this would be better done in private, so I patted Julia’s tight little ass and nodded toward the door.
“You too, mi amore. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
She kissed me before rising to walk out, the click-clack of her heels echoing through the small space. Leave it to her to wear Jimmy Choos two weeks after being released from the hospital, despite her arm still being in a sling.
God, I fucking loved her.
“You two seem great,” Hollywood said. “I was worried I was gonna have to kick your ass for whatever you did at the Beacon that made her run away from you.”
I raised an eyebrow and smirked. “I told you already. I didn’t do anything to her that she didn’t want.” I knew now that she’d been in the very early stages of pregnancy and her emotions had been justifiably all over the place. Telling her I loved her shouldn’t have been that big of a surprise, seeing as I killed anyone who touched her. “What’s going on? What is this?”
I glanced at KC, who smiled and shrugged. “We just wanted to check in on you. Sunshine tells me Julia was pregnant before she got shot.”
“I didn’t realize she’d mentioned it to anyone,” I said, pleased my wife had confided in her cousin about it. At least she had someone to talk to. “It’s sad. We’re grieving it, even if we didn’t know about it until it was already too late. Don’t worry, I’ll get her knocked up again soon. The terms of the contract will still be fulfilled.”
“That’s not what I’m concerned about,” KC said. “What will our enemies do when they realize the new president’s Caputi wife is carrying his kid?”
“Are you suggesting I not fuck my wife?”
KC snorted and shook his head. “No fucking way. I’m saying you need more guards, more protection. You need to take better care of yourself.”
Once upon a time, I would have balked and told KC to mind his own business. But now…well…these two boneheads were my second and third for a reason. I trusted them more than anyone else in the club. I shifted at the advice and nodded. “Fine.”
“And you need to stop doing runs,” Hollywood added. “You’re too important, and we’re too vulnerable right now.”
I snapped my gaze up to him, my jaw clenching. “I’ll decide when I stop doing that.”
“See?” Hollywood glanced at KC. “Told ya.”
“Bear,” KC said. “Be reasonable. Your old man?—”
“My old man stopped doing runs because we were beefing with the Caputis,” I said. “Now that’s over, I can?—”
“Fine,” Hollywood cut me off. “I’m pulling rank. I’m the road captain and I say you need to keep your beautiful, entitled ass at home.”
“You can’t do that,” I said, my tone snappier than I’d meant it to be.
“Watch me.” He leaned in, his grin widening into that stupid Hollywood smile that made me want to punch his teeth out.
A tense moment passed between us where I dared him to say more and he dared me to do something about it. I launched out of my seat at the same time he did, and both of our chairs toppled over. He raced out of the back room, and I ran after him, dodging through brothers and sofas as I trailed him. We burst out into the humid night air, his shit-kickers thundering on the grass as we circled the clubhouse to the wooded area in the back. We had a bunch of sheds out here, housing all the shit the club had collected over the decades but didn’t fit inside the main building anymore. Hollywood threw his head back and howled as he sprinted, and I growled, knowing he had a point but unable to concede it without a fight.
Truthfully, Hollywood and I had been roughhousing with each other since we met. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d had to haul off and tackle him to keep him from doing or saying something stupid. It was part of the reason I loved the guy so damned much. We were brothers by choice, and in a world that kept trying to take my family away from me, I needed that more than ever.
I finally caught up to him toward the tree line a hundred yards away from the clubhouse, and I shoved my shoulder into his gut to take him down. He elbowed me in the chin, and I punched him in the stomach before he threw his weight around and rolled us so he was on top. And just when I would have kneed him in the groin to get the upper hand again, a feminine laugh got my attention, followed shortly by a deeper masculine one.
“Hollywood,” Julia said. “I would have shared him if you had only asked. But since you’ve got him in submission, I suppose I’ll let the slight go if I can watch.”
“Oh, these two have been inches away from fucking or fighting for years,” KC teased.
“Get off me!” I growled.
“You know, I normally like to be the bottom, but I think I can make an exception for you,” Hollywood said with a smile. “Maybe just this once.”
“You’ve gotta get him on the side,” Julia called. “He’s super ticklish.”
Hollywood dug his fingers into my ribs and I wilted, trying to scramble away but he had a good hold on me.
“Goddamn it, wife. I thought you had my back.”
“Not about this,” she called. “I agree with them. You need to leave the runs to the brothers. Now, fuck him up, Hollywood, or let him go. I’m tired and it’s too wet out here for my suede heels.”
Hollywood rolled off me and I lay in the grass, staring at the fading summer sun and trying to catch my breath.
“Fine,” I finally conceded. “I’ll stop doing runs.”
“Good,” Hollywood said, nailing me in the stomach one more time before pushing to his feet and holding a hand out for me to take. “I wouldn’t have to kick your ass if you’d just listen to me once in a while.”
I sneered at him, but walked to my wife and scooped her in my arms to carry her back inside so she didn’t ruin her pretty shoes.
A few days later, I was at the garage, trying to figure out what was wrong with an old Ford Ranger when the familiar sound of a clearing throat got my attention. I rolled out from under the pickup and sat up, glancing at both KC and Thor before pushing to my feet.
“Mr. Montgomery,” Detective Jordan said from her spot at the entrance.
“Detective Jordan.” I raised an eyebrow and wiped my oily hands on a rag. “To what do I owe this great honor?”
She nodded back toward her unmarked car. “Can I have a moment?”
Thor shifted onto his other foot and KC shrugged, raising his eyebrows like maybe it wasn’t the best idea. I thought back to the last time I’d talked to her, when I told her to find the leak in her department. Someone had been working with the Caputis and the secret of who that was had died with Gabriella and her men.
“You have a warrant?” I glanced around, noticing she’d come by herself. No other police officers trolled the perimeter, nor was her partner Detective Asshat in her car.
“My visit’s not exactly…on the record.” She stared at me, perhaps willing me to pick up what she was laying down. Her bright hazel eyes sparkled in the sunshine, her body tense with whatever had brought her to Rose territory with no backup.
“All right,” I said, shaking my head when Thor picked up a wrench. “I’ll be back in a few.”
“Uh-huh,” he said, watching as I followed the detective back down to her Crown Vic.
“What’s going on?” I asked, sudden alarm shooting through my chest and into my gut. “Is it my old man?”
“No,” she said. “Randall’s fine. Ashley’s fine.” I hadn’t heard Crow and Aris referred to by their legal names in so long, it took me a moment to realize who she was talking about. “It’s, um…” Jordan cleared her throat and glanced down to the ground, kicking a rock back and forth with her boot.
“What?” I asked. “I don’t have all fucking day?—”
“It’s about the leak,” she said. “You said you thought someone in the Feds had been working with the Caputis.”
“I did,” I said. “I still do. And?”
She put her hands on her hips, pushing her suit jacket back far enough to reveal her badge and gun. “I believe you.”
“Oh.” That took me by surprise. I’d been expecting her to tell me the whole thing was ridiculous or perhaps arrest me for my part in any number of the illegal shit my family got up to. I had not expected this. “What changed your mind?”
“I’ve been a cop for ten years. Not once have my instincts steered me wrong.” She shook her head and glanced around. “After the last time we talked, my gut told me you were right, that there was more to what you were saying. I did some digging.”
“And?” I crossed my arms, glancing back toward Thor and KC, who stood outside and watched like hawks. If Jordan made one wrong move, they’d descend like a pack of wolves. I tried to reassure them with my expression.
“And…it’s not good,” she said. “But I need your help. There’s no way I can get close enough to do this on my own.”
“Help?” I scoffed. “You obviously didn’t listen last time. I’m not a snitch, and neither is my old man.”
She tucked her lips between her teeth and steeled her gaze, taking a long, slow inhale. “I can make it worth your while.”
“How?” I let out a sick laugh. “You gonna let my dad go? You gonna let Aris walk?”
“I can’t,” she said. “But I can convince the DA to lower the charges. If the evidence was obtained illegally, it’s inadmissible in court. And if what I suspect is true, we don’t have much.”
That lit a small fire of hope in my chest. “What’s in it for me?”
“You wanted to see your dad?” she asked. “I can arrange that.”
The temptation was too great to resist. For months, I’d been holding the club together by my fingernails, barely sleeping, worrying I wasn’t doing the right things. The only person who had visitation rights was my sister, and she’d been tasked with relaying everything he said like some twisted game of telephone. It was one thing for her to say he approved; it was another to hear it from the man himself.
“What do you want from me?” I asked, twisting with guilt at the thoughts spiraling around in my head. If there was one thing we outlaws agreed on, it was that cops were bastards and untrustworthy. All cops. It didn’t matter what sweet lies dripped from their slimy lips or how much they promised in return. Making a deal with them was worse than signing your life away to the devil. Snitches routinely got killed in the pen for this very thing. But if I could get my revenge and my father out of jail, what wouldn’t I give for that? Was my guilt, my shame, worth it?
“From what I understand, you’re married to a Caputi,” she said. “Not only that, Gabriella has all but disappeared and her nephew, your brother-in-law, is now the head boss of the Caputi mafia.”
I crossed my arms. “It sounds like you have your asset. What do you need me for?”
“Leverage,” she said. “I need confirmation that what I suspect is true. Cold, hard evidence. Otherwise, I can’t do anything about it.”
“And you think I can get that for you?”
“I think your wife can,” she said. “Your brother-in-law.”
“Convincing them to work with the pigs is never going to happen,” I said. “No matter what you think you can do.”
“C’mon, Montgomery,” she said with a smirk. “I heard you were the brains of this whole operation. Surely, you’re more resourceful than that.”
I raised an eyebrow and pursed my lips.
“Find out who the Caputis were working with in the Feds, and I’ll get your dad and Aris Washington a lower sentence.”
“And if I can’t?” I didn’t like being backed into a corner, but perhaps Jordan wasn’t as terrible as the rest of the PD. Perhaps she really could help my dad.
“No deal,” she said. “I believe you when you say someone is doing something shady on the inside, but unless I can prove it, I can’t do anything about it.”
I took a deep inhale and nodded. “Fine. I’ll do my best, but I’m not telling you anything more than that.”
“Fine,” she said, her eyes lighting up at my very reluctant acceptance.
“Why are you doing all this, anyway?” I said. “You’ve got no business helping me or Crow. So what if someone in the PD is dirty? It wouldn’t be the first time.”
She shifted her shoulders uncomfortably and looked down at the ground, crossing her arms in defense.
“I don’t like the thought of someone sullying the badge,” she said. “Among other things.”
The blush on her cheeks gave her away. I’d always been good at reading people, and even if Detective Jordan could maintain that stoic skepticism most detectives had beaten into them, she wasn’t perfect. Something more was going on, something she didn’t want me to know, something she was perhaps ashamed of.
My father would never admit it, but he’d always had a soft spot for her. I didn’t know what it was, but I married the enemy, so who the fuck was I to judge? Did she return the sentiment?
She handed me a business card with a handwritten number on the back.
“This is my burner phone,” she said. “I suggest you get one, too. Text me the number when you have it. We’ll go from there.”
She turned to head back toward her cruiser.
“Jordan,” I called out. She stopped and faced me. “Whatever your reasons, if this gets me killed, my wife will come after you.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” She nodded, hopped in her Crown Vic, and started the engine.
I tried to swallow down the rising tide of panic in my gut. My father wouldn’t like this. My club wouldn’t like it. Nor would my wife or new family. But like Jordan said, I’d always been resourceful. I could figure out who ratted us out, slip the info to her, and kill them before anyone knew it was me. And as for the pig who turned traitor, well, I’d let Jordan handle her own.
I put the card back in my pocket and headed toward the garage.
“What’d she want?” KC asked.
A moment passed where I debated not telling Thor and KC. Maybe it might be better to keep it a secret. My club would gut me alive if they found out I was working with the PD. But…I wasn’t, was I? Not really. I was working with Jordan, and I had a gut feeling she wouldn’t let her slip show. She’d keep this under wraps until she could take down the dirty fucker herself.
“We’ve got a problem,” I said. Then, I told them everything, trusting they would keep it between us three.
“I don’t like it,” KC said, scratching the back of his head. He narrowed his bright blue eyes and winced. “This walks a fine line.”
“I know,” I said. “Which is why we’re gonna play our own game.”
“Oh?” Thor raised his eyebrows. “What did you have in mind?”
“Vengeance.” With a grin, I told them my plan and watched as they pieced it together. For the rest of the afternoon, we schemed and plotted and ultimately decided to keep it between us. The rest of the club didn’t have to know, not yet, not until we had more to go on ourselves.
“We’ll have to give it to someone else,” Thor said. “We just got you off runs. You can’t start stuffing your face with pig shit.”
“I agree,” I said.
“You think she’s got it bad for your old man?” KC asked with that charismatic grin.
I laughed. “If she does, I pity both of them. The only thing worse than marrying a Caputi would be falling in love with a cop.”
“May the Gods have mercy on them, then,” Thor said. “Now, let’s get to work.”