Chapter 13 Notch
THIRTEEN
NOTCH
She was a spy. She had to be. A spy who took advantage of an opportunity when she saw it.
“They.” She had been doing research on me.
I knew she knew about the crew. About my affiliation with them.
Which meant she knew I wasn’t an EMT. Well, not anymore, at least. What all did she know?
And what the fuck was her connection to that gang in the first damn place?
My gut screamed at me. Told me I was still missing a connection.
Something I was gravely misinterpreting about this girl.
But it wasn’t screaming at me regarding her connection to Harry Cheng.
She was connected. I knew it in the pit of my gut.
Was she trying to get information out of me?
Was this what she wanted? Pushing herself on me because she knew who I really was this entire time?
Our interactions kept running through my mind, and I sighed.
No, she didn’t push herself onto anyone.
I was the one who had done the pushing. Who had sought her out after that first tattoo?
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t taking advantage of a prime situation.
And that didn’t mean she hadn’t attempted to lure me into a trap in the process.
I refused to be the reason this club was compromised.
I knew I had enough circumstantial information to feed Stone in order to update him on what I had figured out.
But for now, I needed to get to the bar.
I needed to call Bronx and set a plan in motion I knew he’d had set up for us in case we ever needed it.
“Call Bronx,” I said into my helmet microphone.
“Calling, Bronx,” the woman’s voice said back to me.
The phone didn’t even ring twice before he picked up.
“Are you fucking insane right now?” he asked.
“Listen to me, I need you to meet me at the bar. In the back,” I said.
“Why? Why the fuck would you leave like that when Stone gave you direct orders to not leave, and why the hell would you think I’d do the same damn thing?”
“Plan D.”
He paused. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No. I’m not. Plan D. Bar. Now.”
“Fine. Fine. I’ll find a way out of here. But we shouldn’t do it at the bar. The Chinese might get the jump on us if we’re there, just the two of us.”
“Plan C bar?” I asked.
“Fine by me. See you in thirty.”
The call hung up as I whipped a U-turn in the middle of the road.
Car horns honked at me as I headed for the dive bar.
Our club was intricate, and we always spoke in code, but that was how we flew under the radar in such a big city.
As Road Captain, I had four distinct plans that fit perfectly into my job, mostly having to do with drama that hit the crew whenever we were on road trips.
Plan A was to split up and get home. Plan B was to meet up at the hotel we all camped at to figure out our next move.
Things like that. Depending on who we were talking to and what plan was thrown, that told us what we were supposed to be doing.
For Bronx? Plan D was meeting up alone to discuss shit before taking it to Stone.
He was the most level-headed of us all and was easily the one we poured our souls out to whenever we couldn’t cope.
But Plan C was built around a very specific dive bar that was honestly on the verge of closing.
It was rundown. It stunk. The beer was always warm, and the food was just on the side of spoiled.
But no one ever thought to look for someone there because of how disgusting the place was.
Just to be safe, though, I left my leather cut in the storage compartment on the back of my bike.
I smiled when I walked inside because I saw Bronx had done the same.
“He’s gonna be livid when he finds out I’m not there,” he said.
“This won’t take long, I promise,” I said.
The two of us sat down and ordered nothing but waters, much to the owner’s dismay. But we waited for them to be set down in front of us so we knew we’d be alone while speaking.
“All right. We’re clear. What the hell is on your mind?” Bronx asked.
“Stone’s lost his mind. I know you know that,” I said.
“You’re going to have to be a lot more specific than that,” he said, chuckling.
I grinned. “Even if we do take out the horde coming for us, we still have the detective to deal with. Especially since his daughter’s connected to us now. He’ll stop at nothing, and I know you know that.”
“Yes, I do. Eventually, we’ll have to take care of him in some way.”
“Why can’t Stone accept that?” I asked.
“That’s what you wanted to talk about?”
“Will you shut up and fucking humor me for a second?”
“I’m risking my own ass and place in this crew to come meet you for this. I want to make sure your own conversation’s gonna be worth it.”
“It will be, if you sit here and listen like a normal person.”
He sighed. “Fine. Yes, I know we’ll have to finish off the detective. But I also get why Stone is putting his foot down with it. I mean, he’s engaged to his daughter, for fuck’s sake. Doesn’t bode well for their future if Stone is off plotting her father’s death.”
“Stone doesn’t have to be the one to take care of him, you know.”
“What are you saying?”
I sighed. “I’m saying that no more innocent lives have to be lost. And with all you guys hooking up with women you love, I’m the only one who’s free right now to get his hands dirty.”
“Notch, just because—”
I held up my hand and listened as Bronx scoffed.
“I’m happy you’ve found someone, Bronx. I really am. I see how happy Freya makes you. Hell, I see how happy all the women make you guys. But with women comes a higher standard of living. They expect more of us. Of you guys. And that’s wonderful. Great. Superb.”
“Superb?” he asked, grinning.
I shrugged. “Not my fault I’m smart.”
He laughed, but the laughing soon died down.
“You don’t have to be the one to take out the detective. That alone could get you thrown out of the club,” Bronx said.
“And it’s a chance I’m willing to take if it keeps you guys safe.
These women too. And Keva. Just a little girl who’s got no clue what the fuck’s going on.
Come on, it’s a no-brainer at this point.
No more innocent lives need to be lost and scarred in all this.
Especially after what Freya had to do to protect what she felt she needed to. ”
Bronx’s face fell, and I knew he understood.
“How is she, by the way?” I asked.
He shrugged. “She’s about as good as she can be for taking someone’s life for the first time.”
I shook my head. “Shit was rough when I first did it. I didn’t sleep right for months. I can still remember that man’s face. The whites of his eyes.”
“She’ll live with it forever. It has changed her, though she might not want to admit it now.”
“And that’s what I’m saying, Bronx. Her innocence was collateral damage in this war we’re fighting, and Stone won’t let us step in either direction.”
“I’m not letting you do this alone.”
“Which is why I called you. I want you to promise me something,” I said.
“Name it,” he said.
“If it comes down to the club or this detective, we’ll choose the club. You’ll help me stave off Stone and Texas long enough to take care of this man, no matter what.”
“You have my word,” he said, nodding.
“I’ll deal with the backlash later. I’ll preach your innocence to save your spot. Because I know Stone will lose his head. But this way? His fiancée’s father’s blood isn’t on his hands, and the crew is safe from him forever.”
“Only if you promise me one thing.”
“What is that?” I asked.
“You’ll only kill Terry if it’s absolutely necessary,” he said.
“You have my word,” I said.
I held out my hand and we shook on it. What we were doing was essentially mutiny.
And if Stone ever caught wind of it, he’d be irate.
Both of our lives would be on the line with that man.
And whenever he got angry, the only thing he saw and smelled was blood.
I sighed as the handshake broke and then the two of us looked at our waters.
“There’s shit floating around in it,” Bronx said flatly.
I chuckled as I pushed the glass away. Then, I got up from my seat.
“Ten minutes, then leave,” I said.
“I’ll have tetanus in eight.”
“Good thing I used to be an EMT,” I said.
And as I started for the front doors of the bar, I questioned whether or not to tell him about Maya.
To double back and clue him in on my swirling mind.
But I still had unanswered questions. Things I wanted to ask her.
But I couldn’t with how heated and taken aback I was by the revelation that she had been obviously doing research on me.
For a spy, she was a terrible liar. She got flustered way too easily.
Which meant she probably wasn’t a spy at all.
“How the fuck is she caught up in all this, then?” I murmured to myself.
I didn’t know, but I needed to figure it out before I came clean with the guys.
Especially if I was going to have a ghostly gun pointed straight at the detective until all this shit was wrapped up.