Chapter 8
Eight
Dime
"I'm heading out," I tell Devil as I make a stop at the office of Saint's Outlaws garage.
He gives me a nod. Only he and I know where I'm going. "See ya, let me know if you need anything."
"Be safe." I give him a wave.
Jogging over to my bike, I throw a chin hitch at Keegan, the teenage son of Ransom Thompson who has been working at the garage for a few months. He gives me a grin, reminding me of his dad.
Getting on the bike, I take off for the rural outskirts of Laurel Springs. There's only one reason I'm headed out this way, and that's to meet with Chief Harrison.
The ride takes about twenty minutes, the scenery changing from the familiar streets of town to rolling hills and farmland.
Out here, it's quiet. Peaceful. The kind of place where you can have a conversation without worrying about who might overhear, or see you.
Which is important, because no one else can know I'm undercover.
I pull off onto a dirt road that leads to an old barn that hasn't been used in years. Chief Harrison's unmarked SUV is already there, parked in the shadow of the building. I kill the engine and pull off my helmet, scanning the area out of habit before I walk over.
He's leaning against the hood of his vehicle, arms crossed over his chest. Chief Mason Harrison is in his fifties, with gray hair at his temples and sharp eyes that don't miss a damn thing.
"Dime," he greets me, and I can hear the irony in his voice. He's one of the few people who knows that's not my real name.
"Chief." I stop a few feet away, shoving my hands in my pockets. "What've you got?"
"We're doing what we can to find anything on the Clark family," he says, getting right to business. "But they're slippery. Money buys a lot of clean records and tight lips when it comes to this crew."
"What about Logan?"
His jaw tightens. "As you know, we let him go."
"I know, and I'm pissed about it." The words come out harsher than I intend, but I can't help it.
"We let him go in order to find out as much information as we can on the fentanyl-laced weed that keeps coming into Laurel Springs.
" Chief Harrison's voice is calm, measured.
"Kid's scared shitless, and scared kids make mistakes.
They talk to the wrong people, go to the wrong places.
We've got eyes on him twenty-four seven, and I know y'all do too. "
I run a hand through my hair, trying to tamp down the anger that's always simmering just below the surface these days. "And if he leads you to his family?"
"Then we'll have what we need." He pauses. "The Clarks are careful. They've been operating under the radar for a long time. But Logan? He's young, he's reckless, and he's not as smart as he thinks he is. He'll slip up."
"He better." I kick at a rock on the ground. "Because this shit is poison, and it's killing kids."
"I know." Harrison's expression softens slightly. "How's your teacher friend doing?"
My teacher friend. That's what we call Allison in these meetings, like giving her a label instead of a name will somehow keep her separate from all this. But she's not separate. She's right in the middle of it, whether either of us like it or not.
"She's hanging in there. Stronger than she thinks she is."
"Good. We're going to need her to be strong." He shifts his weight, studying me. "Speaking of which, are you okay to still be undercover?"
The question catches me off guard. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you've got a civilian involved now. Someone you care about. That changes things, makes you vulnerable in ways you weren't before." His eyes are sharp, assessing. "If this blows up, if the Rebels or the Clarks figure out who you really are, Allison becomes a target. You ready for that?"
I meet his gaze head-on. "I've been ready for whatever comes since the day I agreed to this assignment. Nothing's changed."
"Everything's changed," he counters. "You've got skin in the game now. Real skin, not just a job."
He's right, but I'm not about to admit it. "I can handle it."
"Can you?" He pushes off from the SUV, taking a step closer. "Because from where I'm standing, you're in deep with this woman. And that's fine, hell, it's good that you've got something real in your life. But it also means you've got something to lose."
My hands curl into fists at my sides. "I know what I'm doing."
"Do you? Because I've seen good cops go down this road before. They get attached, they start making decisions based on emotion instead of logic, and people get hurt." He pauses. "I need to know you're still thinking clearly."
"I am." The words come out as firm as I can make them. "Allison knows I'm undercover."
Harrison's eyebrows shoot up. "You told her?"
I can't tell him about Dani and Devil, so I tell him as much as I'm willing to. "I think she's figured it out. She hasn't said anything directly, but she's smart. She knows I'm hiding something, and she trusts me anyway." I take a breath. "And yeah, I'm okay with that."
"You sure about that? Because once civilians know…"
"I'm sure." I cut him off. "I plan on spending the rest of my life with Allison if she'll have me. Which means at some point, she's going to know everything. Better she knows now and can make an informed decision about whether she wants to be with me."
Chief Harrison is quiet for a long moment, just watching me. Then he nods slowly. "Alright. But you need to be sure you can trust the people around you. All of the people around you."
"I trust them." I say it without hesitation. "Devil and I trust each other. We have to. The rest of the club? They're good people. They want the Rebels gone as much as we do."
"Good people can still make bad choices when they're backed into a corner."
"I know that. But I also know that Devil would die before he let anything happen to me or Allison. Same with Storm, same with the rest of them." I square my shoulders. "I trust them with my life. More importantly, I trust them with hers."
Harrison studies me for another moment, then sighs. "Just be careful, Grant."
The sound of my real name hits me like a punch to the chest. Grant Swain. I haven't heard it spoken out loud in so long that it almost sounds foreign. For the last few years, I've been Dime. Just Dime. No last name, no history, nothing but the patch on my back and the role I'm playing.
But hearing Chief Harrison say my real name reminds me that somewhere under all the leather and lies, I'm still that guy. Still the cop who signed up for this assignment because he wanted to make a difference. Still the man who believes in justice and doing the right thing.
And now I'm also the man who's falling in love with a woman who deserves better than all this secrecy and danger.
"I will be," I tell him. "Careful, I mean.
" But then I stop for a second. "And I'm going to be honest with you, even though my gut is screaming at me not to.
Some days I feel more like I'm an outlaw than a cop, and I like that feeling.
I feel more at home here than I did in my everyday life, but I promise you, that's not affecting my ability to do my job. "
"Good.Thank you for being honest with me.
" He pulls out his phone, checking something.
"I'll keep you updated on what we find with the Clarks.
In the meantime, keep your eyes open. The Rebels are getting bolder, and if they're working with a local family, that means they've got resources we didn't anticipate. "
"Got it."
"And Grant?" He looks up from his phone. "Keep that woman safe. She didn't ask for any of this."
"I know. I plan to."
We shake hands, and then I'm back on my bike, heading toward town. But my mind is racing the whole way. Grant Swain. It's been so long since I thought of myself that way. So long since I was just a man instead of a role.
But with Allison, I feel like I can be both. Like maybe when this is all over, I can take off the cut and the fake name and just be Grant. A man who loves a woman and wants to build a life with her.
If we survive this, I'm going to do exactly that. I'm going to tell her everything, lay it all out on the table, and hope like hell she still wants me when she knows the truth.
When I pull back into the Saint's Outlaws garage, Devil is waiting. He takes one look at my face and nods.
"Everything good?"
"Yeah." I kill the engine. "Everything's good."
"Then let's get back to work. The sooner we shut down the Rebels and figure out what the Clarks are up to, the sooner you can stop living a lie."
I don't miss that he says you, as if I'm the only one living a lie.
Which tells me more than anything, he's made up his mind for when this is over.
Above everything though, he's right. And as I follow him into the garage, I make myself a promise.
Whatever it takes, however long this lasts, I'm going to protect Allison and finish this job.
Because Grant Swain doesn't leave things half-done. And Dime doesn't let his people down.
And right now, I'm both.