Naomi
She tried not to fidget, sitting across from Savage, Ink, Ice, and Rogue. Four giant men were watching her, surrounding her. She wanted to crawl under the table and slink away as she’d seen Asher do a couple of times. Instead, she told herself to stop being a coward and forced herself to face them.
“Yeah, you’re not in trouble,” Rogue stated, watching her.
It didn’t relax her. If she wasn’t in trouble, why did they want to talk to her? Especially since Rogue asked the twins to come over and play with her son so they could talk to her. What were they about to say that they didn’t want any kids to hear?
She didn’t answer him, just waited for more information, having learned a long time ago never to be the first to speak. It got you in trouble.
Ice chuckled, and Ink grinned as Savage heaved an annoyed sigh.
“Brother, she’s got your number,” Ice said, with a smile of his own.
“Naomi, you did a great job with Ink’s books, and we’re hoping you could continue to help out with them and also take on Rogue’s garage so Esme can finally go on maternity leave without stressing that someone is messing it up.
Is that something you’d be willing to help with? ”
“And you don’t have to worry about doing it during the day. We can give you the books and materials at night,” Rogue offered. “Or you can use the office space after hours if you want to use the computer there. That’ll keep you out of the public eye.”
“And you won’t have to worry about Asher that way,” Ink added. “And obviously, you don’t have to come to the shop to pick up the books there; I’ll bring them to you every night or once a week or whatever.”
That was not what she’d expected. “Wait, you want me to work for you? Is this your idea so I can earn my keep while I’m here?”
“You’re not earning anything,” Savage corrected.
“Naomi, we’re not asking you this because we think you owe us anything.
You have every right to say no. We’re at the point where Ice is overwhelmed with trying to do everything.
Since you’re a whiz with numbers, this seemed like something you might be interested in doing so you’re not bored. ”
She stared at him, then slowly let her gaze sweep around the table to the others. It wasn’t flattering that they were asking her to do this. The little voice in the back of her head was yelling at her to pay attention, that not everything was as it seemed.
Why, after they had their big meeting, did they want her to help? Was she a topic of conversation? Was this a test? See what they could trust her with?
She tried not to resent it, but she understood. Her history with Diego and how well she remembered everything, they hadn’t trusted her brain and what she could recall. What she could tell someone who wanted to know if she was ever asked.
“So you want to test me.”
None of them reacted, but that was an answer in of itself. No surprise, no disagreement. Even Ink had gone surprisingly quiet, but his smile never dimmed.
“How does asking you to work on our books test you?” Rogue asked, leaning forward, blue eyes intense on hers.
She felt a little more on solid ground. Used to being carefully interrogated. It was Diego’s favorite way of trying to trip her up.
“I imagine you want me to get a system in place so that when Esme comes back, she can take over both. This is your way of testing whether it will be easy or complicated.” A simple, truthful answer, but not at all what she meant.
Rogue’s brow arched ever so slightly, as if he were sure she was going to say something else. “It would be helpful, though I don’t know that we thought as far ahead as using the same system.”
The words were so careful, yet clearly untrusting. He probably thought it was her way of keeping all the data in one place so she could memorize it.
“Fine, then, testing out two different systems. I suppose they are two different types of services, so using the same system could cause problems.”
“I need something simple, or else I’ll never convince anyone else to take it on after you leave,” Ink added, giving her a charming smile.
“All it is, Naomi, is that I desperately need someone to help me set up a system that makes sense and is easy to follow. You’re brilliant.
Rogue is about to lose Esme, and as much as she would probably be willing to go in and do the books, that’s a lot to ask, and Fury will probably murder us for suggesting it.
This way, things don’t fall behind, Rogue doesn’t kill someone for entering something wrong, and Ice doesn’t, in turn, try to kill all of us for making him do double the work to fix it all. ”
She’d give it to him. He was good at playing all his cards. There was truth to that, but she also knew there was more to it.
Her hands shook, and she stiffened her spine to keep from trembling as she looked at Savage. She slipped back into the persona she used with Diego and her father for years. The one where she could look them in the eye without being scared shitless. She’d break down later.
“You want me to do the books, but you also want to see what I can retain and what I’ll say to the Feds when they ask about the club.
Because you think you’re on their radar, which means they want to go through me to find out what illegal shit you’re doing, or what they can get from you as well as the cartel. ”
Savage held her gaze, but his eyes hardened and his jaw clenched. “That’s what you think?”
“I think that’s what you’re thinking. You don’t know me. I helped out Ink, and now you see a way to figure out just what I can do. What you can trick me with. What? Are you planning to doctor the books, see if I’ll catch anything? Report it back to my Fed contact?
“Or maybe, you just want to see what I do and whether I’m as smart as I say I am. Maybe find a way to use it for what you want but not actually tell me what that would be, because you can’t risk me spilling it if asked. Am I getting close?”
A tic in his jaw was all the answer she got.
“Naomi, I don’t think—”
She turned her head and looked at Ink. “Don’t.
You think I don’t realize that’s how things work in an MC?
It’s not all that different from the cartel.
You pull rank, you close ranks with each other, but someone has to be the nice one, trying to make me feel at ease.
” She looked at Ice. “Someone has to be the voice of reason.” Then to Rogue.
“And someone has to be the muscle, the intimidation to make the conversation go their way.” Finally, she looked back at Savage.
“And then there’s the one in charge. The one who makes it all happen. Am I close?”
Everything inside her was weak with fear. What kind of idiot was she speaking to these men this way? The men who were responsible for her safety. For Asher’s safety. She should play along and apologize, but the words wouldn’t come, and her gaze stayed on Savage.
Finally, Savage grumbled, “You going to tell the Feds shit if we give you the responsibility with the books?”
“No. I’m only helping the Feds because I have no other choice.
I handled the Cartel’s books. I know the secrets they don’t want shared.
Telling on you too, would put another target on my back, one that wouldn’t get me out of here alive.
I don’t care what you’re doing, what your MC is doing.
You want to make sure I have nothing to tell the Feds or the IRS, if they wanted to catch you somehow?
Make sure the books you give me are completely legit. Nothing shady. Then they have nothing.”
“Or they have you cooking the books to make it look legit,” Rogue muttered, but his voice was no less intense.
She acknowledged that with a slight incline of her head.
“There is no winning. The Feds aren’t looking at you if they figure out this is where the Devil’s Predators have stashed me.
The agreement was that they wouldn’t look for me or know where I was.
So the safety in that is they won’t have any reason to look into you.
They assume I’ve been locked away in a safe house that only the Devil’s Predators know about. ”
“She has a point,” Ice muttered.
Savage rubbed a hand along his jaw and glanced at Rogue. They said nothing, yet so much was communicated in silence that she almost felt uncomfortable.
Finally, Savage huffed out an annoyed breath. “We’d appreciate it if you could do the books. Get them set up so that when you’re done, someone else can come in and take over without much trouble.”
“I’ll need access to a computer that I can input all the information.”
“You’ll use the computer in the garage after hours for now until we can get Code and Glitch to rig up a laptop that can’t be traced back to you. I’ll have Esme set you up on her account so it looks like it’s her,” Rogue told her.
“Are you filing paperwork to say she’s on maternity leave?
” She held up her trembling hand when Rogue stilled, his eyes narrowing.
“If someone’s looking for me, especially someone in the government, they can figure out that she’s not working and someone else is doing it.
I shouldn’t advocate not filing with the government, but maybe consider not filing.
Find a way to pay her benefits under the table if you have to.
Anything that makes it look like she’s still working. ”
“She’s got a point,” Ink agreed. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”
“Fine,” Rogue said. “I’ll talk to Fury.” He pinned her with a cold stare. “Don’t fuck up my system, Naomi, or I’m going to be pissed.”
“Rogue,” Ink warned, his smile slipping.
“I’m not going to panic this time.” However, she was on the edge. When had she ever been this forward with men like them? “I won’t fuck up your system. I’ll probably make it better and piss you off by making you follow the new rules.”
Rogue muttered something she couldn’t catch, then nodded briefly. “Show up tomorrow night to talk to Esme and figure out how she’s got shit set up. Then you do it every night for the next few weeks until things are done.” He got up and walked away.
“I feel like I should salute or something,” she muttered.
Ink snickered while Ice grinned.
“Rogue is to the point,” Savage explained, sighing.
“Yes, but he also didn’t consider that I have a young son who goes to bed early and I can’t just leave.”
“We’ll have someone watch him,” Savage offered.
She stiffened, ready to refuse. Watching her son play with other kids, Ink, and Ice was one thing, but she wasn’t about to leave him alone with anyone else.
“I’ll watch him,” Ink offered. “He knows me. Or, if you’re not ready for that, we could probably bribe the twins.”
“Bribe us how?” Wren asked, popping up behind him.
Naomi and Ink jumped, and Ice gave them a stern look. “What have we told you about listening in on conversations?”
“You told us not to stand and listen to club business. Speak about things out in the open, it’s free game.
Besides, I only heard the last part, so it wasn’t like I heard anything I shouldn’t.
” She looked at Naomi. “Win and I can watch Asher. We stay in the apartment over the garage with Scarlett and Rogue most of the time now anyway, so we wouldn’t be far from you.
And Scarlett will love having him around.
” Her eyes brightened. “I’ll get her to bring home some books and things for him to read with us. ”
Naomi hesitated. It was a good plan, but Asher being so far away from her, surrounded by strangers? Her hands were already going clammy from panic.
“I-I’ve never left him with anyone, so I don’t know how he’s going to do,” she admitted. Peering around the corner, she saw Asher sitting on the couch with Win, looking at a book. His eyes were fixed on the book as if he never wanted to look away.
“We’ll have a responsible adult with us,” Wren rushed to assure her, giving a megawatt smile. “And we can make sure to check in with you frequently, if you want.”
“I-I can’t pay you. I don’t have any cash with me.”
Wren waved that away. “We don’t need to be paid. Besides, we’ll tell Rogue we want a bigger allowance this week or something to make up for it. He owes us.” Her grin was wicked, even as Ink snorted.
“He owes you? I’d think it’s the other way around. Wasn’t it you who lost his favorite wrench while you were trying to fix something when he wasn’t looking?”
Wren shrugged. “And as I told him, it’s important to focus on the part where I was trying to be independent. I don’t want to rely on a man for anything, right? He wants me to be self-sufficient when we leave for college.” Her smile was sly.
Ink shook his head. “Pulling out the double whammy. Good for you.” He looked back at Naomi. “I can vouch that the girls are really smart and responsible, and Scarlett will be with them.”
“I don’t really know her …”
“We can fix that. Scarlett!” Wren called, waving for her to come over.
Naomi tried not to panic as the stunning redhead made her way over, followed by Royal, Esme, and the woman she was pretty sure was Harlow, Steel’s Old Lady. She was still trying to figure everyone out and wasn’t sure she was ready to meet a bunch of people right now.
“It’ll be all right,” Ink murmured, giving her knee a gentle squeeze. “They’re all great.”
Easy for him to say. The only group of women she knew was the ones Diego hired to take care of his estate and to screw when he felt the urge. All of them took great joy in rubbing that in her face. They were mean, catty, and enjoyed tormenting her.
She wasn’t ready for a repeat.