Chapter 4
EMRIS
“Can you ask your cousin where the hell he finds these people?” Carson mumbles. “This bar is a sack of shit.” He’s not wrong. I take in the state of this place as we weave through the rows of motorcycles and head toward the music coming from inside the bar.
Pulling the front door open, I see some shitty band on stage with a shit ton of bikers mulling around and head banging. I can already feel the pressure building behind my eyes.
“We need to find her and get this shit over with,” I sigh, continuing through the crowd of people, my boots sticking to the worn wooden planks.
As we walk through the room toward the bar, I scan the place, clocking every exit and door—the front entrance, bathrooms to the left, a single door on the opposite side of the room.
Maybe an office. Lastly, double doors leading to what looks like the kitchen.
That’s the important one. According to our intel, that’s the exit our target will use when she takes the trash out at some point tonight.
Killian, my older cousin and boss, has had some of his men watching this bar for the past week, tracking routines and timing.
According to them, Susie, the woman we need, takes the trash out between midnight and one every morning.
She usually follows it up with a smoke break.
Perfect timing to grab her, as long as she’s alone.
Our orders are clear—no killing. We take her somewhere private, question her, and then decide what happens next.
This Susie bitch, apparently, works for some powerful people, and those men are exactly who we need information on. That makes her an easy target. She owes them lots of money and is struggling to pay it back.
The bikers in this bar? Yeah, they work for Killian and Archer too.
We’ve been tipped off that there’s a rat in the operation, and all signs point to the president of the club. If that’s true and he’s dirty, then he needs to be dealt with. The more information we have, the clearer it’ll be what kind of shit Mr. Biker is into and why he’s been in bed with Susie.
As we approach the bar, I’m greeted by a tall blonde with a flirty smile plastered to her face.
I know it helps her bring in more tips on nights like these, but my attention zeros in on the beautiful girl at the other end.
I watch her work the bar. Her hands are steady, like she’s done this a thousand times.
I can’t take my eyes off the way her tits bounce every time she shakes a drink before pouring it in a glass and handing it off to the lucky man in front of her.
Her black hair is twisted in a messy bun, but a few pieces frame her pale face and the small septum ring dangling from her nose shines from the lighting above her.
I can hear Carson flirting with the blonde, but I can’t take my eyes off the other girl—at least until Carson hits me on the shoulder, telling me to order a drink.
“A beer is fine,” I mumble, glancing back at the girl as she wipes her hands on her jeans before cleaning the counter in front of her between customers.
Carson and I grab our drinks and head toward a booth along the wall as we wait for Susie to appear. We only have a blurry photo to go off of—she’s tall but not too tall, thin, older, maybe early to mid-forties, and brown hair that looks like it’s usually tied up.
As if on cue, Susie walks out of the door I assumed was her office. She looks nervous, her eyes scanning the room as if looking for someone, until she sees the raven-haired girl behind the bar, the one who’s chatting it up with her coworker.
I drive my elbow up into Carson’s stomach to get his attention away from the blonde as I tip my chin toward Susie.
“That’s her.”
We watch her approach the bar and start talking to the girls. I glance at my watch—it’s already past midnight.
I push to my feet and head toward the crowd, grabbing a spot at the bar and ordering another beer close enough to pick something up. But the laughter, music, and clinking glasses make it nearly impossible.
I planned on cornering one of them, but before I get the chance, Susie’s voice cuts through.
“Another one?” She raises her eyebrow and waits for my answer.
Usually, I play it cool. I don’t let the people we’re supposed to take get a good look at me. But this time, it doesn’t matter. Once we’re done questioning her, Killian will come and collect her, and he can decide what happens next.
I tip my head at her. She grabs a cold beer bottle from a cooler and slides it over.
I toss down a few bills, noting her still watching me.
The side of my mouth quirks upward, and that alone makes the color drain from her face.
Getting the information from her might be easy with how she’s already reacting to me.
Before I get far away, she tells the girls that she’s taking the trash out while it’s slow.
I chug the beer and set the empty bottle on the table where Carson is still sitting, nursing his own.
Casting one last look back at the girl, I see her brows knitting together in concern as she talks with Susie. I wish I knew what they were saying.
“Let’s go,” I tell Carson. He nods, pushing to his feet, his gaze lingering on the blonde as if he’s leaving something unfinished.
“Killian owes me one for not being able to take that gorgeous blonde home tonight,” he grumbles, but I ignore him and head for the door.