Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Alejandro
Anap had been exactly what I’d needed, and while the bed in Miguel’s room wasn’t as comfortable as the beds I was used to sleeping on, it had done the trick and was a thousand times better than sleeping on the couch I’d spent the night before trying to rest on.
And now that I was rested, I could shower, then sort through the bullshit in my head.
I couldn’t let my feelings get in the way of what needed to be done.
Because Miguel was right. Joey was an outlaw and a damn good one at that.
He knew what he was doing. War was nothing new for him or his club, and he had connections to the Fathers of Mayhem, which was a small club—about as small as Joey’s—but powerful as hell.
If Joey thought he could infiltrate the Outlaws MC and get to the center of all this shit, then I needed to trust that he could.
We could still keep Elaina hidden from her father.
Yeller Giddons would never have any actual reason to come here, and if he did, I could always get Elaina away for the duration of his visit.
But I didn’t think Joey would allow the predator around—not when he had his clubhouse open to abused women.
Not to mention, his sister was here. I knew enough about Joey Dirks to know he’d never allow anyone near his sister he deemed a threat.
Regardless of how he felt about Elaina—which I wasn’t entirely sure about—I knew he’d never do anything to put her in direct harm either.
Sighing, I rinsed my hair, then worked on bathing.
I needed to talk to Joey so he could get his end of things set in motion.
And then, I needed to have him set up a meeting with River, the president of the Fathers of Mayhem.
If River was going to be involved, I needed to meet him face-to-face.
I didn’t want anyone involved that I hadn’t vetted.
And if I knew Miguel well enough, which I was sure I did, he was already pulling information on River and every person affiliated with his club—patched or not.
He wouldn’t let me go into any situation blind.
It was why he was not only my best friend but also my second-in-command. I trusted him implicitly.
After rinsing, I turned off the water and stepped out.
Snatching a towel off the rack above the toilet, I wrapped it around my hips, then walked out of the bathroom, heading for my suitcase that I’d placed beside the couch.
I made quick work of getting dressed, not wanting to keep Elaina locked out of the room for too long.
She’d been eating when I’d peaked into the main room, but in case she needed a place to escape to, I didn’t want to take too long.
Once I was dressed in a pair of fitted slacks, a black button-down shirt, and my Oxfords, I fixed my hair, brushed my teeth, then left the room.
Elaina was still at the bar when I walked through the room.
She turned upon hearing me, and a small smile tilted her lips, taking my breath away.
Even covered in bruises, she was the most beautiful woman I’d laid my eyes on. Dios.
“Hi,” she murmured.
“Hey yourself.” I walked over and frowned down at the brown broth in her bowl. “What did you eat?”
“Joey made me a bowl of ramen noodles.” I sighed. She huffed. “What? It was good. I’ve never had them before.”
My chest tightened. I never ate the garbage, but even I’d had ramen noodles before, even if it was several years ago. I didn’t know anyone who hadn’t had them—not until her. What else had she missed out on?
“You need something with more sustenance,” I told her, a little displeased though I wouldn’t outright say that to her. “You need to put on some weight, pequena luchadora.”
She rolled her eyes at me, and I had to bite back a smile. There was that attitude that’d been missing since her father had been mentioned earlier. “You can make me a steak later. Sound good?”
I huffed a laugh. “Sure. I need to talk to Joey. You need anything?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine here,” she assured me. “Is it okay if I go for a walk outside? I want some fresh air.”
I frowned, looking toward the doors. Just as I did, they opened, and Miguel appeared. He arched a brow at us, pausing with the door open. “What’s up?” he asked.
“Can you take her on a walk outside?” I asked him. “I need to talk to Joey, and she wants fresh air. I don’t want her alone.” And quite frankly, I didn’t trust anyone but Miguel to protect her like I would.
He nodded. “Sure thing.” He smiled at her. “Come on. Let’s go walk.”
She slid off the barstool, and only after she’d walked out the doors with him did I head down the hall to Joey’s office. I could hear him talking inside, but I frankly didn’t care who he was on the phone with. We had something more important to discuss.
Lifting my hand, I knocked on the door, and after a moment, it swung open. Joey arched a brow at me, looking a bit annoyed at being disturbed. “Yes?” he asked.
“We need to talk,” I gruffly told him.
He grunted and moved back, sweeping his arm out to welcome me in, though he didn’t seem all that pleased about it. But I was coming to quickly learn that Joey was just a grumpy asshole. It was practically his entire personality.
I walked inside the room and looked around, taking it in. It smelled like cigarettes and lemon cleaner, which was an odd combination and just a tiny bit unpleasant, though it was something I could easily get used to. It was something I wanted to get used to because it was a part of Joey.
And fuck, did I want to know and memorize everything about the man.
Joey had a couple of books open on the table, and after shutting the door back, he flipped them closed and pushed them to the side before settling in his seat at the head of the table.
I pulled out the one to his right that was closest to him and took a seat, steepling my fingers on the tabletop afterward.
“What’s so important that you had to bother me while I’m working?” he asked.
“I’ll agree to your plan,” I told him, cutting straight to the chase. He hummed noncommittally, just watching me. “But I want a meeting with River first.”
He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. “River isn’t as empathetic as I am. If it puts his wife and children in some kind of danger, he will back out. I’m warning you ahead of time.”
“Adelaide, right?” I asked.
Joey’s eyes darkened, and his jaw tightened. “What about her?” he snapped, immediately defensive. Even if the two of them were no longer together, it was clear he still had a soft spot for her. Wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about that, honestly.
“She has a soft spot for women and children.” Everyone who had even heard of Adelaide knew that.
“I’m not afraid of using her to get what I need, Joey,” I warned him.
His eyes darkened, and his jaw tightened.
He hadn’t said a word, but his threat was unmistakable.
“My priority is Elaina and getting this ring dismantled. It is mostly Hispanic girls and women being trafficked. I’m not standing idly by while this happens. ”
“Do not bring Adelaide into this,” he growled, his eyes flashing dangerously. “I’ll talk to River, then set up a meeting. But her? She stays out. Because mark my words, Alejandro, she will drown herself in this to save them, and River and I will not lose her to this. You fucking hear me?”
I shrugged, uncaring of what Adelaide may or may not do. Her inability to compartmentalize was not my problem.
“Then get me what I want,” I told him as I pushed back from the table so I could stand.
He glared at me. “You’re a real fucking piece of work, Garcia.”
I just patted the table, then walked back out, knowing Joey would get me what I wanted.
Would me using Adelaide ruin whatever I could have had with him?
Yeah, it probably would. But I’d made a promise to Elaina that I would keep her safe, and though those women and kids didn’t know it, I’d made a promise to rescue all of them, too.
And I was nothing if I wasn’t a man of my word.