Chapter Nine.
Nun
Later that afternoon, we moved Miles to the private clinic we preferred. Belladonna had taken the memories from him, and Miles would know he’d been attacked, but he’d not suffer for it. Stitch had texted and announced it would take several sessions to heal him.
Belladonna had shoved the whole scene into my mind, and she was right.
Something about the culprit felt familiar.
It turned out her entire background was fake.
It was good enough to pass an initial inspection, but it came apart when we dug deeper.
I was sitting in my office sending Cyber the new applications we’d had in to check them out when it hit me.
“Fuck!” I exclaimed.
I picked my cell up and punched in Belladonna’s number. “Outlaw,” I said as soon as she answered. Belladonna didn’t say a word, and I knew she was running it through her mind.
“Yup. That neck click she does, Mile’s client was her.”
“Damnit. Fancy a trip to Manchester? She’s not getting away with this,” I demanded.
“You need to check with Sapphire before taking the fight to them.”
“Why? We’re already at war. Those bitches are laughing right now, thinking they got one over on us.”
“I’ll ask Sapphire to call church. I know you’re angry, but you can’t head off on your own. You want at least Dagger or Blade with you,” Belladonna argued.
“Fine,” I spat, unamused. I’d wait, but Outlaw would get hers. She’d attacked someone who worked for me; that was unforgivable.
Priest
“Is this seat free?” a woman asked.
I glanced up, nodded, and returned to my drink. A contract had arrived, and while I remained searching for Brielle, I was considering it. Fortunately, it wasn’t an immediate kill. I had time. The payment was my usual fee plus half again on top. Ivan Petrov had been a very naughty boy.
“You look busy,” the woman said, and I nodded. Christ. Leave me alone.
I jabbed at the picture and frowned. Yeah, Petrov looked like an animal; he’d an arrogance about him that put my teeth on edge. I sent the contract to my contact, wanting more information. Was he Bratva? It didn’t matter how many guards he surrounded himself with; I’d get through them.
I glanced at the figure again. So damn tempting. It would set Brielle up with a nice nest egg.
“Would you like a drink?”
I sighed and met the woman’s gaze. Sure, she was pretty, but she wasn’t Nun. “Look, not being rude, I’m working.”
“It’s just one,” she pushed.
“I’m also taken.”
Her eyes flicked to my wedding-band finger, and I waited. “No ring.”
“Just because I don’t wear a ring doesn’t mean I’m not in a serious relationship. Thanks for the offer, but I’m not interested,” I replied. Okay, perhaps I was assuming a bit too much concerning Nun, but there was always hope.
Her demeanour turned cold. She smiled, but I’d seen the flash of anger and hate. Was it because I’d turned her down, and that was something she wasn’t used to? She slipped off her stool and grinned at me. She shoved her tits into my arm and leaned over me.
“Tell Margaret, Outlaw says hi.” She walked away before I could gather my thoughts. Who the hell was… fuck! I chased after her, but she’d already gone.
A Harley revved, and I turned, and Outlaw flicked me a wave before riding off. I yanked out my cell and realised I didn’t have Nun’s number.
Cursing, I headed for my own bike. I wanted to know who Outlaw was and why she’d targeted me.
Nun
My phone pinged, and I glanced down and nearly dropped it. A picture appeared of a naked woman. She had lash marks all over her body and several open wounds.
“What?” I gasped as another image arrived. The same woman—nailed to a cross. At her feet was a habit, and I zoomed in. Yeah, that looked genuine. This one had a message. ‘She finally repented. When will you?’
I turned on my heel and headed for Cyber’s office.
“What’s up?” she asked.
I handed her my cell. “Do you think they’re legit?” I questioned.
Cyber checked them over and slowly nodded. “I’ll keep this and track where they came from. I’ll also run facial recognition for missing people or Jane Does.”
“She has to be dead,” I said.
“Ain’t disagreeing, Nun. Could the same person responsible for sending that rosary have sent these?”
“It’s what I’m wondering. Have I picked up a religious nutjob?”
“I don’t know, I don’t have enough to form an opinion,” Cyber replied.
“Can you dig? This isn’t sitting easy with me. I don’t understand why now, or what the point is. If that’s a real victim, is she alive or dead? I need answers.”
“Yeah. I’ll set something up ASAP.”
“Thanks, Cyber,” I responded, squeezing her shoulder.
“You’re welcome, sister.”
I left Cyber to her systems and headed into the rec room.
Blue wasn’t around today; he was with Kiki settling in the carer they’d hired.
Cyber had run a background check, and thankfully, this one wasn’t a Gerrit.
Blue’s dedication to Kiki warmed my heart.
There were good people out there. I knew that because of my sisters, but it was nice to see it outside the club.
Priest entered the clubhouse, looking around. On spotting me, he headed over. “Who’s Outlaw?” he demanded.
“Where the hell did you meet her?”
“A bar in town. She tried coming on to me, and when I rejected her, she didn’t like it. She told me to pass on a message: Outlaw says hi.”
“That goddamn bitch!”
“She someone I should be aware of?” Priest asked.
“Outlaw belongs to the Bloody Femmes.”
“The offshoot female version of the Bloody Scorpions?”
“Yup.”
“The female version are the same assholes as the males. Are they at war nationwide?”
“Yeah.” I wondered where he was going with this. If Priest dared assume we couldn’t manage or suggested we call in a male club, he was done.
“Why did Outlaw come after me?” he asked instead.
“That’s a good question.” I tapped my fingers against my thigh. “The Femmes are dangerous. If they approach, get the hell out of Dodge. Outlaw was sending a warning; don’t ignore it.”
“Where are they based?”
“Their National Chapter is in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, and their National President is Kara Golgé. Kara’s a nightmare.”
“Where is Outlaw located?”
“Manchester. They keep making incursions into our territory, and they continue to pay the price. Last time proved totally humiliating. I’m warning you, they’re bad with a capital B.
They won’t care you’re RBMC, and Foxy, their Prez, will probably take that as a challenge.
Major street cred if she took out a brother, and the Scorpions have. Be careful,” I said.
“Thanks,” Priest responded. He went to say something else, but his phone beeped. He looked down, and a grin crossed his face. “There’s been a sighting of Brielle. I’m going to check it out.”
“Good luck,” I replied and watched him walk away. My gut nagged at me.
“What’s up?” Sparrow asked.
“Has Sparrow had any premonitions lately?”
“No…” Sparrow frowned as she stood watching me watch Priest.
“I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“You want a track on him?”
“How likely is it that Outlaw finds him in a bar, sends a message, and then his cousin is spotted?”
“Not very,” Sparrow replied. “Very coincidental.”
“If it had been anyone else Priest was searching for, he’d have asked questions. Instead, he took off.”
“Blinkered vision,” Sparrow suggested.
“Yup,” I agreed. “And the one weak spot Priest would have.”
“I’ll get Cyber on him.”
“Actually, I’ll ask Ace to. Cyber’s up to her neck in shit.”
“She okay?” Sparrow demanded, turning her head as if she could see through walls. That was an ability none of us possessed, as far as I was aware.
“Just got a lot going on.”
“Ain’t we all? I’ll speak to her. If Cyber needs help, we’ll find it somehow,” Sparrow murmured.
“Yup. I’ll grab Ace.”
“Alright. Keep me updated. If Outlaw’s hanging about, we need to know about it.”
Wylde
“Anything new on that dealer from recently?” Hatton asked, sticking his head into my office.
“The one found down the alley? Nope, same as the rest. Absolutely terrified of the bogeyman but can’t describe them,” I replied.
Hatton searched my face. “It’s time for lunch; let’s take a walk,” he suggested, and I got up. What was going on? Hatton always declined coffee invitations.
Even more surprising was when he walked me out of the building and headed down the street to a local coffee shop. I thought we’d grab a table once we’d bought them, but Hatton kept walking. Finally, he stopped at the park and stared out over it.
“We’re being watched.”
“Where?” I insisted.
“Not here. Back at the office. I found a bug in mine. It was put there last week. What’s the betting you have one too?” Hatton speculated.
“What the fuck?” I demanded, shocked.
“You hooking up with Sapphire raised alarm bells with someone. I think we are being monitored to determine if we’re dirty.”
“None of us fuckin’ are!” I almost yelled and managed to choke my anger back.
“Nope, but the PTB’s are going to check.”
“Let them. I’d love to see them get a bug inside the clubhouse.”
“I haven’t the faintest idea who this is, Wylde; could be IA, could be higher, maybe the Feds. You know how they think. Take down one charter which leads to the next, and it soon becomes a domino effect.” Hatton scratched his chin.
“If they’re coming after Sapphire’s chapter, they better bring nukes, because they won’t get them any other way.”
“It doesn’t help that we can’t solve this damn case.
It looks like we’re turning our backs on them and choosing to follow the crimes concerning innocents.
Who the fuck cares if scumbags are having the shit kicked out of them?
It appears as if we’re being picky over what we investigate. ” Hatton murmured.
“They can always talk to the victims themselves. Christ, Capt., even the Gerrits don’t have a clue. That should tell you something. They’d have hit back by now after what happened to Jed.”
“Not unless it’s someone level or higher in the pecking order. They wouldn’t go against the Royal Harlots, Wylde, and you know that.” Hatton turned and caught my eye.