“No, we’ll play their game for a while, let them think they have the upper hand,” Lord said. “They’re running around town playing civilians, think they’re outsmarting us.”
“We cut them down one by one,” Brick said. “They want to be ghosts, we’ll be reapers.”
“Start with that whore. Take away their pussy,” Lord said.
“Copper, get her name. Get us anything you can from that address,” Brick said. “And we need to find out who’s the new prez, the shit rebuilding from the ashes.”
“Will do.”
The brothers started to leave the area around the lit barrels when the music was turned off. He immediately thought of Bell once the quiet set in. She’d been on him lately about including her more in his life, and he’d been pushing the subject away. He couldn’t hide her away forever. The brothers needed to know the truth. Not only would it be safer for Bell, but he’d breathe easier not hiding shit from the club.
Brick was still outside the clubhouse, scrolling through his phone. Their VP was deeply in love with a civilian, so maybe he’d understand.
“Remember the girl I was seeing last month?”
“The one fucking around with Skull Nation prospects?”
Tank cringed. “She wasn’t. It was a misunderstanding.That prospect was trying to use her to get to me, but she wouldn’t bite.”
Their VP didn’t even look up from his phone. “Good to hear.”
He started to walk away but turned back around instead. “I’m still seeing her.”
This time, Brick stood up straight, tucking his phone into his back pocket. “How long?”
“I stopped things until I was sure she could be trusted. I’d never risk the club, you know that, don’t you?”
“I know that.” Brick rested a hand on his shoulder, but it felt like a kiss of death.
“She’s a good girl. There’s no way she’d ever rat us out.”
Brick shrugged. “You know what you’re doing.” He began to walk away, but the vibe in the air was all wrong.
“I love her,” he shouted, too loud.
The VP exhaled and turned to face him. “Lord will think she’s got you wrapped around her finger.”
“She doesn’t.”
“What if he tells you to break it off?” Brick asked.
Tank couldn’t speak. He couldn’t give her up. Wouldn’t give her up. Would he disobey Lord to be with Bell? He didn’t want to keep their relationship a forbidden affair forever. That was why he was coming out now.
“She’s twenty-three and completely innocent.”
“The girl works for minimum wage at a diner. Lives on her own in a shithole apartment. Money can make even good girls go bad. Look around you. These club whores would sell their souls for a dollar.”
“She’s not a whore.”
“And she likes living under the poverty line?” Brick asked.
“Give her a fucking chance. I’ve given my life to this club, taking bullets to protect it.”
Brick nodded. “Okay. She’ll be your responsibility until she proves herself. We find out she’s a rat, it’s your ass on the line.”
He stood there until Brick was gone, the door closing behind him. Even though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders coming out with the truth, a new tension pulled at his nerves. A tiny niggle of doubt. Was there any possibility she’d been lying to him, that she’d made any kind of deals past or present with the Skull Nation? If she had, he’d be left without a woman or a club to call his own.
No, he didn’t doubt Bell.