Page 23 of Biker's Dark Revenge

He nodded, seeming to know better than to try and talk me out of something I had already decided on.

When Lee told me that he was going down to the compound to discuss the next moves on Lombardi with Chuck, I’d told him I wanted to come with him. He had been reluctant at first, worried that it might bring up memories of what had happened to me before, but I assured him that he had nothing to worry about. I was the only one who had spent any amount of time in Lombardi’s prison, so I was the best person to give them useful information on it.

Kara was with Star in the tattoo studio outside, where I had left them playing with paints. Kara had been quiet since we’d left the house, but at least she had eaten breakfast this morning. She seemed to be a little calmer now that Lee was around more, and he had helped me cook some banana pancakes that she gobbled up the first chance she got.

Chuck had agreed to meet with me, though I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous about talking to him. He had been the one to hire me, of course, but I knew how much sway he had in this club – it was intimidating, being faced with the guy who called all the shots, but I knew I couldn’t let it get into my head. Chuck and I were on the same side here, and I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of doing what was right.

Lee knocked on the door to Chuck’s office and pushed it open – inside, Chuck was waiting for us. He looked older than I remembered him, but I guess that’s what happens when you are dealing with a fucker like Lombardi. He nodded to me in greeting and gestured for me to take a seat opposite him.

"Thanks for coming in, Liana," he remarked. "I know it can’t be easy, going over all this shit again. But we need any help we can get when it comes to this asshole."

"Agreed," I replied, and Lee reached to give my knee a squeeze beneath the table. I had no idea if Chuck knew that Lee and I were together, but I figured it wasn’t his top priority right now. No, what mattered was Lombardi.

"So," he remarked, leaning forward, clasping his hands in front of him. "Fill me in on everything you saw there. Everything you heard. Don’t spare any detail. We don’t know what could be important down the line..."

"Okay, so," I began, and I launched into a rendition of everything I could remember from what happened with Lombardi and his men – from being attacked outside the Kennels, everything that had happened when I was locked up in the cell with Hadley and Kara, to breaking out and escaping. Chuck took it all in, his expression barely shifting – to the point that I wondered if I was saying the wrong thing. I glanced at Lee out of the corner of my eye a couple of times, checking in with him to make sure I wasn’t totally fucking this up, but he nodded, indicating for me to continue.

By the time I was done, I felt like my voice was about to give out. I wasn’t sure I could have given them any more details if I had tried, but at least I had gotten it out there – that had to count for something, right?

Chuck leaned back in his seat, thinking about all I had told him.

"So that girl, Hadley," he began. "You said she had an active heroin habit?"

I nodded.

"So someone must have been coming and going, bringing drugs to that place," he muttered, narrowing his eyes. "If we can figure out where they’re getting their shit from-"

"We might have a way in," Lee cut in. Chuck nodded.

"Dealers aren’t known for being loyal," he pointed out. "And they might be willing to give us a way into Lombardi’s place if they getting paid enough. Or if they’ve got good enough reason to be afraid."

Lee smirked.

"I think I can manage that," he replied. God, I was glad he was on my side – when he talked like that, it reminded me just how much he was capable of, just how easy it would have been for him to turn.

"Right," Chuck replied. "I’m going to convene with some of the Dogs, see if they know any dealers around here-"

"Try Jaxon," Lee suggested. "He’s got a past with this stuff. He might know more about it than the others."

"Good call," Chuck agreed. "You two, go – I know you have that girl to take care of."

I breathed a sigh of relief as we stepped outside, and I stood there for a moment, catching my breath before I went back to Kara.

"Hey, you all right?" Lee asked me gently. I nodded.

"I’m fine," I promised. "Why?"

"You just look a little...shaken, that’s all," he remarked. "I know Chuck can be intimidating."

"He’s my boss," I laughed. "I think everyone finds their boss intimidating, don’t they?"

"Yeah, but it’s not like he’s just any boss," he pointed out, cocking an eyebrow. "He’s head of the Dogs. You know what that means as well as I do."

"Yeah, I know that it means he’s the one person I can trust to bring Lombardi down," I replied. "If that means sitting through a few difficult meetings...that’s not much of a price to pay."

I glanced towards the tattoo shop and – I could hear Star talking to Kara, though she wasn’t getting much out of her in return.

"If it means that no little girl is ever going to have to go through what she did," I added. "I don’t care what it takes. I’ll sit through a hundred meetings like that."

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