Page 18 of Hatter

“Here’s what we’re going to do… We tighten the circle. Trust no one outside the officers, as much as it pains me to say that. We watch, we listen. Every move calculated. We find him. We haven’t exactly done the greatest job with it so far. We need to do better.”

“Or her,” Cheshire interjected. No humor laced his voice now, just cold, hard focus. I didn’t think it likely it would be a woman. Although, there had certainly been a few who’d come to the clubhouse multiple times over the years. I supposed it was possible they might have heard more than they should have and could have let the information slip to someone else.

“Right.” I gave a brisk nod. We hadn’t had many women here, but I hadn’t exactly kept the men from bringing any back to the clubhouse. I wasn’t their dad or a fucking nanny. “Protect the club. Protect Jo. That’s top priority.”

“Understood,” March said.

“Good.” I glanced over at Jo again, and her gaze caught mine. I’d brought her here to protect her from Eddie. Last thing I needed was one of my own trying to hurt her.

The air in the clubhouse was thick with tension, a storm brewing beneath the surface. Each officer knew the score. Keeping Knave and Mock in the dark left a bitter taste in my mouth. Just the same, I couldn’t be as sure of them as I was of the others. As for Carpenter… it wasn’t that I didn’t trust him, but I knew he was close with Knave. I didn’t want to risk him saying something he shouldn’t, or feeling awkward around someone he considered a friend and brother.

“See if you two can dig up anything else. Even the faintest whisper, and I want to hear about it. But be careful… since we don’t know who it is, they could be lurking anywhere. Stay vigilant,” I said.

“Always am.” March gave me a slight smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes. Standing, he turned and walked off. There were times he took orders a little too well, almost like a machine following whatever code had been programmed into him.

March was solid, unbreakable, but even mountains eroded over time. My gut twisted. This mole business was eating at the foundations of what we’d built, threatening to bring us down from the inside.

As the door closed behind him, I found myself holding my breath, wondering if every goodbye could be the last. I let the air out slow, forced my shoulders to drop. I’d trust that he could handle whatever was thrown at him. He’d made it this long without dying. No way some fucking pissant would take him down.

“March can take care of it,” Cheshire murmured from beside me, clearly reading my thoughts.

“He better,” I said. “We can’t afford screwups, and I refuse to accept that we’ll lose any of our own.”

“Trust him, Hatter.” Cheshire’s voice was low, serious. “He’s one of us. He’s been forged in fire like all of us.”

“Yeah.” My fists clenched at my sides. “But this rat’s one of us too.”

At least, we assumed so. Strangers wouldn’t find out enough about us to leak info to anyone. So if it wasn’t Mock or Knave, then who?

The silence that followed was a living thing, coiling around us, whispering of betrayal and secrets buried deep. I finally tore my gaze away from the door and focused on Cheshire.

“Keep your eyes open,” I said, my words slicing through the quiet. “We’re playing a game with no rules now.”

“Always do,” Cheshire shot back, echoing March, but his tone held an edge of something dark. Despite his joking side, and the way he always smiled, I’d seen him kill. Watched as he eliminated enemies with the cold precision of a killer. It’s what the government had made each of us.

“Good.” I nodded once, sharp and final. We were in this mess together, and it was up to us to claw our way out. “Let’s clean house. And once we’ve taken care of the threat, we’ll be far more careful of who we let in.”

I walked over to Jo and took the phone back from her. Other than a cursory glance at the list of items, I didn’t analyze it. Instead, I checked out and sent a text with the pick up information to Absolem. If I didn’t send him on this errand, he’d stay holed up in the garage with the bike. Man wouldn’t even remember to eat once he got wrapped up in a project. It would do him some good to get out of here for a while.

Grabbing a beer from behind the bar, I gave Jo some space. If I stuck by her side, she’d never come out of her shell. From the corner of my eye, I kept watch as she slowly mingled with the club.

When she approached Knave, I tried not to tense. Whatever he said to her, she threw her head back and laughed. The light in her eyes made me relax. Even if she didn’t realize she was tangling with a potential viper in our midst, I couldn’t take this away from her. Her innocence was a rarity, and I hoped she never lost it. Despite everything she’d been through, she still didn’t see the world as an ugly, miserable place.

Cheshire settled on the stool next to mine. He followed my gaze and snorted. “You seem a little too interested in that one. Going to make her yours?”

“Too soon to tell. I won’t cage her. She’s already been jailed by someone before.”

“No one says she can’t be free.” Cheshire braced his arms on the bar. “Being with you doesn’t mean she’s putting on shackles, Hatter. You’re nothing like Eddie Lewis. If that fucker is like his dad, I can only imagine how she’s suffered. Being with the right person can be freeing.”

I glanced at him. “It sounds like you’re speaking from experience, but as far as I know, you’ve never dated anyone seriously.”

He sighed. “Not since high school, but that’s a story for another day. Preferably one a long way off.”

“Whatever happens, try to keep it from Jo. I don’t want her worrying, not after I told her she’d be safe here with us.”

“She is safe here.” I could hear the conviction in his tone, and knew he’d do whatever it took to make that statement true. It’s one of the things I loved about Cheshire.

“Remember what’s at stake,” I reminded him, my gaze flitted back to where Jo was now chatting with Mock, her smile lighting up the dim clubhouse.

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