Page 26 of Hollywood

“I still owe you. Later.” The heat in his eyes was a promise I couldn’t wait to cash in on.

Chapter Fifteen

Hollywood

“These fuckers are getting too bold,” I growled as we all settled around tables behind the clubhouse. This wasn’t an official meeting, but all the brothers were present after what happened at Winter’s school. “He strolled right up to her on campus, which means he knew she’d be there, and the fucker waited until I went to take a piss to threaten her.” I was still pissed off in my part of putting that terrified look on her face. I should’ve just waited, dammit.

Diesel looked at me, a hint of sympathy in his eyes as if he knew and understood my struggle. “You sure it was the Jade Devils?”

“Positive. Not only did Winter describe a good-looking Asian asshole, but I saw a few of his buddies waiting in the parking lot on bikes that had the Jade Devil-Dragon thing on the side. I’m sure.”

Gio’s jaw clenched tight. “Have you noticed anybody following you?”

“No.” My shoulders fell in disappointment and anger. “Nothing obvious anyway.” I’d been going over the last few times we left the house or her college campus in search of who I missed. “I didn’t notice a car or a bike following too close or making the same turns. Nothing.”

“I hate to say it,” Cole, who went by the nickname Sniper, began. He was new to me, joined the MC while I was in prison, but I got to know him on the long ride from Cali to Steel City and he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. “We need to consider that they’ve been following Winston and his daughter for longer than he realized. Or that someone on the inside is feeding them information.”

I’d considered that too, but I dismissed it quickly. “Winter only told her best friend what was going on today and she didn’t tell her where she was. Winston knows she’s with me but even he doesn’t know where I live.” I was damn grateful for the new place more than ever.

“They could’ve just been staking out the school since it’s the one place they knew she’d be.” Cole shrugged. “It’s what I would do.”

“He’s right,” I said, focusing my attention on Diesel and Rocky. “Winter skipped school a few days, so they were probably impatient and approached the moment she was alone. They’re getting bolder and that won’t change if we don’t do something about it.”

“I get that you’re all riled up, Hollywood,” Rocky began. “I’d be the same way if it was Peyton.”

“You were,” Maverick reminded him with a laugh.

“Exactly.” Rocky’s easy agreement and smile sent the room into a fit of laughter. “That’s how I know what you’re feeling. Most of us do, but that’s also why I know that we can’t just react here. We need to strike in a way that sends a message not to fuck with us or the people who matter to us.”

“Yeah, I get it.” And I did but that didn’t change the rage that coursed through me from the moment I saw that terrified look on her face.

“I might have a solution,” Slate offered in his quiet, confident tone. “I’ve been looking into the Jade Devils, hell I know more about them than they probably do.” He grinned and shook his head. “These guys are all about the money. They don’t fuck around, and they don’t half-ass anything.”

“How does that help us then?” Hawk leaned forward and arched a brow in Slate’s direction. “Specifically.”

“They keep their shit locked up tight,” he began. “But here’s the thing about a deep sense of security, it can make you think you’re safer than you are.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Gio reached for Slate’s laptop and tried to yank it away, but Slate moved faster and smacked his hand.

“It means I found a crypto wallet with a fuck ton of money in it, and it’s got your standard encryption protocol, which means I already, let’s say re-secured it.”

“How much isa fuck ton,” Diesel asked, always about the big picture.

“Enough to hurt. About four hundred grand and some change.”

Rocky whistled. “It’ll sting that’s for sure.”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Slate smiled. “We can keep it or return it to some of their victims, maybe even turn it over to the cops. Hell, we can just keep it locked so that they can’t get access to it.”

Diesel nodded. “Let’s just hang onto it for now.” His gaze flicked to mine. “How is Winter holding up?”

“She’s shaken up and worried about Winston, but she’s good.” What I don’t tell my brothers, just yet, is that she has a good reason to be worried. Winston got where he was by being stubborn and dedicated. “I’ll make sure nobody gets that close to her again.”

“Nobody but you,” Gio snickered.

I rolled my eyes even as the rest of my brothers laughed along with Gio, the smart ass. “Yeah, yeah, go on and get it out of your system.” They were dying to give me shit about what they thought was going on and I had to let ‘em. I hadn’t been back all that long, but this was part of the brotherhood. We gave each other shit about anything and everything. We fought hard and we loved harder.

One big happy fucking family.

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