Page 48 of Fire Meets Fire

CHAZ

My jaw drops to the ground, then closes, then my mouth opens shaping the first letter of the word,but.At Slugger’s furious glare, I slam it shut, and take a moment to rearrange what I’d heard in the clubhouse and my, admittedly hasty, interpretation of the facts.

It doesn’t take long for me to come to the same conclusion that he has.Christ, I’ve been an ass.Sure, I’d heard the brothers talking about the windfall to come, but should have given them credit. Men I’ve lived and ridden beside for the past decade and more would never letmedown, and whatever perceived wrong Helo had done to the club didn’t merit giving her up. Of course my brothers would want to have their cake and eat it too. Particularly if, as we now know, it means snatching the prize out of the hands of our archenemies.

Then I could be partially excused. My brothers were one thing, but I’d had Slugger to add to the mix. And he was unpredictable. Doesn’t exonerate me though. I should have waited, talked, listened, and maybe have better thought things through.

“You come to your senses?” Slugger asks. When he sees the shrugging movement of my shoulders, his gun magicallydisappears. “Are you ready to start actually planning how we’re going to keep your ol’ lady safe, and get that money into the club?”

“I’m going in.”

Both of us swing around at Helo’s quiet, but insistent tone. Eyeing her carefully, I look for signs of whether she’s recovered from her recent episode. Her face is drawn, her eyes don’t look completely clear. To my mind, she looks like she needs some down time and not to be involved in a serious discussion about how to save her life.

Slugger gets there before me. “There’s no fuckin’ way you’re getting involved.” His voice leaves no room for doubt or argument. Or, at least, wouldn’t for any members of the MC.

Helo, of course, is a different animal. Dazed as she still must be, she takes on a stance that screamswho the fuck do you think you’re talking to?She doesn’t even need to say a word.

It’s only for a split second but I wish I had my phone out at that exact moment to take a picture of the expression on Slugger’s face. It’s like he’s never been faced with such female derision. It puts him on the backfoot and shows as he all but stammers, then quickly recovers himself.

“You… back there…” his hand waves at the door of the cabin. “You fuckin’ passed out.” His voice strengthens as he gets himself back on firm ground. “There’s no fuckin’ way you can take point on any mission, let alone go in by yourself.”

She doesn’t seem to give any weight to what he says, as she replies, “The Dominators won’t get the money until they pass me off to whoever is behind all this. It’s got to be me. They won’t be interested in anyone else. The objective is not getting rid of a nest of one-percenters, it’s getting the two million dollars.”

Slugger’s raised eyebrow shows she’s made a good point. He crosses his arms over his chest and regards her for a moment. “And how do you suggest we do that?”

I don’t like her grin one little bit. “They could kill me on sight, so I need to give them an incentive to keep me alive.” A chilling chuckle, then she adds, “I go in as a literal bomb.”

Her first words are bad enough, but I’m one hundred percent certain that when I do hear the rest of her proposal, I’m not going to like it. My lips momentarily press together, then I ask, my words coming out in a controlled monotone, “Would you care to expand on that?”

With total oblivion as to my feelings she says in a completely matter-of-fact way, “I go in wearing a suicide vest.”

“And the trigger?” Slugger asks, his voice menacingly low.

“Pressure switch on a remote control that I’ll be holding.”

“Fuck no!” I exclaim. “You pass out and you’ll blow yourself up.”

“Dummy switch?” Slugger asks, almost hopefully, making me feel a wave of relief that he has to be right.

But Helo shakes her head. “No. It’s got to be believable.I’vegot to be believable, if I’m going to get the information from the Dominators and get them to disclose the name of the fucker who’s after me, so we can take them down.”

“Then no,” Slugger states firmly. “You need our help to get the explosives unless you’ve got a supplier on speed dial?” He pauses, raises a brow, then continues when she ruefully shakes her head. “Admire your bravery, girl, but ain’t gonna help you commit suicide.” The next time she makes her short hair fly side to side at her dismissal of his comment, he softens his features. “Not questioning your abilities, but back in there?” He waves his hand toward the cabin. “You went down for no fuckin’ reason. I’m not risking that on my watch.” He shoots a crafty look my way. “And that’s just me being gentlemanly. I’m not even enamoured with you like our friend Chaz.”

A statement I couldn’t deny even if I wanted to waste my breath.

It’s a stalemate. Helo is right. We need to get information from the Dominators and it’s hardly unlikely they’d just give it to us. As soon as they get their hands on her, then all they’ll see is a payday. As far as we know, they may still get one whether she’s dead or alive.

There must be another way. Our clubs are evenly matched, animosity shared. Any direct attack will end in a bloodbath, and not without loss of life. Of course, there’s the option to take one prisoner and find what we want to know by torture, but will that info be known to everyone in the club? My brothers, for example, wouldn’t necessarily know all the details. It’s more likely their prez, VP, or maybe their treasurer will be the ones that we want. But cutting them from the herd will take some planning.

Helo’s on the right lines. We need to do something spectacular to get their attention. But sending in a woman who’s liable to pass out and accidentally blow herself, and anyone in the vicinity into smithereens is not an option.

Yeah. I can see the merits of her proposal. “I’ll do it.” Both pairs of eyes swing to me, both exhibiting identical expressions of surprise. Knowing I have to convince them, I start to tick the plus points off. “Firstly, they will know who they’re dealing with, a Wretched Soulz prez who wouldn’t fuck around, whereas Helo’s an unknown female. Secondly, I’ve already set the play in action. Let there be a rumour that I’ve been ousted from the club. It will make it more believable that I want a part of their payment. I’ll walk in with Helo as if I’m ready to auction her off. I’ll be the one wearing the vest and in control of the detonator.”

Slugger’s face undertakes a transformation as his mouth widens. “I like that plan better.”

“Well I don’t.” Helo’s hands again go to her hips. “It sucks.”

“For what reason?” I challenge her.

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