Page 37 of Claimed By the Biker Brothers

“Talk to your pappy. Tell him what’s going on. He might have some insight. The old wolf may be retired, but if I know him as well as I remember, he probably has his ear to the ground.”

“That’s a good idea. Anything Hughes-related, at least, he’ll know about it,” I say. “There’s something fishy going on here. There’s a connection we’re missing. Willard Hughes ran a tight ship, and it took us a long time to tear it down. Whoever’s still pushing drugs in the region, especially across the California border, they’re doing it with some help from at least one pawn in the Hughes family. Marlo can pound her flat chest all she wants. I know she’s itching to get her daddy’s business back to its former glory.”

Diesel scoffs. “And given how it ended between us and her daddy—”

Samson cuts him off. “Willard Hughes is dead and buried.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this drug transport was Marlo’s doing is all I’m saying,” Diesel says. “She certainly wouldn’t waste an opportunity to frame us while she’s at it.”

“We should talk to Marlo too then,” I reply.

Jagger shakes his head. “Not yet. If we reach out now, she’ll know we’re rattled. We gather as much intel on our own as we can, fellas, and then we see what the next steps are. In the meantime, I suggest we do a thorough check of every club member’s whereabouts over the past week. We also need to find out who the so-called Rider is that the DEA arrested.”

“We need to get into that holding cell,” Diesel says.

“With Spalding itching to slap cuffs on us? Good luck with that,” Pedro says and chuckles dryly.

I slap the desk, prompting everyone to look at me. Tension fills the room, the air thickens until its weight is unbearable. “I’ll reach out to my father. Pedro and Jonas, handle Nunzio. Samson and Jagger will check the MC members one by one until we have a clear timeline for each of us. Paulie, you keep an eye on Robyn and Kyra. It’s just as important that they’re safe,” I say. “Diesel, do you have a couple of outside fellas to do a little bit of reconnaissance for us with the Hughes family? Maybe they can go in, buy something, see what their movements are in and around Redwood.”

“Doable, yeah,” Diesel says.

“One thing is certain,” I reply, looking at each of my lieutenants. “It took a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to pull this club out of the gutter and turn it into what it is today. We can’t let anybody destroy everything we’ve built here. Not the DEA, not Marlo Hughes, not anybody.”

“And if we do, in fact, have a shitbag in our midst, we’re going to find out and punish him accordingly,” Samson growls. “I am not retiring to prison because one of us got stupid and greedy. Did Spalding give you the name of who he arrested?”

I shake my head slowly. “Nope.”

“I’ll make some calls. We’ll find out.”

Diesel frowns slightly. “I don’t think he’s an MC member. We would’ve heard. Same goes for the prospects.”

“Yeah, but remember we’ve got about a hundred riders now and not all of them come through the clubhouse on a regular basis,” Jagger surmises.

“Let’s roll out then,” Jonas says, grabbing his helmet and keys. He’s the first out the door, followed by Pedro, Samson, and Paulie.

Diesel and Jagger stay behind for a hot second, each of them giving me a curious look.

“Are you okay, brother?” Jagger asks.

“I’m pissed,” I say. “Someone’s trying to take down the club at the same time Calvin’s out of prison. Call me paranoid, but I’d bet this entire fucking clubhouse that this is not a coincidence.”

Diesel shrugs. “I’m not even going to argue with you there. If there’s one thing the three of us learned a long time ago, it’s that coincidences are never really just that. We’ll turn over every stone, Knox. The truth is out there.”

I just hope we get to it in time.

12

Robyn

“Rita, I’m done for the day. Do you mind if I head out?”

“You go on ahead, mami. Kyra’s probably looking forward to spending the evening with you. It’s your weekly movie night, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. Every Tuesday evening. Popcorn and an animated feature film,” I chuckle softly as I check my bag, making sure I have everything. “Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rita says. “Besides, I’ve only got one client left, and if she doesn’t get here on time, I’m going to call her and cancel.”

The salon is empty.

---