Page 47 of Claimed By the Biker Brothers

“Alright, Marlo. As you wish,” I say, taking another deep breath.

I can feel Rita’s and Mrs. Stendhal’s eyes on me, but I pay them no mind as I get started on Marlo’s nails.

There’s definitely something rotten in Redwood. Marlo, Paulie, and Calvin grew up together. She said so herself. She’s also a Hughes, part of a notorious crime family still reeling from the damage the Rogue Riders inflicted upon them when they turned the club legit. The fact that she’s working with Calvin now is cause for concern.

“I’ll be more careful with Calvin where you’re concerned,” Marlo concedes after a long, heavy, and awkward silence.

“Thank you.”

It doesn’t change a thing, though.

The devil is already at my door it seems, and he’s got some dangerous new friends with him.

15

Diesel

Paulie confirms what Robyn told us the other day.

He was looking into it, if only to make sure Calvin wasn’t just using Marlo—or the other way around—to mess with Robyn in any way. I don’t trust anyone in the Hughes family as far as I can throw them, and the same goes for Calvin Russo.

“He’s working for Marlo Hughes,” Paulie says as we walk out of the clubhouse after a breakfast briefing with the other lieutenants. “Running errands around Redwood for her. Driving her around. He was seen going into meetings with her as well.”

“Meetings with whom?” I ask.

“Gang-affiliated individuals.”

I give Paulie a hard look. “You know what this means.”

“It could be just something Marlo is trying. It doesn’t mean it’ll work in her favor, not with so many of us keeping the district clean.”

“Has he reached out?” I reply, scanning the parking lot and the street beyond it.

Several cars are parked across from the club, and I don’t know any of them. They might belong to local folks working in the nearby office buildings, they could be law enforcement, or they could be someone else’s. Either way, my combat instincts have returned with a vengeance since we learned of a possible Calvin-Marlo alliance.

“Who? Calvin? No,” Paulie shakes his head.

We stop by our bikes, checking to make sure everything is in place. To say we’ve become paranoid would be an understatement, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“Not a single phone call. No text, nothing,” Paulie adds. “Jackie’s watching Robyn as we speak. I put one of the prospects in charge of the school, just to be safe. He’s discreet; no one’s gonna notice him, I promise.”

“Where is he stationed?”

“Just around the corner, but he’s got a clear view of both exits. He can see Kyra coming out either way.”

I nod slowly. “Good. Thank you for that.”

“Hey, man, don’t mention it. I’ll do anything to protect the club and Robyn and her little girl.”

“Yeah, you’ve proven yourself more than once. What pisses me off is that Nunzio couldn’t definitively say those were his patches,” I mutter. My gaze settles on a black SUV with someone sitting in the driver’s seat.

He’s looking right at us.

From this distance, I can’t make out the guy’s face.

“What are you looking at?” Paulie asks as he sees me staring.

I nod at the car. “See that SUV?”

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