Page 45 of Rogue

The place is as empty and sad as always, old Ben behind the bar looking half asleep and the two regulars, Justin and Torch, both drunk and oblivious to everything but the drinks in front of them. Back when Angel and I hung out here, the place was full of life. Not all that cleaner and shinier than it is now, but a lot more optimistic. Rogue Angels MC has owned it for years now, I had us buy it once it started seriously going to the dogs, but I can’t bring myself to do anything with it.

Though maybe I could spring for deep cleaning and maybe a paint job. The photos of celebrities who partied here back in the day that cover the walls—Marilyn, Elizabeth Taylor and even Robert De Niro—could use new frames too. But everything in this place is like a tomb of better times. A forgotten, neglected tomb. Maybe I should just raze it to the ground and forget all about it.

The woman I loved is no longer alive. So why should the place where we first kissed hold such a sway over me. She’d want me to move on. That’s the kind of person Angel was. Big-hearted, compassionate, caring. Didn’t let anything hold her back. Just like Melody.

“You wanted to talk,” Manny says as he sits across from me in one of the drab, brownish booths below the picture of Marilyn and JFK.

I push the thick file across the table to him. “This is all we have on Clive Krueger and his trafficking operation. He’sbehind the horror we found last night and the warehouse full of trafficked women we attacked the other day.”

He glances at the file, but doesn’t open it. “You know we still haven’t located most of the women you freed there.”

“And the ones you have are probably sitting in some immigration cage right now,” I snap. “I just wanted to give them a chance.”

“Better than dying in an abandoned house,” he counters.

I take a deep inhale and lean back, fighting the urge to fly off at him, because that’s not gonna make anything better. I know I put the women I freed in danger by letting them go. And I can only hope they are in fact still free and not rotting dead inside some other property owned by Clive.

I open the file and point at the topmost sheet. “This is a list of all the places owned by this Krueger piece of trash. You need to investigate them all and shut everything down.”

Manny grimaces as he glances at the page. “This is over twenty places. We don’t have the manpower. And even if we did, I can’t mobilize them on just your word, Gabe.”

He sounds apologetic and tired. Ben the bartender is making his way from behind the counter to see if Manny wants anything to drink, but Manny waves him away.

“Why not? We left no stone unturned in this investigation,” I say. “Everything you need is in there. You can bring in the FBI to help. or the California Bureau of Investigations. They’ll supply the manpower.”

“But I’d have to tell them I got the information from my vigilante biker club president cousin,” he says. “And that’s not gonna work for them.”

“It’s never been a problem before,” I say. “You all know our information is solid. Bring this Clive guy in now before he does any more damage. Or we will.”

“And how do I explain away the fact that you’re in league with outlaw, one-percenters now?” he asks.

“How is that public knowledge?” I ask before I can think of anything better.

“Word on the street is loud. You’ve allied yourself with Devil’s Nightmare MC,” he says. “You’re losing your cred with law enforcement agencies fast.”

“We’re not in league with them. We just helped each other out,” I say.

And we’re gonna continue to.But I don’t say that.

He sighs, closes the folder and picks it up. “I’ll look into this. Maybe even have a chat with this Clive guy. But I can’t make any promises. And maybe you better take a back seat on this now too.”

I shake my head. “I’m seeing this through. With or without your help. I just wanted us to be on the same page when the rest of it goes down.”

He rolls his eyes, but they’re full of that family compassion. “You just got shot, Gabe. And you still managed to help a lot of women held by this guy. But the guys he works with, this Hydra Unlimited corporation or whatever they’re calling themselves, already threatened you once. Do you really want them to do something worse.”

“I’m not too worried about them,” I say.

“You should be,” Manny counters. “I’ve looked into the operation. They’ve crept up in a number of our investigations. More like a shadowy menace off to the sidelines and not front and center, but I suspect they’re very dangerous when they want to be.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have told you about the attack on Lotus,” I say and lean back, crossing my arms over my chest. “I don’t need you fussing over me. I got a mother.”

“Yeah, a mother who worries about you day and night,” he says.

“I do what I gotta do, she understands that. Besides, it’s what dad would’ve wanted.”

Manny sighs again and stand up. “Would he? Just be careful. We’ve already buried too many people before their time in this family.”

Then he walks out, leaving me with simmering blood and too many thoughts that are neither welcome nor make a whole lotta sense.

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