Page 30 of Property of Spike

“Yeah, fuck,” I echo. “So, do you want to try that answer again?”

He swallows hard, his gaze darting between us. “I swear, I never met her before she came here,” he insists, holding my stare. “I’ll explain everything. But what does she have to do with Commissioner Chuck?”

I shouldn’t answer him. But Riley’s words, her request not to be too harsh, echo in my head.

“She just had his baby,” I say bluntly. “Now, you’ve been with us for years. You know exactly what we do to traitors. Start talking.”

Mike scrubs a hand down his face, exhaling sharply. “Fuck, okay,” he mutters. “Six months ago, my little sister got into trouble and landed herself in prison. A few weeks ago, during avisit, she told me one of the male guards was getting handsy with her. I went through half a dozen people trying to get Brittany transferred or at least get the guard fired. Nothing worked. Finally, I ended up at the Commissioner’s door. At first, he told me he couldn’t do anything. Said the prison wasn’t his domain. Then, a few days later, he calls me out of nowhere and says if I do him a solid, he’ll make sure Brittany’s taken care of.”

“A solid?” I repeat, voice dripping with venom.

“He wanted intel on the club,” Mike admits. “I told him I wasn’t in the inner circle, that I didn’t know shit he’d care about. But that wasn’t good enough. He wanted me to listen. Report back daily on what was happening.”

“The mule run?” I ask, my hand twitching toward my gun. Mike was one of my ten.

Mike’s eyes blaze with anger. “I haven’t told him a fucking thing,” he snaps. “I’ve lied my ass off. Gave him false info just to keep him off my back.”

“What kind of false info?” Bones asks, watching him closely.

Mike smirks.

“I told him that the club was looking to expand into Arizona,” he says. “That we were negotiating a territory split with the Vipers, but tensions were high. I made it sound like we were on the verge of a war.”

Bones raises a brow. “That’s some serious shit to lie about.”

“Exactly,” Mike says. “I figured if I fed him something big enough to keep him distracted, he wouldn’t push for more intel. And it worked. He’s been so focused on tracking some imaginary turf war that he hasn’t asked for anything else.”

I study him, searching for any sign of deceit. If he’s lying, he’s damn good at it.

“You expect us to believe you?” I ask, testing the waters a bit further.

He holds my gaze, unflinching. “I know how this looks, Prez. But I swear on my sister’s life, I never gave him anything real.”

The room is tense, the silence heavy. No one speaks for a long beat. Then Bones exhales sharply, shaking his head.

“So, let me get this straight,” Bones says, his voice almost amused.Almost.“You got tangled up with the Commissioner to save your sister, played him with fake intel, and now we have to clean up your mess?”

Mike winces. “I can fix it.”

“No,we’llfix it,” I correct. “But first, we need to know exactly how deep this shit goes.”

“I haven’t contacted him in a few days,” Mike admits. “He’s been texting, asking for an update, but I’ve been stalling.”

I nod. “Good. Here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna keep feeding him bullshit, but now, you’re doing it under my orders. We’re gonna turn this around and make him chase his own tail.”

Mike’s relief is visible. “I can do that.”

“Damn right, you can,” I say. “But make no mistake, you’re on thin fucking ice. One misstep, and I won’t hesitate to put a bullet between your eyes.”

He nods, swallowing hard. “Understood.”

I push off the wall, glancing at Skip. “Get Knox on the line. We’re gonna need his help. Be sure to pull money from our offshore account to pay him. If Chuck’s watching closely enough, I want to ensure the money trace doesn’t touch the Obsidians.”

Skip nods, already pulling out his phone.

“Mike,” I say, leveling him with a look. “You’re gonna set up a meeting with Chuck. Tell him you’ve got something big, something urgent.”

Mike hesitates. “What do I tell him?”

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