Page 101 of Devil's Due

“As far as the Soulz are concerned, the Warped Jokers are no longer an MC who are welcome in any of our territories. Anyone wearing their patch, well,” he pauses and looks quickly toward Devil before resuming, “let’s just say they won’t get a friendly greeting.”

The movable side of Devil’s face smirks. “Wise move. I know that club calls themselves an MC, but they’re acting like the criminal gang the feds lump you in with. Cutting them loose is a good step. If I have a chance, I’ll drop that into conversation. Won’t get the heat entirely off of you but may remove it in this particular instance.”

“What does that mean for us?”For Stevie.

RIP sits forward. “You claimed the blind bitch, Beef. So you’ve got a vested interest. It means thatwewon’t be on your backs. If you want to give her protection, you won’t get blowback from the Soulz.”

“But,” Chaz takes over, “that doesn’t mean she’s not still at risk. Warped Jokers may have lost their charter, but they still act as a club. They’ve got a lot to lose if she testifies.”

“Can you confirm you’re happy with that?” Drummer’s voice is firm. “I want there to be no misunderstandings.”

RIP shrugs. “Now they’re out on their own, as Devil here said, they’re just criminals. We’d like it if the feds don’t use the term MC in front of the judge but can’t see how we can stop it.”

“Stevie’s testimony will only identify the men who held up the bank. Who they are has nothing to do with her further than that.”

The two Wretched Soulz prez’ raise and dip their heads. “We’ve washed our hands of them. They’re on their own.”

I catch Demon’s eye. Looking straight at me, he steps into the conversation. “All well and good to say there’s no issue with giving Beef’s woman our protection. The problem remains, we don’t know where Stevie is—who has her, and whether she’s still breathing. You,” he nods at RIP and Chaz, “may no longer be looking for her, but that doesn’t mean the Warped Jokers have stopped.”

I swallow. Those are my thoughts but having them put so starkly is chilling.

“That’s where I come in.” Devil’s voice is steady as eight pairs of eyes land on him. “Beef, I know you want me to get down to business, but there’s background you need to hear first.”

Drummer focuses his steely glare on me. My mouth stays shut, even though I’m starting to feel uneasy that I’m out of the loop in some way.

Devil continues, “Drummer asked me to do some investigating. I’ve got my best people—Sean and Nessa—working on it. One person I have been able to find is Marshal Lennox.”

I breathe in sharply. “You’ve found him? Where is he?” I want to get my hands on him. Make him tell me everything. Hope starts to glow inside me. Maybe now I’m closer to finding her.

“Hold your horses, Beef. He’s told me everything, which is nothing.” Devil wipes his hand over his face while that slight burn of expectation is extinguished.

“What do you mean, he’s told you nothing?”

“He doesn’t know anything.”

My muscles start to tense. “Just let me have five minutes with him…”

“Lennox was compromised, Beef, as much as Stevie. He’s willing to help us find out how that happened, as he’s close to as angry as you are.”

That’s impossible, my glare shows my thoughts.

My expression has no noticeable effect on Devil. “Look, this is the situation. Lennox liked Ms Nichols, admired her. He was doing his job, but as he said, this was one time his whole heart was in it. Ninety percent of the time he’s providing a new cover for criminals in return for their information, a small wrong to put a huge one right. I’ve spoken to him at length, and I’m assured he put his everything into keeping that woman safe. He did it all by the book. New identity, new location. He stayed close until she was settled because she has particular needs. He’s feeling bloody guilty. He was happy to talk to me as we went through all the steps he had taken, and I’m convinced he didn’t put a foot wrong.”

“He stole her away from me,” I growl. “Took her away from our protection.”

“He thought he was doing right. You’re an MC, same as the Jokers—”

Now snarls refuting the similarity come from all around me. From the Satan’s Devils denials that we’re anything like them, from the Soulz it sounds more like they wouldn’t have been so stupid as to get caught. But nothing fazes Devil. He simply waits for the noise to die down, then continues.

“He had everything set up. A completely new identity. A new place for her to stay. Thing is, he knew nothing about it. Because he was compromised, he handed off to a trusted colleague. The only part he played was getting her out of here. He knew she’d go with him, and probably wouldn’t with anyone she didn’t know.”

“But he knows where she is?”

If Devil could look sympathetic, that would be his expression. “No.”

“Who’s the new handler?” Drummer asks.

“That doesn’t matter.”

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