Page 62 of Ink's Devil

“I don’t know. He moved out several years back. Lives with Phil—as I said that’s our father—in Denver, but I’ve not seen him for years. He, er… Mom chucked Phil out when she realised he was a criminal. But I don’t know if he’s got anything to do with drugs. I wouldn’t have said Connor did either, but I don’t really know who he is nowadays.”

“You have much to do with your brother?”

Another shake of my head. “I don’t. Occasionally he’ll visit, but not often. It’s been almost a year since we last saw him. But he’s come a couple of times lately. He asked to stay in his old room, Mom didn’t want him to have the key to her house… Look, I’m sorry, I’m trying.” I plead with my eyes, asking for time as I try to get my thoughts straight. “When she refused, he asked to pick up some of his stuff he’d left in his bedroom. When he carried a box in to collect them, we’d assumed it was empty, but I think that’s when he left the packages of drugs. Then he’d come down with it full of old junk, so we weren’t suspicious.”

“He started visiting you, why?”

“He said he had a new business venture in Pueblo.”

“He must be the one behind the fuckin’ drug dealing,” Beef says in an aside to his prez. “And I don’t buy she knew nothing about what he was leaving.”

There’s nothing wrong with my hearing—with my common sense, perhaps, but not my ears. “I swear I didn’t know about them. And I’d point the finger at Phil. Connor would have been working with him.”

“So you’re keeping to the story that he brought in the drugs without you knowing?”

At the same time as Mace asks his disbelieving question, Beef throws out, “Was it Heroin or meth?”

“Yes,” I direct at the enforcer, and then, “How the hell do I know?” to the VP.

Beef is clearly not convinced.

“I didn’t know until tonight,” I insist.

Mace cocks his eyebrow at Demon, who nods back. He approaches me menacingly. “You got close to Ink. Fuck, at the wedding it could have been any of us, as long as you got a biker ensnared by your presumably magical pussy, you didn’t care who. Shame it wasn’t me you fucked, I’d have never been so fuckin’ stupid. So what was your plan? To cosy up to Ink to find where we weren’t looking? Were you finding where it was safe to deal?” At the stunned look on my face, he changes tack. “’Cause I don’t believe you,darlin’.”He snarls the last word. “You want me to believe you had no ulterior motive? Tell me this. You were fuckin’ him, why didn’t you speak to him, as soon as you knew there were drugs?”

Demon, clearly getting on Mace’s wavelength asks. “Or, did you tell him? Did he know you were going to be there? Did he know what you were going to do and was trying to stop you?”

“No!” I all but scream. “I didn’t know he was going to be there. I didn’t have time to try and speak to him. Yes, that had been the first thing on my mind. But I didn’t have a chance to call. No, he didn’t know I was there. He must just have recognised me. Please,” I beg them. “Please let me tell you what happened when Connor called.”

When Demon gives me a sharp nod, I try not to think of how this morning had started, with me saying goodbye to Ink with every expectation of seeing him later. Instead, I focus on what happened after Ink had bailed, and I’d gone to my own bed alone.

“I was reading in my room; the book was good, I wanted to keep on with it. It was getting late, almost midnight. My phone rang, I’d hoped it was Ink, but instead, it was my brother. That in itself is unusual, I didn’t know he still had my number, must be years since he used it.” My eyes crease as I recall the desperation in his voice. “He said he was being held by someone and they were hurting him, and that he needed me to do something for him to make them stop. If I didn’t, there was a risk they could kill him. He told me they’d broken his ribs, beat him, he sounded in pain, as if it even hurt to talk.”

“Who had him?” Beef asks the question, but his expression shows he’s finding my words hard to believe.

“He didn’t say. I asked, but he wouldn’t tell me. I got the impression they were listening to the call.”

Mace snorts.

Demon purses his lips, but his only words are, “Go on.”

“He gave me instructions. I was to open a box, take the packages, and deliver them to a man who’d be waiting for me in the vicinity of Tits Up.” I pause to take a breath. “He’d left me no time to do anything otherwise. Of course I wanted to tell Ink, but Connor said I wouldn’t see him, my brother, alive again if I didn’t do what he asked. I couldn’t risk that he was telling the truth.” I glance up, but no one looks the slightest bit convinced. “I said I’d do anything to save him, and I would. He’s my baby brother after all.” I swallow down he’d been known to take advantage of that relationship, sensing it wouldn’t do me any good. “I said,anything,and I meant it. I didn’t know what the task was. I thought he might need money, heaven knows how I was going to get it that time of night, but I’d have emptied my bank account if that’s what it would take.”

Demon’s raised chin and a quick look toward Beef gives me a slight hope they can understand such a desire to save a brother. Then he signals to me to resume.

“As I said, he’d left it until the last minute, and I had to rush to make the meet. It was only then that I found what he’d left and knew the packages were obviously drugs.” I pause, then stress, “I thought about calling the cops, then realised that would get my brother locked up, that’s if he was allowed to live. I thought about calling Ink, but…” I sob, I can’t help it. Fresh tears run down my face, and I feel snot drip from my nose. “I couldn’t risk dragging him into it, or your club. This wasmymess to sort. Those were my thoughts in the few precious seconds I had if I was to get there on time. I took two packages, and well, you know the rest.” I raise my watery eyes and look Demon straight in his, trying to convey how earnest I am. “It should have been me who was arrested, not Ink. I feel so fucking bad about that.” My words end on violent sobs which shake my body.

“I bet you fuckin’ do,” Mace snarls from behind me.

“She didn’t have much of a chance.” Sparky surprisingly comes to my defence. “If we hadn’t been there, it would be her sitting in jail now. Ink made a split-second decision, and well, it’s him there instead.”

“Jail is no more than she fuckin’ deserves,” barks Mace. “Ink, Christ…” his voice trails off, and he turns away and wipes at his face.

“I didn’t ask him to help me,” I cry out in desperation. I still can’t believe he got involved. Just look what happened. It would have been me arrested if he’d not intercepted. If he’d had any idea, he wouldn’t have done it, would he? In an attempt to get the scary looking enforcer to believe me, I continue, “Ink appeared out of nowhere. Took the bag from my hands. He told me to go.” And I had. “I should have stood my ground, should have stayed with him, insisted he’d given me the bag back. That was what I did wrong.” But I hadn’t. Instead I’d obeyed that tone he’d used. I have no excuse for that. I weep again, this time, more quietly.

“Ink knew.” Beef slaps one meaty fist into his palm. “Ink fuckin’ knew the cops were there.”

Ink knew?

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