Page 70 of Avenging Devil: Part 1

Fuck. This man obviously doesn’t play around.

“What are the Utah rules on custody?” Dart asks, his brow creasing.

Stormy’s answer comes quickly. “Fucker would only lose custody and visitation rights if he were convicted for rape. Duke’s her husband, it’s her word against his.” Snatcher says something in the background. “Yeah, he put her in the hospital, but she lied to the cops about why she was there. Coerced, probably, of course, but it would be hard to bring up a rape accusation now given that history.”

“That’s one thing we don’t have to worry about.” I decide to come clean. “Saffie, well, she’s lost the baby.”

Stormy sighs. “Fuck, that’s hard on her. But in some ways that makes it easier.”

Fucking easier?The man doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I recall her abject misery, those first few days when she could barely drag herself out of bed.

Lost raps his fingers. “What’s the club, and has this Duke got club backing to find her?”

It’s Snatcher’s voice now. “The Crazy Wolves based in Nevada, and we presume so. Someone’s sanctioned the use of club assets to find her. Though we can’t discount, as he’s VP, he might be directing it by himself.”

As he’s VP, he’ll have men who’ll follow him, maybe even without the sanction of their prez. As an old lady, Saffie’s club property, and some clubs would go to the ends of the earth to hold on to that. It’s a matter of respect.

Jesus, Saffie. What have you gotten yourself into?

She’s his fucking wife!And under the circumstances, it’s impossible for her to ask for a divorce.

I may have thought I wanted to protect her before, but now that streak inside me leaps to hitherto unknown levels. One way or another, this man’s going to exit this marriage and if it’s by my hand, so much the better.

Grumbler can keep quiet no longer. “His full name’s Duke Marshall?”

Without hesitation, Stormy replies, “That’s him.”

The four of us exchange glances and shrug. That name’s a new one to us.

“How close do you think he is to finding her, Stormy? Any suggestions on how to play this?” My distrust of the man has been put into the background. To save Saffie, I’ll take answers whatever heritage they have. Except for having them relocate her again. If he’s found her once, he might do so again, and next time she wouldn’t have me.

Stormy doesn’t hesitate. “Too close if he picked up on Token’s searches. Token, can you mirror an IP address with a location in another state? Throw them off the trail for now.”

Our computer guy nods in answer, then states, “That I can do. It might deaden the scent for a while. They’re suspicious and looking. I already deleted all my files, closed down the server and moved them to an independent one.”

“What implications are there for us?” Lost asks sharply. Token’s ability to keep his eyes on the underworld has paid dividends before now. Deleting info doesn’t sound good.

Both the voice on the phone and Token chuckle. “I copied them first and stored them securely, and I’ve got multiple access points,” he explains calmly. “I can afford to burn one.”

It’s Snatcher’s gruff tones we hear now. “Sounds like you’ve got your info buttoned down. As for the woman herself, I’d feel happier if you could bring her under your protection, Lost, while we figure shit out and how close he’s got. All we know for certain is that he knows what name she’s now going by. However, that they were able to hit on Token’s enquiry makes me worry they’ve got access to shit we don’t know about. I have no idea of their IT capabilities, but we have to assume the worst.”

“Prez, if they’ve found the ID she’s using,” Stormy points out, “she’ll have left footprints in San Diego. We have to relocate her.”

Yeah, she will have. Her job, her apartment, and the hospital records.

“And this time with a fuckin’ watertight ID,” Snatcher growls. “And where no bugger will try to trace her.” It’s a poke at us, me and Token. “Jeez, what a mess. We need time to sort something out. My request stands, Lost, for you to extend your hospitality.”

Having been party to this discussion, I want nothing more than to bring her under our wing. But there’s a problem, which I share. “That won’t be as easy as it sounds. Quite rightly, from what I’ve just heard, she’s fuckin’ terrified of MCs.” Now I know, I’m not surprised, at last able to understand why she never quite trusted me, seeing the patch and not the man. I could tell her clubs were different until the cows come home, her extreme experience would lead her to believe otherwise.Not just one rape, but five years of abuse.Fuck, that must have felt like a lifetime.

Lost’s brow is creased, and he rubs at his temples. Suddenly he smiles. “Your railroad, Snatcher. You ever use any kind of password to help folks along? So they know the contact is genuine?”

“Sure do,” Snatcher says. “It changes all the time, but the one Saffie knows is…” there’s a brief pause followed by, “thanks, Storm… ‘Did you lose your purse? I found one with X dollars in it.’”

“What’s X?” Lost frowns.

“An increment of the last number she’d been given. We just need a moment to figure that out, then we’ll get back to you. Why, what you thinking, Brother?”

“I’m thinking I could send my ol’ lady to check up on her, purportedly sent from the Freedom Trail. As they’ve not met before, she’s likely to trust her if she presents the correct credentials. Patsy could befriend her.”

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