Page 87 of Avenging Devil: Part 2

Swift’s sitting frowning. After a moment, she throws me an apologetic glance. “We need to talk about the bitches—”

“Whoa, bit strong for you, Swift.” Road remarks, with his eyebrows rising.

His partner shoots him a grin. “Normally I wouldn’t use that term for women, but Cyn and Susie both qualify.”

“Cyn’s being handled,” I tell them. “While I hate what she did, she had no way of directly contacting Duke. That was all on Susie.”

“You sure about that?” Stormy raises an eyebrow.

“Absolutely. Susie admitted it.” I wonder why we’re going over old ground. “She used her cousin in the FBI.”

Thor’s frowning. “Susie’s got no reason to think kindly of the Devils. Not when you literally threw her to the Wolves. Don’t like the fed’s involvement in any way whatsoever.”

“Dig deeper and find the link,” Snatcher instructs Stormy after acknowledging his VP’s comment with a frown. “I don’t fuckin’ like anything that puts the Devils on the fed’s bad side. Are you no closer to finding out who this fuckin’ cousin is?”

“Susie’s got a background which we think might be fake.” Honor’s announcement gets our attention.

Swift is first to react. “She was a fuckin’ plant? Niran?”

I sit forward. “Nothing that bitch did suggested anything of the sort. She was a patch chaser pure and simple.”

“Or that’s what she’d have you believe.” Stormy raises his eyebrow.

“But why target me? I wasn’t an officer. Why not go after Salem? He wouldn’t have turned her down.”

“Because she likes Black dick,” Duty remarks with a grin.

“I didn’t give her fuckin’ any. Not voluntarily,” I snarl. “Bitch tricked me.”

There are grimaces all around. No man wants to admit he had something taken from him he wasn’t prepared to give.

After a moment, Swift sums up. “So Susie could be what she appeared. A fake background could simply mean she was running from someone or something. Or she was put in as a plant. But why the Devils? That doesn’t make sense. Even the feds know we don’t make waves or regularly deal in anything illegal. They’d be wasting their time.”

“Agreed.” Stormy raises and dips his head.

Swift’s eyes now meet mine. “Why are you so certain Cyn’s not a problem?”

“Sharpshooter’s going to get close to her.”

“Sharpshooter?”

“Recently patched in,” I explain to her. “Curtis, who you met as a prospect.”

Snatcher’s head has been moving back and forth as though watching a tennis ball being batted around. Now he raises a hand. “There’s one other option.” When all eyes turn to him, he expands, “I’m sick of pissing around. We use Saffie as bait. Get Duke to come out of hiding.”

“No!” I thump my fist on the table. “No, no and no. She doesn’t even know the fucker’s still breathing. She’s starting to heal. She’s even accepting the club. Her knowing will send her straight back to that mental pit of hell she’s emerging from. And he doesn’t know she’s alive.”

“Can we be sure of that?” Thor challenges.

I shrug. How would he know?

Snatcher pushes back his chair and stretches out lazily. Apparently, he hasn’t given up. “We can use her without her knowing what we’re doing.”

“So we’ll what? Set her up and hope to fuck he doesn’t get her?” Not for the first time, I resent being stuck in this chair, seemingly limited to express my rage. Use Saffie? Risk her getting into Duke’s hands again? Never.

“You think it’s okay to let her keep believing everything’s alright?” It’s Swift who challenges me. “Niran, I know you want to protect her. But what if she gets to know Duke’s alive and you haven’t been straight with her? How do you think she’d feel about that?”

Protected? Kept safe?Or betrayed. Unwillingly, I have to admit it’s the latter.

“Whether she helps us bring Duke out of hiding or not, I think she’s got a right to know.” Bolt places both his hands on the table. “You might think you’re protecting her, Niran, but it’s her life.”

Placing my head in my hands, I wonder if I’m right, that Saffie would prefer to be kept in the dark. Hasn’t she already been through enough? As she starts to relax in the clubhouse, shouldn’t her focus be on moving forward and not looking back?

But what would happen if she found out I’ve been lying by omission? What would that do to the trust I’m starting to win back. I’m letting her believe she’s safe to do and go wherever she wants, when she’s not. Not until Duke is removed from the picture forever. She’d never forgive me.

If I want any relationship with her, I’ll have to be honest. This is one instance where club business won’t cut it.

“I’ll tell her,” I say, at last, my sigh showing reluctance. “But I’m damn well not using her to smoke Duke out.”

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