As we pull up to Jer's house, I notice several other cars already parked outside.Looks like I’m not the only one who couldn't sleep.
I’m not surprised to find Jer, Maverick, Lisa, Stephen, and Jess all gathered in the living room.
"Emmanuel," Jer says, nodding in greeting.His eyes flick to Clodagh, then back to me, a smile on his face."You're early.Is everything okay?"
I nod.“Let’s go talk in the office,” I say, and he doesn’t hesitate.He walks ahead of me toward his office.I hear Lisa and Clodagh talking and I know they’ll be fine.Lisa may be pissed, but right now we’ve got other things to deal with.
"I remembered something,” I begin once the office door is closed, Maverick and Stephen having followed us in.“About the Ace of Hearts."
The room falls silent, all eyes on me.
"It was years ago," I continue."Michael Reeves mentioned it when we were interrogating him about the Harringtons.He said they had plans for something called the Ace of Hearts."
"Fuck, yeah, I remember that.Fuck!"Maverick hisses."So this is connected to the Syndicate?"
I nod."I think so.It’s the only thing that makes sense.Although, why Ava?”That shit still doesn’t sit right with me.Why the fuck did they take out Ava?
Maverick begins to pace.“From what Callie said, she had a new guy in America.She was in Boston.Could there be a connection?”
“There must be,” Stephen snarls.“The fuck?She was in Boston and no one thought to fucking say anything?”
Something must have gone down.“Did Callie mention who the guy was?”
Maverick reaches for his cell, but before he can make the call, the office door bursts open and Denis storms in with Danny and Pyro—the head of the Fury Vipers Motorcycle Club.He’s got blood on his cut.
“Someone took out one of my guys,” Pyro snarls, his voice vibrating with anger.“A direct shot to his chest.I found this,” he grunts as he throws an Ace of Hearts card onto Jer’s desk.“What the fuck is going on?”
"Who?"Maverick asks."Who did they take out?"
"Hustler," Pyro grits out."He was just a kid.Barely fuckin' eighteen and they killed him.I want this cunt found."
“We need to close ranks, protect the women.We have no idea who the next target is,” Jer says.“Where should we bring them?”
“Do you think that’s wise?”Denis asks.“Having them all in one place?”
“Jess is pregnant.I want her safe,” Stephen bites out.“That means she’s where I am.”
I nod in agreement.“Clodagh’s pregnant too.She’s not far from my side.Ever.”
Maverick’s eyes narrow.“Kept that quiet, didn’t you?”
I shake my head.“Only found out last night.Right now, I’m not willing to let her out of my sight.”
Denis stands up straighter.“The Vipers’ clubhouse is on lockdown,” he tells us.“Callie is here with me, and my kids are with Callie’s parents.We need to figure out who the fuck is doing this and we need to find out now.”
I totally agree.The sooner we uncover who’s behind this, the sooner we take them out and my woman and child will be safe.
"So we need to dig deep into the Syndicate and find out what the fuck they're planning," Jer hisses."I'll take the lot of them out."
"It's too fucking early in America for me to call Makenna or Hayden, but we need eyes on those fuckers," Denis grunts.
"Freddie's on his way," Stephen announces, and my entire body stills at his words."He's on the way to Boston as we speak.In fact, he should be arriving soon."
I narrow my eyes."You knew about the connection to the Ace of Hearts?"I can't keep the anger out of my voice.It's like a fucking whip.
Maverick turns to Stephen."Did you?"
He shakes his head."No, not until Emmanuel said it.Freddie's on his way to Boston to uncover what the fuck was up with Ava.He wants to know what she was doing while she was there.And I know him; he's not going to return until he has answers."