Page 154 of The Wild Charge

The door opened, and the guard returned – not alone. He pushed a girl along in front of him. She was barefoot, dressed only in a few scraps of lingerie, and she was whimpering like a kicked dog, blonde hair hanging in a curtain over her face.

“Yeah,” someone called.

Someone else whistled.

The girl lifted her head, eyes wide and rolling in terror, and the sight of her hit Evan like a gut punch.

He’d not seen her in person, only on the fliers and files Eden had shared with the club. It was the girl who’d gone missing in Alabama: Kaylie Eckridge.

~*~

“I feel like there’s a tracksuit joke to be made here,” Axelle murmured.

Eden lowered her binoculars and did a broader sweep of the street through the gapped blinds. The rent-by-the hour seedy motel they were camped out in was conveniently located across the street from the laundromat that served as the front for the Kozlov bratva. They owned several fronts, according to Toly’s intel, but the Suds ‘n Sit was the only one that had become common knowledge around the city. Toly had said that if the Italians took the bait and launched an attack, it would be here.

“Oh, I got a million of those,” Pongo said. “What do you call a–”

“Shh,” Eden hissed. “There’s a car.”

The bed springs creaked as he hopped to his feet and joined them at the window. A black Mercedes was doing a slow crawl toward them, its windows blacked-out to an illegal degree. The pedestrians loitering on the sidewalk did double-takes, and were savvy enough to pick up the pace as they walked away.

“Do you think your little detective managed to organize anything?” Eden asked, doubtful.

“Dunno. She’s hella ambitious, though, and, like, in love with her partner. Maybe she managed to persuade him to go talk to their captain or something.”

“Guess we’ll find out,” Axelle said, and then swore when the rear, driver-side window rolled down on the Mercedes.

The loud whoop of sirens erupted below, and then the screech of tires. Patrols cars slammed into view at both ends of the street, lights flashing, penning in the car.

“Ha!” Pongo exclaimed. “Atta girl.”

If he sounded a little bit proud, Eden was too pleased to point it out to him.

~*~

“Alright.” Waverly wiped grease from his lips and settled his forearms on the table. “Let’s not play games, here. I don’t wanna talk in circles.”

Tenny had cut into his steak and pushed it around his plate a little, but hadn’t eaten a bite nor taken a sip. He was very good atthatgame. “Agreed. If you aren’t one for subtlety, I can be blunt.”

Waverly grunted a disagreeing sound – or maybe that was just indigestion from inhaling his food so quickly. “You were approached weeks ago about coming onboard, and your response was – well, let’s just say it was negative. And violent.”

Tenny remembered that “approach” from the other side of the desk. Cracking Luis in the back of the head, seeing the flash of relief in Ian’s eyes – and being proud that Ian hadn’t panicked, and had instead been ready to defend himself and Alec.

“You’re admitting it, then?” Tenny asked. “That Luis Cantrell works on your behalf?”

“Cut the shit. You already know that because your people disappeared him.”

“My people?”

“Everyone knows you’re in bed with the Dogs.”

“If you believe that, and that I somehow know what happened to Luis, why even take this meeting?”

“Let’s just call it professional curiosity.”

It was an invitation to plead his case, and Tenny took it. He dropped the Showman Ian façade and slipped into Ian’s ruthless, cutting shark mode. He shifted forward in his chair, and noted the way Waverly’s attention narrowed in on him. “I do work with the Lean Dogs MC. They’re one of several organizations which distribute my products – you see, I’m a wholesaler, like yourself. I don’t dirty my hands with the on-ground operations, but the Dogs are only one of my retail sources. I work with groups across the US and Europe, and am involved with a variety of influential civilians and politicians alike. We have a great deal in common, you and I. The Lean Dogs have acted rashly and violently, I’ll grant you – what can you expect from a bunch of low-lifebikers?” He made a show of the word, wrinkling his nose. “All they know is stabbing, and shooting, and reveling in the ordinary.

“You and I, though – we’re the sort who make the world work. Warring with each other will get us nowhere. The incident with Luis helped me to see that. There’s no need for us” – he gestured between them – “or our loved ones to get hurt in the crossfire. I want us to join forces. That’s why I’m here.”

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