Page 48 of Gunner
He was right, and as we traveled the last mile to the cabin, neither of us spoke. His gaze was out the side window, and I was white-knuckling the steering wheel. The bumpy road to the cabin needed repair, and I added it to the list of things that needed to be done. I pulled the truck up to the walkway and turned off the engine as Skid stumbled out the passenger door. His grip on the liquor bottle was tight as he unlocked the cabin door and punched in the disarm code for the alarm.
He walked into the spacious living room and crashed onto the couch while I took my cut off and hung it up. Whatever he said would dictate if I ever put it back on again. Skid looked over his shoulder as I walked into the room. He stood from the couch, placed the bottle on the coffee table, and took off his cut. He placed it over the armrest and sank back into the leather couch.
I sat down across from him in an oversized chair and lifted my eyebrows in question. He sighed and leaned back, shaking his head.
“Are you sure you want to hear it all?”
I swallowed deeply and exhaled before replying, “I need to hear it all.”
He stood from the couch and walked into the kitchen, returning a moment later with two cold beers. He handed me one, and I waited for him to sit down before taking a swallow.
“Sadie’s attack started it all, and it took close to six months before my uncle started to realize they had lied to him.”
“Started what?”
His cold eyes met mine before he spoke, his tone full of hate and anger. “The club’s connection to a crooked ATF agent.”
I sputtered around my beer and placed the bottle on the table before I questioned, “What the fuck?”
“How much has Sadie told you about her . . . rape?”
My vision grew hazy and I clenched my fists before muttering the painful details she divulged to me. “She said she was pulled off the street and gang-raped by multiple men for almost three hours. She told me how she got the scars on her back, but she hasn’t gone into detail, if that’s what you want to know.”
“Did she say how many?” he asked, and I wanted to punch him in his face to stop him from talking about it.
I shook my head, and he leaned his elbows onto his knees before hanging his head. “There were four men the cameras caught going into the house. There were three bodies found in the burned-out house. The one person who wasn’t accounted for was a mystery to Scribe. But not to me. I had to dig through Marco’s records, then use Callahan’s facial recognition software to figure it out. Scribe’s record-keeping made my job easier, but I did it.”
“What does a crooked ATF agent have to do with this?”
“He was the fourth man.”
I jumped from the couch and gripped my hands into my hair as I yelled, “Goddamn it!”
“From what Scribe discovered, Smokey tortured the three men until they gave him a name. When the club went to deal with him, they found a federal agent addicted to cocaine and begging for his life. They granted it to him in exchange for a free pass. They had enough to bury him with his superiors, and the fucker was desperate. He agreed to supply the club with guns that were untraceable, and they agreed to keep it under wraps. From everyone. They told Mick they handled it, when in reality, the asshole’s living his life, free to hurt other women, and had never paid the price for his sickness.”
I looked at Skid and I could see there was more. I fell onto the couch and asked, “What else?”
“You know him.” My eyes grew wide as he spoke. “His real name is Wilson Craft, but you know him as Skeeter.”
“Skeeter, the guy who delivers guns to the club? Bullet’s cousin?”
“One and the same. And he’s no family to Bullet. Just another lie to cover their asses.”
“And what did Smokey say when you spoke with him earlier?”
“I told him I knew who Skeeter actually was. He tried to reason his way out of it, but that fucker knew what he was doing when he agreed to their deal.”
I ran my hands down my face and tried to fight the demons pushing closer to the surface. Demons I fought a year and a half to conquer. Demons I refused to allow back into Sadie’s life. I looked at Skid and could see the conflict in his eyes. Just as I went to speak, my phone chimed and I pulled it from my pocket to see a text from Sadie.
Sadie:I’ve got to run somewhere, but I’ll be back in a few hours. Jacob’s settled with Reba. Tell Dalton I love him.
Me:Where are you going?
Sadie:It’s a surprise.
Me:Be safe. I love you.
Sadie:I love you too.
