Page 53 of Next Level
Brooke turns to Sam as she comes back to embrace her mom again.
“Okay, I’m going to take off. I’m needed at the clubhouse,” I announce, ready to be home myself.
My girl is safe and sound, so now I can focus on the ‘why’ and ‘who’ did this.
Brooke breaks off from Sam again, focusing on me. “Will you keep me posted if anything changes? The FBI agent investigating the case seems like a nice person, and I feel she genuinely cares about what happens. She wants to meet with Samantha on Thursday. Can you be there with us?
“Of course I can.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Sam comes over and hugs me goodbye.
I tell her I love her and I’ll see her tomorrow.
When I head for the truck, Brooke says again, “Thank you.”
“Always.”
TINK TALK
Everyone is seated around the table. I’ve been home for an hour. Needing to unwind from the drive, I had a couple of beers while a few stragglers came in from work.
Zoom is reviewing all the information he’s collected on Jared, Garrett, and now George. It seems he married Letti while she was pregnant with Garrett, and they had Jared four years later. Shortly after Jared was born, George and Letti were involved in a car accident with the boys. Letti died, and the boys were hospitalized. George went to jail for vehicular manslaughter since he had been drinking and caused the accident. I have the whole case file here. It states they were fighting. Since the boys were so young, they were given up for adoption because neither George nor Letti had any family. George had been in prison ever since, only getting released this year on good behavior.
Zoom can’t find any link to our club, except that he went to school with my dad, but he was a few years younger and closer to my mom’s age.
Garrett was lucky to get good foster parents, Cherry’s parents, but he just rebelled against them. I told them everything Cherry had told me regarding her adoptive brother.
Zoom filled us in on Jared. He was so young and had a bunch of health problems. He was in the hospital for a long time beforebeing put into the system. They didn’t know if he was going to make it for a while. He had three foster families who were trying to take care of him, but his medical bills were too much. When he finally got adopted, they weren’t as loving as they seemed. Everything he said lined up with what Sam told me he was complaining about.
“But why take Sam?” I ask the room.
Everyone’s eyes are on me, but no one speaks.
Dawg speaks up, “Maybe we need to talk with your mom? Seems she would be the only one who would remember high school shit.
Lazy leans forward, resting his forearms on the table, clasping his hands. “I don’t remember George Casso, but I didn’t go to school with your dad.”
Most of our Oakland Chapter was taken out in a rival club raid a few years ago. I’ve rebuilt this chapter since taking over.
We all sit around talking scenarios, but we still don’t know how this links to me or Sam.
“I need to talk to my ma to see if she has any inclination about who George is,” I say to everyone.
I get a lot of nods and agreements, but our enforcer adds, “Or we find George and ask him ourselves.”
I rub my face, exhausted.
“Well, the two are being transferred here, so we need eyes on that station. We can grab George there. If the guys are released, we’ll pick them up. I don’t want them walking around.”
All the men agree. We concluded the meeting with nothing resolved, only more items to follow up on. Now I need to speak to Ma.
When we exit the clubroom, I hear women in the kitchen. I look to Dawg and say, “I thought no women were going to be here tonight.”
Lazy comes up next to me, answering, “My ol’ lady and a couple others are making dinner. We thought you’d want a home-cooked meal. I told them not to leave the kitchen until I came for them.”
I smell the food coming from the kitchen, and my stomach growls. He was correct. I’d love a home-cooked meal. I can’t get mad at them for having the women here to cook. No one knows why I didn’t want them here.
