Page 52 of Hard as Stone
Lee snorts from where he’s leaning against a tool chest. “Could be worse. Could be stuck with Summit’s snakes.”
“Speaking of snakes,” Stone cuts in, all business now. “Duck, how fast can we process that paperwork?”
“Give me till end of day.” Duck’s already pulling out his phone. “Got a guy who specializes in quick turnarounds. Legal too, before you ask,” he adds with a look at Poppy’s brothers.
“Good.” Stone turns to Felix. “Those plans you found—the drainage system. Tell me everything.”
As Felix spreads the blueprints across Duck’s workbench, I pull Poppy aside. She’s holding it together, but I can feel quakes running through her body.
“You OK?” I ask softly.
She shakes her head. “He took everything, Axel. All those years of ‘saving for our future’—” Her voice cracks. “He barely paid us enough to live on, kept telling us it was because he was investing in the company, in our retirement. Said if we all worked hard now, we could retire early, live comfortably.” Her laugh is bitter. “Instead, he was stockpiling it all for himself. He used us. His own kids.”
“We’ll find him.” I cup her face in my hands. “And in the meantime, you’ve got us. The club will make sure you and your brothers land on your feet.”
“Why?” She searches my eyes. “You barely know them.”
“Because they’re your blood. And you’re mine.” I brush my thumb across her cheek. “That makes them family. Fucked up as it is, that’s how the MC works.”
“It’s true,” Lee calls over, because apparently everyone’s eavesdropping. “Fair warning though—family means you get stuck with me as a quasi-brother-in-law. Hope you can live with that, troublemaker.”
A laugh bubbles out of her despite everything. “Could be worse. Could be stuck with Summit’s snakes,” she says, repeating Lee’s words from earlier.
“True that,” he says with a nod. “Fucking hate those guys.”
“Speaking of snakes,” Stone cuts in, gesturing to the blueprints spread across Duck’s workbench. “These tunnels—they’re way too big for just drainage. Summit’s definitely planning something.”
Felix nods. “That’s what we thought. The dimensions make no sense for a town this size.”
“Unless you’re planning to move something bigger than water through them,” Lee says, his expression darkening. “And look where they connect—right under our territory, all the way to the land Summit already has under development. These here are the old mining tunnels.”
Stone’s finger traces the path of the tunnels on the blueprint, his brow furrowed. “These old mining tunnels... they’ve been closed for decades. Deemed too unstable after that collapse back in ‘87.”
“I remember that,” Duck chimes in, wiping grease from his hands. “My old man was part of the rescue crew. Said the wholemountain was like Swiss cheese, ready to come down at any moment.”
Lee leans in closer, studying the intricate network of lines. “So going by this, my guess is Summit couldn’t buy up property fast enough, so the plan was to use the stormwater project as cover to reinforce and expand the old mining tunnels.” He traces the intricate network of lines on the blueprint. “Clever bastards. The mines are unsafe, so they concocted this whole stormwater idea to reinforce everything without raising suspicion.”
Stone nods grimly. “And once the tunnels are stable...”
“They’ve got a perfect underground network for moving product,” I finish, the pieces falling into place. “Drugs, weapons, people—anything they want, right under our noses.” I study the plans, old instincts from my previous life kicking in. “These are federal specifications.”
Stone’s head snaps up. “You sure?”
“Yeah.” I trace the familiar markings. “Saw similar plans cross my father’s desk when he was working state contracts. This kind of infrastructure project needs federal oversight.”
“Which means what they’re planning goes higher than just the city,” Stone says slowly.
“At least, it should.” I meet his eyes, seeing the same understanding dawn. “You want me to make a call, don’t you?”
He nods. “If anyone in your old life will listen?—”
“Most of them wrote me off when I chose the club over the family business.” I drag a hand down my face. “But yeah, I’ve got a number or two that might still work.”
“Do it.” Stone’s voice carries the weight of command. “Summit’s not expecting us to have connections that go over their heads. Let’s use that.”
“OK.” I nod, already about to pull out my phone when Poppy’s hand squeezes around my arm.
“Wait. You have numbers to call for help with this?”
