Page 119 of The Trust We Broke
I shake my head. “Why would it? My dad knew what he signed up for. And he likely does more for the club inside than many of the members out of it. I’m fucking proud of who he is.”
“All of that is why I trust you. Your dad is a legend for how he went down with that sting. How you saved Butcher is legendary too. But it’s your attitude to all of it that’s worth trusting in. Keep in touch, yeah? Because the New Jersey Outlaws owe you, now. Call us, and we’ll answer. And I want you to be successful, so if you find yourself in a bind that Butcher can’t help you with, call me. I’ll answer too.”
We don’t have the same kind of feedback cycles you have in businesses, ones with performance-related pay and shit. But this, my national president offering to help me, is something else.
“Thank you. And you have my word.”
“Oh, and one last thing,” King says as he opens the door. “Remember what I said. Wren’s been broken, more than once. Don’t let anyone break them again. Or Saint and Spark might come and kill you.”
“You could tell by their behavior toward Wren in here.”
King nods. “They looked after Wren when shit first went down. The two of them practically live next door to one another. Think they’re both feeling raw that our protection, perhaps, wasn’t enough.”
“So, if the Feds raid us again, priority one is to get Wren far, far away?”
King pauses for a minute. “Yes. But if Wren feels it’s safe to reveal themself, trust them.”
I lean against the doorframe as King and the others make their way out the door, with King taking a moment to specifically talk with Jackal and Shade. He hugs them both, and then, disappears out the door.
“You gonna tell me what the two of you were talking about in there?” Wraith asks. We’re still finding our footing in our new roles. And I want us to set the standard for how those rules work.
But I’m also going to respect the rules King just laid down.
“He reiterated how important it is for the Outlaws, in general, that Wren is kept safe. And we won’t fail him, right?”
Wraith shakes his head. “Feels a bit like a test, though.”
He’s not lying. “I feel that too. But he’s gonna pay us. Fifty grand a month.”
People filter back into the clubhouse after waving our guests off.
“Guess we’re hired bodyguards, then.” Wraith looks up at me. “So, what are we doing, next?”
“We’re going to go and have a man-to-man chat with my former father-in-law and get his laptop for Wren.”
“Hey, Bug,”I say, holding the phone close to my ear as I stare up at the hospital while Wraith pays for a ticket to park the truck. The building’s cold. Impersonal. Giant slabs of concrete and glass. Brutalism trying to disguise itself as welcoming.
“Hey, sweetheart,” she says. “Wren just got into the phone, if you can believe it. Took all of twenty minutes.”
“Did you find anything out about what your father was involved in?”
“No. Wren only just cracked into it, so they’re downloading all the intel off it, now. I’ll tell you as soon as we find anything. And Catfish is looking through my father’s files, just to make sure I didn’t miss anything, or to see if a club’s perspective on all the abbreviations reveals any more details.”
I huff at that. “You and I both know you didn’t miss anything, but getting Catfish to look at the notebooks was a good idea.”
“This is likely true. Are you on your way home?”
I take a deep breath, unsure how this is gonna go. “No. Wish I was, but I’m outside the hospital.”
“Are you hurt? Oh my gosh. I can be?—”
“Bug! I’m fine.”
I hear her breath come fast. “Thank God.”
“I’m going to see your father.”
There’s a pause, then: “Oh.”
