Page 42 of Vendetta
He did remember.The three of them talked for a couple of hours about the state of things in the Oak Grove Cottonmouth chapter with the criminal organization they were getting tangled up with.His brothers had been just as upset about the trafficking and drugs as he was.They just didn’t see things the same way.Shade thought it would be best to try and fade into the background, head back to Abingdon after a time.And Ripper was all about that idea.Maybe that’s what they were doing now.
The problem was, Eli wouldn’t have just let them leave no matter how slowly they tried to move.Not knowing what they knew.And Shade had done his damnedest to talk him out of confronting Eli and his inner circle that day at the compound.In hindsight, Shade had been right.Hitting things head on had always been Vendetta’s way, but it sure as shit hadn’t served him that day.
And now, here were his brothers.In Mercy.
Shade had been quiet through it all, but now his voice broke the silence.“Is it true?”he asked.“Are you the one who got Eli’s niece out?”
Vendetta didn’t blink.“Yeah.I got her out.”
Shade’s expression didn’t change much, but something shifted.A flash of understanding.
“How long had you been back?”Ripper asked, incredulous but not judging.“Back in Oak Grove with that target on your back?”
“Not long.”Vendetta nodded.“I didn’t know Dylan was Eli’s niece when I met her.But by the time I did, it didn’t matter.She didn’t know anything about what was going on.She was just trying to survive, same as anyone.Eli handed her off like property, and I couldn’t let that stand.”
Shade gave a slow exhale.“Damn.”
“Yeah,” Ripper muttered.“No wonder he put a bounty on your ass.You didn’t just piss Eli off.You made him look weak to Sinister Skin, and now he’s in deep shit with them.”
Good.Vendetta arched a brow, sharp and steady.“What bounty?”
Shade answered, his voice grim.“Went out this morning through back channels tied to the network.Eli’s calling in every favor, every affiliate still willing to do business with him.Five grand to bring in Dylan’s boyfriend dead, ten if he’s still breathing.Word is Dylan’s worth even more if she’s delivered alive.”
The words hit like a hammer.He’d be dead before anyone put a hand on her.
“He’s desperate,” Shade went on.“Trying to fix this situation.Sinister Skin doesn’t tolerate fuckups.So now he’s got people out there looking to clean up his mess before someone higher up decides he’s not worth protecting anymore.”
Vendetta crossed his arms, his gaze narrowing.“He thinks it’s me?”
Shade shrugged.“I don’t think he knows for sure.I think he’s hoping it’snotyou.”
Ripper picked up from there.“Wishful thinking won’t save him.He’s not stupid.Paranoid as hell, sure, but not stupid.He knows somebody helped Dylan.And after she vanished, he started shaking the tree hard.”
Shade nodded.“That’s when Peggy got pulled in.”
The mention of Peggy’s name sent a chill down his spine.
“They worked her over,” Ripper said quietly.“They didn’t kill her, but she’s going to be in the hospital for a while.From what we heard, they finally got her to tell them Dylan had a boyfriend.Some guy named Jason who worked forINeeda.She said he was quiet, drove a white cargo van.”
Vendetta blew out a breath.Thank God I got us out of Oak Grove when I did.
“That was enough,” Shade said.“We volunteered to go talk to Freddie atINeedaourselves.Told Eli it was to keep things discreet, in-house.We ain’t said shit to him though.”
“Freddie didn’t want to say much at first,” Ripper added.“But I know his sister.When we pushed the right way, he gave up what he had.He describedyouto a T.”
“But he mentioned Jason had a scar,” Shade said, eyes on Vendetta now.“Said he always wore hoodies, like he didn’t want people to see it.Barbed wire-looking, across his neck.It was the only thing that didn’t fit.Until it did.”
Ripper nodded slowly.“Even if itwasyou, we had no idea where to find you.We just up and left Oak Grove and planned to lay low for a while.The last we heard, Eli wasn’t ruling out the Hounds over here in Mercy.He said maybe they had something to do with it.That was why we thought to get a message in, to try and warn the Hounds of what might be coming.”
Silence settled again, heavier this time.
“He’s not sure it’s you yet,” Shade said.“But once he confirms it?Every guy in Sinister Skin’s gonna have your picture and a loaded mag.”Shade hesitated, then added quietly, “We didn’t know.About what happened that night.If we had… we should’ve looked harder.We should’ve known something was wrong.”
Ripper looked down, jaw flexing like he couldn’t decide whether to punch something or kick himself.
Vendetta kept his voice steady.“You weren’t the ones who wrapped the chain around my wrists.”He looked between them, two men who had once called him brother, and maybe still could.“You believed what you were told.I might’ve too, back then.”
Shade’s throat bobbed with a hard swallow.“Still doesn’t make it right.”
