Page 52 of Brand
“So, how’d you know Brand would be there. If you’d done your homework, you’d know the shop was long closed by then and no one should’ve been there. Or was it just pure luck that he’d stayed late that night?”
“Luck,” the detective mumbled. “The only reason I didn’t try and stop it was because the place was supposed to be empty. All I know is that someone wanted to send you a message. What that message was supposed to be, I got no clue. Wasn’t my concern. Still isn’t.”
I could hear the hatred and disgust dripping from his tone. If I wasn’t mistaken, it sounded like he was glad I was there and he was almost angry that I hadn’t been hurt worse. Maybe he wished me dead. Who the fuck knew?
“I was going tofindthe cocaine and come and arrest you. That was the plan, but you were there, so it all worked out for the better.” His eyes cut to the side as he spoke, looking at me as best as he could in his current position.
“Hate me all you want, fine, but there was an innocent person there. How the fuck does that play into your plan?” The words came out of me in a deep, angry growl.
“Miss Benson was a surprise. How was I supposed to know that she liked to get her cunt dirty with scum like you?”
Crack.
His head whipped to the side as my fist collided with his jaw.
“Watch your fucking mouth. Don’t youeversay another thing like that about her again, asshole.”
Just so you know, punching people never got easier. I mean I had no problem doing it, he deserved it one hundred percent. But the pain that currently radiated through my hand let me know I’d be feeling it for a few days. I tramped that feeling down, my face a mask of pure deadly anger.
He laughed. Actually laughed.
“You really think that she would go for a guy like you? She couldn’t even bring you home to mommy and daddy. You can’t be that dense.”
“Here’s what I want,” Iron said taking back control. “I want to know who fucking did this and I want to know that it will not ever happen again. You will get the investigation dropped on Connor as well as make sure his suspension is lifted. Then, I want you to take your files and whatever you think you’ve got on us and burn them.”
“It was a one-time thing, from what I understand. I can’t help you out as far as who, figure that shit out yourself. I’m sure you have ways of doing that.” He eyed Iron for a long moment. “The girl should be safe, for one, I don’t think they even know about her, and two, they wouldn’t fuck with the rich. That’s just asking for a kind of trouble that none ofyouwant. Conner can kiss my ass, I’m not putting my badge on the line to help him out. He’s no better than you.”
I would like to tell you that he was done, and I almost thought he was as the room grew silent for far too many beats as we waited for him to tell us he was going to stop trying to go after us.
“And fuck you, I’m not backing down.” Ah, there it was. The detective seemed to have a backbone, or a death wish, whichever way you chose to look at it.
“Have it your way,” Iron said as he stood slowly in a creepy and menacing way, his eyes locked on Detective Mullins as he towered over the dumb as dirt detective. “I might leave you alive when I walk out of here, but I can’t say the same for the Irish…”
With that, I raised my gun and cracked him good over the head with the butt of it. He fell limp in the chair and we all filed out the back door, slipping unseen through the darkness of night with ease.
I couldn’t say that I was completely thrilled with the lack of information we’d gotten, but I did feel better that I’d gotten to punch the man at least once. I was still pissed at his words. No one talked about Cami like that. She may not have been there to hear it but that didn’t mean it was okay. She didn’t deserve that. She was beautiful and amazing, and the fact that she let me in—as well as Sketch and Blade—proved that despite her upbringing, she had a heart bigger than any one of us.
“I need some whiskey after that shit,” B-ry said as we dismounted our bikes and walked up to the front door of the club. I could agree, getting hammered didn’t seem like the worst idea, even though I knew that I wouldn’t. There was still too much going on for me to not be ready at a moments notice.
“Iron,” Mouse said as soon as we stepped over the threshold. “It’s Sketch. He came back busted up really bad. He’s in the Med room right now. Charming is in there now trying to patch him up, but he swears he needs to go to the hospital. Says Sketch won’t let it happen.”
“Christ,” Iron said and then he was moving back out the door and across the lot with me hot on his heels.
Can this night get any worse?
It was probably best if I didn’t ask that, not even in my head.
I heard the groaning and coughing before I even walked through the Med room door. What I wasn’t prepared for was to see Sketch covered in blood and his face barely recognizable.
“Shit. Sketch? What happened?” I blurted out before Iron had a chance to ask.
“I took the wrong person by surprise. Eh, lucky for me I hadn’t pulled my piece so he didn’t shoot me right away. Just had a bunch of his men show me that I should never show up uninvited.” He snorted like something was ridiculously funny. “Like they’d ever send me a fucking invite. Stupid fucks.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose then rubbed the sides of my head. There was a migraine hanging just on the edge of making itself known. I could only imagine how Iron was feeling.
“What the fuck did you do?” Iron asked, sounding as if he was talking to a troublesome child and unsurprised at the shit they had gotten themselves into.
“I went there to talk to the leader of D13. He didn’t like me coming up in his crib all sneaky like. I’m good at that shit, you know that, right, Prez? Anyway, oh, about six of them used me as a punching bag for a good long minute, then he let me talk.”
