Page 27 of Queen of Anarchy (Dirty Broken Savages 2)

“Is that all?” I ask her, arms folded over my chest.

She shrugs. “Some other stuff about whether we planned to bid on the art piece and just what we were generally doing that night. I told him the truth about all of that. We were just there, we stayed to look at the piece when it was revealed, and then when everyone started freaking the fuck out and running away, we left in the chaos.” There’s a little smirk on her face before she continues. “He asked me what our relationship was. I told him we were all fucking.”

Ash’s brows furrow at that, but Knox laughs heartily. “Oh, I bet he loved that,” he says, grinning at her. “Uptight fuckwad like him? You probably blew a few of his brain cells by telling him that.”

The smirk on her pouty lips grows a bit. “It definitely seemed like it threw him off. I don’t know what else he expected me to say.”

Something in my chest relaxes as I listen to her explain what happened. The stuff about us fucking aside—which isn’t even strictly true, since I know she hasn’t had sex with Priest—her answers to the FBI agent’s questions were solid.

It’s not like I thought she was going to say anything to rat us out, because there’s no way she could without taking herself down in the process. But there’s always a kind of tension in putting trust in someone who isn’t one of my brothers. I already knew how they would react in a situation like this one, and now I know how River handles it too.

“You did well,” I tell her. “No outright lies that he can see through, nothing to lead him to anything we don’t want him to know.”

Surprise flashes across her face, and then she cocks her head. I sometimes forget how delicate her features are because there’s so much strength beneath them, but in the glow of the overhead lights, she looks almost regal.

“Actually… this gives me an idea,” she says. “Carter’s questioning everyone who was at the gala, right? That’s what we need to be doing.”

“Making house calls to everyone who was there?” I ask, then grimace. “We don’t have the time. Or any legit reason to speak to most of them—nothing to use as a cover story for why we’re asking them questions.”

“No.” River shakes her head again. “We need to know who was there that night. Everyone who was there and what their affiliations are. It’s the best place to start tracking down answers.”

I hesitate, mulling that over. I can see the logic in her argument. Whoever put Ivan’s body up on that stage was probably on the guest list. Most of them will have connections. To each other, to the various gangs and groups in the city. Knowing who we’re up against is a good idea.

“How do we get the list, though?” Knox wants to know.

“I’ll work on tracking it down,” River tells him. “Carter had to get it from somewhere, which means it’s accessible. I just have to do some digging.”

“It’s a solid plan,” Priest murmurs. “And as much of a lead as we have right now anyway.”

I nod. “Yeah. We need something to go on, so it might as well be this.”

Determination burns in River’s dark blue eyes. “I’ll get started tomorrow, then.”

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