Page 28 of Deceiver

“You got some nerve ...” Colt begins, but I cut him off.

“I have a police officer who wants me to get information about you in return for my protection. I also have Bill Whart, who brought me here tonight, telling me that I’m dead unless I bring him information. That’s two lots of people asking me to betray your club for my life. I could have done that, believe me, part of me wanted to, but I’m not. I’m here instead, because I think we can work together to benefit all of us.”

The three men glance at one another, and I know I’ve sparked their interest.

“What cop?” Colt growls.

“Ryan,” I answer, my voice unwavering. “He offered me protection for information.”

Colt’s eyes flash, and he looks to Western, who looks more than a little furious.

Clearly they know exactly who I’m talking about, and they’re not happy about that fact.

“Whart brought you here?” Fury asks, his eyes scanning over me, as if he’s automatically looking for injury.

“Yes. He told me if I didn’t get him information, he’d kill me. So, as you can imagine, I’m not in a great position. Which is why I’m here. I think we have the chance to take control over this situation. Both of them want information, and you now have a choice on what kind of information you give them. You can make up whatever you want, and lead them down whatever road you choose, through me. All I ask, is that you protect me until this is over. When it is, you’ll never see me again.”

Silence.

I hold my breath, scared that if they say no, I’ll have no way out. They know now that I’m being asked to betray them, which means if they don’t agree to help, there is little I can do moving forward. They’ll never let me through these gates again, because they’ll know what I’m here for. I hope I’ve made the right choice in deciding to come to them.

“You want the club’s protection after what you did?” Fury asks, his voice less harsh than the other two, but he’s still making it very clear he doesn’t trust me.

“Yes,” I say, “because regardless of what you believe, I never wanted to hurt anyone in this club. I asked for that story to be thrown out, and someone went behind my back, which is another thing I’m having to deal with. I can’t live like this. I can help you, I’ll do whatever you ask, but they need to believe I’m betraying you otherwise my life is no longer in my own hands.”

Even saying those words makes my stomach twist with fear.

I don’t want to die.

I don’t want to be hurt any further.

I just want this to go away.

The three men look at each other, and then back to me.

It’s Western who makes the call which surprises me, because I thought for certain he would be the one to fight back.

“Done.”

I flinch, mostly from shock.

I didn’t think it would be that easy.

I thought I’d have to plead my case a whole lot harder.

Whatever Bill and Ryan want from the club is enough for them to agree to help me. It must be good, and I’m more than a little intrigued to find out just what’s happening behind closed doors. I have no plans on betraying them, but I sure as hell am going to find out what is going on in this town. With the protection of the club, I can do that.

“If you betray us, even in the slightest,” Colt grinds out, “the things we will do to you will be far worse than you could ever imagine. You do exactly what we say.”

Jutting my chin out, I nod. “I got it.”

“Best you tell your little friend that you’re in,” Western mutters, his eyes never once leaving me.

Pulling out my phone, I dial Bill’s number. A number he made sure I had on my phone before I got out of the car tonight. He wants an answer, and he’s not going to mess around in getting it. After a few rings it answers.

“Did you get what I want?”

I close my eyes for a moment, calming my voice. “They let me in, but only because I told them I have information they might want. They believe that I’m willing to betray you for my protection, now I have an in and you can feed me whatever bullshit information you like to keep them believing that. If they’re to trust me, you’re going to need to give me something small that will prove to them I’m on their side. Otherwise, they’re going to throw me out as quickly as I came in.”

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