Page 50 of Deceiver

“You know about Bill’s little article, by now the whole town does, but what you don’t know is the problems it is causin’ the club. We have heat on us now, the kind of heat we don’t need. Need you to get proof, so we can take this fucker down once and for all.”

They want me to get proof to take him down, when they’re doing the very same thing? Is it so the heat will leave them and they can then have the business all to themselves?

“What exactly do you need?” I ask anyway, not letting on that I know far more than they think.

“We need you to follow him to his next sale and get the proof we need to bring him down.”

I shake my head. “You can’t be serious?”

“I’m dead fuckin’ serious,” Colt answers, his face blank.

“First of all, how the hell do you think I’ll get that information? And second, how the hell do you think I can pull off following him?”

“We’ll get you the information. We got a guy.”

I shake my head. “Then, if you have a guy, why the hell don’t you follow him?”

“He’s got fuckin’ eyes on us, Bon,” Fury answers before Colt can. “He’ll know if we’re followin’ him.”

“Oh, and he won’t notice me?”

“He won’t be expectin’ you, so in that case, he won’t be lookin’,” Colt answers, as if it is that simple.

“Oh okay, well if that’s all ...” I mutter.

“You either want our protection or you don’t,” Colt growls.

“Some protection that’s turning out to be.”

Western’s eyes flash. He still hasn’t spoken this entire time.

“You’re not gettin’ hunted down by Bill Whart because we agreed to help you. Things could be a lot fuckin’ worse for you. Now, are you goin’ to do as we ask, or are you goin’ back out there on your own? Either way is fuckin’ fine with me.”

Colt’s words are harsh.

In situations like these, Colt doesn’t pull any punches. He gets shit done, and he really doesn’t care who he puts in the way of that. I mean nothing to him; as far as he’s concerned, he’s willing to throw me under the bus to get his club back on track.

It hurts, more than I’m willing to admit.

“What proof, exactly, do you need from me?”

“Simple, you go to the meeting point where he’ll hand over the boy, and you take photos. The moment that boy is reported missing, we release those photos. Ain’t no comin’ back from that.”

“This boy ... Is someone going to make sure he doesn’t actually go missing?” I ask, scanning the three faces in the room.

“That’s not your concern,” Western finally speaks.

My eyes whip to him. “Actually, it is. I’m not going to watch an innocent life forever damaged. If you want my help, I want you to promise that boy won’t be hurt.”

Western glares at me, his gaze intense. “Fine. You have my word.”

Even as he says those words, I don’t feel the kind of comfort I’d like.

“I’m sure you know by now that Bill is working for people far higher up, including police officers. Do you really think they won’t just make this go away?” I question, my eyes moving back to Colt.

“He isn’t the only one with police on his side. You don’t need to worry about that, what you need to worry about is gettin’ what we’re askin’. You get it, you’re free.”

Those words have something in my heart tugging, creating the kind of pain inside me that I wish would go away. I know what’s going on here, I know how this will end, and yet the idea of never seeing Western again still hurts. The idea of this being the last thing we do together, still hurts. I hate that more than working for Bill, because it’s a feeling I can’t control. I want it to go away. I don’t want to love him. But I do.

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