Filed to story: Reclaimed Book by Roxie Ray
I tucked the bank statements back into the folder, then pulled an envelope with cash out of my jacket pocket. I slid it across the table to Link. “As promised. Good work as usual.”
“Anytime,” Link muttered. He always talked like he never wanted to work with me again, and yet, he always did. We shook hands briskly, and he nearly ran out of the bar.
“Call the enforcers,” I said to Hawk. “We need to meet.”
“Right now? It’ll be the middle of the night by the time?-“
“Right now,” I interrupted. “We need this on everyone’s radars.”
Hawk made the calls. When we arrived back at the clubhouse, the enforcers were already inside waiting: Rome, Tank, Tammy, and six other clan members. Only Striker was absent, since he was still on duty at my house.
“Thanks for meeting here on such short notice,” I said.
The enforcers murmured their acknowledgment. Everyone watched me with concern. I didn’t often call emergency meetings like this. We were all on edge, and the enforcers knew that a late-night meeting like this couldn’t mean anything good.
“We’ve got proof that Sean is paying Forrest off,” I said.
“Jesus, fuck,” Tank said.
“Seriously?” Tammy asked. “With what money?”
“That part we’re still working on,” Hawk said.
“We also know Forrest paid Thames, too.”
The room fell silent.
“I can only assume that means Sean is working with Thames, too,” I continued. “As you can guess, this complicates things.”
“What exactly are they trying to do?” Rome asked. “Take over Lakeview?”
“Probably,” Hawk said.
“We don’t know yet,” I said. “But now that we know this, we need to be even more careful than we were before. Now we know why Forrest went so far as to plant drugs at the garage. He’s not just hoping we’ll get caught doing something criminal, he’s trying to make it happen.”
“So, what do we do?” Tank asked.
“I don’t want anything to do with Thames,” Tammy said. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I thought we were done with that piece of shit. You know if I’d had it my way, we would’ve killed him and left his body to rot in the lake.”
“I know,” I said. “And I’m beginning to think you were right, Tammy.”
She blinked, surprised at that admission.
“I let Thames go because I didn’t want to start a war for our territory,” I said. “And I didn’t know the extent of what he was doing. If I had known then what I know now, I never would’ve let him walk.”
“We would’ve lost that war,” Hawk reminded me. “You’d just become alpha. He would’ve demolished us.”
“Well, he won’t now,” Tammy said. “We’re all stronger now.”
“So, I ask again, what exactly are we going to do?” Tank asked.
“I don’t know what the hell Sean offered Thames to get him to agree to work with him, but I know it’s not good,” I said. “We still need Sean to issue a challenge. If he’s working with Thames, he’s not going to do that. Thames is a dirty bastard, just like him. And Thames has a lot more skill in kidnapping.”
Rome growled.
Hawk’s eyes flashed gold with anger.
If there was anyone who was a real threat to our defenses, it was Thames. I knew he’d dabbled in trafficking. If Sean wanted to take the clan without challenging me, he’d have to get both me and Dylan out of the picture. He might think Thames was the man who could make that happen.
“I don’t know what Sean is offering, but I know we can beat it,” I said.
“You’re going to meet with him?” Tammy asked with disgust in her voice.
I nodded. The same disgust was building inside me, too. Whatever I had to do to stop Thames might be a stain I could never wash out. “I was able to get Sean’s weapons guy to turn on him. I should be able to do the same with Thames, too.”
“Thames is operating on a different level than Castille,” Tank said. “You know that.”
“It’s not ideal, but right now, it’s the best shot we’ve got. I don’t have time to wait around for something else to happen. With Forrest trying to get me locked up, and Thames planning God only knows what, we need to stay in front of this. For everyone’s sake.”
Tammy sighed. “This fucking blows, boss.”
Hawk snorted. “Yeah. It does.”
“What are we supposed to do?” Rome asked.
“Lay low,” I said. “We can’t give Forrest any reason to be suspicious of us. Keep your head down and keep your loved ones close.”
Hawk frowned. “I don’t like this, Ace.”
“Neither do I,” I said. “I just need you all to keep each other safe, okay? I’ll handle it to start, and we’ll go from there.”
“We should just go out to Thames’s territory and deal with him ourselves,” Tammy said.
“If it comes to that, we will.” I didn’t want to get into a territory war while Sean was still out there, but I’d do that before I’d let him and a trafficker attack my clan.
But first, I’d try diplomacy. The less bloodshed, the better.
“Keep this to yourselves for now,” I said. “Thanks everyone. Dismissed.”
We went our separate ways in the deep depths of night. When I got home, the windows were all dark, save for the light in Striker’s room and in my bedroom. Was Harley awake? I hoped not. It was nearly dawn.
I stepped into the quiet house and texted Striker that I was back, so he could get some sleep. My nerves were shot, and my dragon was antsy. I wanted to shift and take a few long laps around the lake in my dragon form, but the urge wasn’t strong enough to make me leave the house.
I needed to be close to my mate and my son, but their closeness was also a reminder of how much I had to lose.
Fuck. I wasn’t going to sleep tonight.
I poured myself a finger of whiskey and then stepped out onto the back deck. If I couldn’t fly, then I’d savor the night air and the moonlight high above. That always helped take the edge off.
I took a sip of my whiskey, relishing the burn as it went down, and looked out over the surface of the lake. The dark sky was beginning to lighten with the coming morning.
Sean really had lost his mind.
There was no other reason for him to be working with Thames. How long had they been working together? How much power did Thames hold over him? Now that I knew Sean was working with Thames, some things made more sense. Where else would Sean get the idea to try to kidnap Harley and Dylan? That had Thames written all over it. Maybe Thames was also the one keeping Sean from issuing a challenge, because he knew Sean was doomed to lose.
