“We go to the news outlet with this,” I replied. “I am sure it would be huge to know just how many corrupt people worked on the inside. And this way, no one can pull any strings, no matter how much power they have.”
Dominic seemed surprised by this decision. I was sure he would have used it to blackmail those fuckers to keep them in line. But you couldn’t keep men like that in line, and I didn’t want to always have to watch our backs.
If they disappeared, there would be no one around to back the Manson brothers, and unfortunately, those men were prominent enough that killing them would have drawn more attention to this city and to the club.
What was more, it didn’t matter how much I hated Bennett Hudson, I didn’t want the bastard to die by my hands or the hands of the club.
I didn’t want to hurt Ryleigh in any way, to cause that loyalty and trust she showed me to be destroyed.
She would be angry at me for sending her dad to jail.
She would get over that anger in time—I hoped.
But she wouldn’t forgive me if the bastard died by our hands.
This way, everyone got what they wanted, and I was sure Dominic knew why I wanted to do it like this.
He nodded. “Okay. We'll do it your way.”
I took in a deep breath I didn’t even know I was holding, letting it out slowly and shooting him a grateful smile.
He didn’t have to agree.
He could have given this job to any club member, and I was sure they would have done a decent job blackmailing those little fuckers, but he trusted me instead.
I looked at Micah and Kai.
They had been quiet throughout the entire exchange, and I could tell from the look in their eyes that they were fine with this.
I wasn’t surprised by Kai’s acceptance. I figured he probably had a soft spot for Ryleigh now, and given the chance, I knew they could become good friends.
Micah was a little more unpredictable.
But when I looked into my brother’s eyes, I knew things would be okay with him.
He grasped my shoulder and squeezed it affectionately, though his facial expression didn’t change.
This would be all I would get from him, and it was enough.
Kai placed a shot of something in front of me. I guessed Scotch from the color of it, and he held up his own glass.
“To the club,” Dominic said.
We all clinked glasses.
“To the club,” we all repeated.
* * *
The sun glaredat me as soon as I stepped outside the bar.
Micah, Dominic, and Kai walked behind me, talking about something I wasn’t really paying attention to.
All I knew was, the moment I stepped foot in the parking lot, something felt off, and I didn’t know why.
I looked back and met Micah’s eyes.
The look on his face told me I wasn’t the only one who felt it, and Dominic must have sensed the tension around us, because he held his arm up to Kai and shot him a look, telling him to be quiet.
