I felt a hand roughly tug at my handcuffed arms, and I was hauled out of the clubhouse and into the fresh air.
“Anything you do say will be given in evidence,” Officer Bradley hissed down my ear, finishing reading me my rights. “I’ve waited a long time for this, Rachel. You’ve made my fucking day.”
“Say nothing!” I heard Dante splutter from behind me, pushing his way out of the doors. “Say nothing. I’ll get the lawyer for you. Just stay quiet.”
I nodded, letting him know I had heard him, and then allowed Officer Bradley to bundle me into the back of the cop car.
My last thought as the car door slammed shut was that this wasn’t just about me. Sure, I had humiliated and embarrassed Bradley on more than one occasion, but that would never have warranted this much firepower.
No, this was a power play. This was never about me—it was about setting the club off. And if Dante didn’t play his next move carefully, he would be walking right into the trap; showing the world the club was filled with violent thugs as they attempted to get me back.
I was so fucking screwed.
Chapter 42
Dante
“If everyone is here, then the meeting will commence,” I announced, waiting a moment before banging down the gavel and bringing the meeting to order.
Everyone was invited to this one, including the prospects, and each man looked back at me with a grim look on his face.
“So here’s where we’re at,” I said, lighting up my cigarette and taking a deep draw before continuing. “That fucking prick Bradley has been busy. He’s got dirt on Rachel, and it’s not looking good. Riley,” I said, looking to my left at the peacemaker. “What have you found?”
“I managed to speak to Waltzer, who has somehow managed to get himself locked up again. He said he’s heard talk that Rachel is looking at a minimum of ten years if Bradley can get all his shit on her to stick. Waltzer is willing to look out for Rachel the best he can since he’s fond of her dad, but… There’s not a great deal he can do from the male wing.”
“And what else? It’s never this easy with Waltzer,” I said, sighing heavily.
Riley grimaced before responding. “That’s it. Waltzer is a nomad. He has no loyalty to the Leeds charter. He has it cushty in prison and isn’t willing to jeopardise much. He’ll give us information as and when he can, but how useful that’ll be is anyone’s guess. He’s not willing to budge. As far as he’s concerned, he’s doing us a favour by making sure Rachel is protected, but he won’t be helping us to get her out.”
“Fucking nomads,” Shark hissed, rolling his eyes.
“Any bright ideas, Sarg?” I directed my question at Ant, my Sergeant-at-Arms.
He folded his arms across his chest as he answered, “same thing I’ve said since you took over, brother.”
I took another draw of my cigarette and nodded. “I didn’t want to do it but… We’re left with no choice.”
“For what?” Pivot asked. I chuckled to myself, despite nothing being funny. Pivot had always been the more outspoken prospect and always asked questions. He reminded me of Monster. Which explained why he was currently the only one graduating. Tyler, Bambi, Darwin and Mike would be repeating their year or fucking off. Unless they suddenly impressed the rest of the guys enough to convince me they were worthy of the cut.
And then it hit me. A way to flip this entire situation on its head.
“We need a mole,” I said simply. “Ant has wanted us to plant someone in prison for years. We have contacts there—such as Waltzer—who will ensure your stay there is as pleasant as it is here. But there’s never been a natural way to do it that wouldn’t raise suspicion. The police aren’t thick. They know we use Hacksaw to wipe a lot of evidence off the database. If we suddenly allowed one of ours to go down for years at a time… well, they’d be likely to drop the charges than let you sit gathering information.”
“Except now they’ve got Rachel,” Sunshine nodded. “I did a year for Crash back in the day. If you need me to take Rachel’s place, just say the word, brother. Prison is no place for a woman.”
“Especially not one with a mouth like hers,” Vienna laughed.
“That mouth would probably come in handy if you think about it,” Bambi laughed.
“Watch it. That’s my old lady you’re talking about.”
“If your old lady wants to be a lesbian whilst she’s in prison, that’s up to her. Women deserve love too, Dante,” Vienna grinned, elbowing me in my side. I rolled my eyes, ignoring his input.
“It’s nice to see she’s still a handful,” Rooster said, giving me a lopsided grin.
“Yeah…” I chuckled, feeling an odd sense of pride. “I’m not worried about Rachel. She can handle herself inside. Hell, I’d give it a week max, and she’d be running the fucking place. She’d have officers sneaking contraband in and would probably set up her own prison sinners' club.”
“But it’s the kids,” Chris finished for me. “I don’t think Bee has anymore heartbreak in her.”
