Page 104 of Claimed By the Deputies
“I told you, ignore her,” Trevor barks and takes a long sip of his drink. The muscle in his jaw is twitching. I hit a soft spot. Time to keep hitting it.
“I was married to the man. He’s always been a small-time crook,” I scoff. “He called himself an entrepreneur while living offmyhard-earned cash. But hey, a woman in love is pretty much the dumbest creature on earth, am I right?” I chuckle dryly, gauging my audience.
“Tassia,” Trevor warns me in a low voice, but he won’t look me in the eyes.
“Let her speak. I appreciate the insight,” Dexter says.
With my hands bound behind my back, I manage to shrug a little—just enough to feel the rope loosen slightly. I can keep working on it, but only if I keep talking, if I keep them interested and distracted.
“Sing Sing should’ve humbled him, yet somehow he made it out early and with new friends in the Sinaloa cartel. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out this friendship of his might be more than he can handle. I’ll venture a guess and say he ingratiated himself with one of the Sinaloan lieutenants currently serving life in Sing Sing.
“He charmed his way up the totem pole, probably shivved a guy or two to prove his loyalty. To give Trevor his credit, he’s a yapper. He knows how to sell whatever bullshit he’s got to sell. He probably had a couple of friends in the Silver Stallions while on the inside, right?” I ask.
Jake narrows his eyes at Trevor. “Yeah. Spark and Junior. Both now dead.”
I nod knowingly. “So Trevor took the knowledge he had of your developing network here in Frost Valley, of your deal with Mayor Hamilton, and he pitched it to the Sinaloa cartel, having picked up a rumor or two about how they were looking into expanding toward the Catskills.”
What I learned from Lucas and Patterson, overlapped with what I know about Trevor, it actually paints a pretty clear picture of how we got here in the first place.
“I’m also pretty sure his alliance with the Sinaloa cartel was based on his assurance that he had control over this region,” I add. “With his friends in your club, it didn’t take much to get you on board. Hamilton was already in your pocket, an active partner, so he had no choice but to play along.”
Dexter chuckles, then looks at Trevor. “You threw away a smart woman, T.”
“Not a day goes by that I don’t regret it,” my ex-husband sighs with frustration.
He’d like nothing more than to shut me up, but he can’t. Not while I have Jake and Dexter’s attention. We had their dynamic wrong this whole time, but that’s simply because Trevor is really good at playing his part in order to get his way.
“So, here’s what I’m thinking,” I continue as I wiggle my arms as gently as I can. “The sheriff and his closest deputies are still alive. Despite Trevor’s assurances that they’ll die tonight, I’m inclined to believe otherwise. Lucas Riggs, Mitchell O’Malley, and Tyler Jones served in the Army Rangers together. The Silver Stallions should’ve taken that into consideration before going all in guns blazing. Army Rangers are elite fighters. And they’ve been a thorn in your side since they took over the sheriff’s department. You should’ve cut your losses sooner and moved your business elsewhere. Now, you’re stuck with an increasingly harder to clean mess.”
“You underestimate our capabilities,” Dexter replies with a cool grin.
“Fifteen of your men dead in under four hours. The only one underestimating anything at this point is you,” I shoot back. “Allowing Trevor to take the lead again only opens you up tomore risk. Agent Patterson of the DEA is aware of the situation. She’s bringing the cavalry in as we speak. If the Sinaloans’ transport is interrupted, or worse, seized, your club and the Mayor of Frost Valley will owe what I assume will be millions of dollars’ worth of seized product.”
Jake is about to fall off the fence, and he has Dexter’s ear.
“Who do you think the Sinaloans are going to come after? Trevor, who can disappear before you even put your helmets on? Or the sheriff of Frost Valley? No. They will come after you, Dexter. And when they do, there will be more than fifteen riders for the widows to bury,” I say. “This got out of hand a long time ago. Instead of pulling back and redirecting your efforts toward a different district altogether, you fellas let your egos get in the way. Trevor smelled the hesitation and he played the Stallions like a fiddle.”
Trevor jumps out of his seat and walks over to me. I see the dark clouds in his eyes. I see the cracks in his mask and the rage in his heart.
I take a deep breath and brace for the blow. It comes as a swing of the back of his hand across my face. I don’t make a sound.
“I told you to give it a rest,” he hisses.
My cheek burns. An unbearable sting spreads across my skin as I exhale sharply and raise my chin, my eyes meeting his in defiance.
“All I did was tell the truth,” I say, trying hard to hide my fear. “These people need to know that you’re more fluff than you claim to be. And your greed and your hubris is going to get them killed.”
Trevor laughs nervously, then shakes his head and walks back into the kitchen. “I’ll deal with you later. The boys and I still need to talk. Sit tight.”
He closes the kitchen door behind him.
30
LUCAS
With few options left for us to consider, we turn to the nearest and most accessible ones. And with the law clearly thrown aside in my station, the guys and I decide to make a temporary concession as to what is reasonable use of force and what isn’t.
“I’m sorry, the mayor is busy right now.” His assistant, Dominique, stands as soon as she sees us burst through the front door.
