“Obviously not,” Creed says.He’s our money guy so he always speaks where money’s concerned, but what he said didn’t need saying either.
“I say we hit them again,” I say.“Finish what we started last time.”
Rogue shakes his head.“We need a more permanent solution.We almost lost you the last time and I’m not ready to take another risk like that.I’ve got Skye finding out everything about them and then we’re handing it all over to the cops, let them take care of it.”
I lean back, resting my head on interlaced fingers.“You mean we’re going back to the way we used to do things?”
“And it’s about fucking time,” Alice says.“I’m not OK with almost losing anyone.”
She’s the sarge, so it’s her job to say things like that.But the way her eyes are so sharp yet so soft at the edges tells me she’s speaking from the heart.Before we made our pact with the Devils, we’d rarely get into all out fights with the people we were hunting down.Since, it’s all we seem to be doing.
“I would love nothing more than to keep everyone safe,” I say and lean forward again.“But is there still a way back for us.After Ghost and the Devils?After taking him in?”
I point to Zane, but don’t look at him.I can feel his eyes boring into me though, none too friendlily, I’m sure.
“We’ll give the cops all we have and hope they take it,” Rogue says.
“But an operation like Hydra… there’s bound to be higher ups involved who’ll just crush any sort of investigation… “
“And we’ll worry about that when we get to it,” Rogue says with finality.
I nod and lean back again.“OK, so what else?”
“There’s trouble brewing up North with the Devils, like I already told you.Cross wants us to be ready to ride if he needs us.”
More silence falls like freezing snow.
“Will we ever be free of our debt to them?”Creed asks.This isn’t a debt counted in money, strictly speaking, but he is the guy who handles our debts so it’s fitting.
“After this, we’ll be square,” Rogue says.“Cross gave me his word.”
Except thethishe’s talking about is an all-out war.And people get killed in wars.No one says anything this time.I’m sure we’re all thinking that same thing though.There’s enough cold silence in this room now to give me chills.And not the good kind.
“All right, so we get to work on Hydra,” I say and brace against the chair arms.“I want to see Minx and Rock now.”
“There’s one more thing,” Rogue says and it’s his tone alone that makes me sit back down without hesitation.
“We gotta find out if Moretti is still after Bella like I think he is,” Rogue says.“Can I give you that job?”
He’s looking at me, his fiery green eyes boring holes straight through mine.
“Yeah,” I say and hate how weak it sounds.
“You and Zane,” he says.“It’ll be good for you two to work together.You need to find common ground and I trust you to get it done in a way that won’t add more shit to the pile we’re already facing.”
I want to complain.I want to tell himno way, give me someone else to work with, but he’s trusting me with a thing a lesser man wouldn’t have.And he’s trusting me to do it well.
I hope I don’t let him down.Because I have hated Dante Moretti since the day I found out Bella was promised to him and that hatred has not died down since.
“Just watch him, see what you see,” Rogue says.“No grand gestures for now.”
I have no idea what he means by that, but I nod anyway, signaling I get it.
“So what else?”I ask.
“I think that’s enough for one day,” Rogue says.“Like you, I also don’t want to spend the whole day in here.”
I get the distinct feeling that he’s holding something back, that he knows something that I should know too.But I don’t call him out on it and the moment passes.
