Page 24 of Emergence: Prequel
Rosie continued to ramble as she pulled Jessie along with her, only stopping to grab Maura and Opal on the way past the bonfire. The girls disappeared around the corner, taking the path towards the houses at the back of the clubhouse.
“I’ll follow them and keep an eye out,” I told Roman, standing on tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. “She’ll be fine,” I reassured Blake. “Roman will bring you to ours once you’ve finished your meeting.”
Narrowing my eyes, I turned towards Kyle, Ford, and Robbie. “Whatever you boys are up to tonight, don’t get caught, and if you do, don’t talk until Roman has a lawyer with you.”
Robbie and Ford’s eyes widened at my words, but Kyle just grinned, “No idea what you mean, Momma.”
Snorting in disbelief at him, “I wasn’t born yesterday, boy. Make sure you’re home for breakfast.”
Turning from them, I walked away towards the houses. Lizzie came up next to me along with Maggie.
“Jesus, I thought we’d left all this behind,” Lizzie muttered, rubbing a hand across her chest.
“Me too,” Maggie sighed, “but I have a feeling whatever is happening tonight has to do with those boys at school and what they did to Rosie. If it is, I’m happy for them to do whatever is needed.”
“Me too,” I agreed. “And just between us, and from reading between the lines that Roman fed me, that girl in there wasn’t as lucky as Rosie.”
“Ah, fuck,” Lizzie muttered angrily. “Do you think it’s too late to tag along? I’d love to get my hands on the little fuckheads.”
“You and me both, sister,” I agreed. “I just hope that whatever they do, hurts.”
MAESTRO
We waited until the women had walked away and were out of earshot.
Once they were clear, I turned to the boys, “Be careful. Hard-Drive has you covered. You do what you’ve got to do and get out. Nobody gets left behind, and you make sure you have each other’s backs. Robbie, you make sure your girl is looked after. Is she still good to do what you all have planned?”
Robbie nodded, “Yes, sir. She is. Jessie’s her best friend.”
“Okay then. Off you go. Make sure you’re back before sunrise.”
“Yes, Pres,” they said in unison before turning and walking away.
Watching them walk away to the sleds we were loaning them, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. Not a single one of them was my son but damn if I didn’t feel like they were. It gave me hope for the future of the club. As the sleds’ engines slowly died away, I turned to Blake, who, up until now, hadn’t said anything.
“Do I need to worry about my boy?” he asked, worry clear as day on his face.
“No,” I assured him. “Whatever happens tonight, the club will deal with the fallout. Come to my office, I have a proposition for you.”
It didn’t take us long to reach my office; most of the brothers knew what was going down tonight, and they were doing a goodjob of keeping up the party façade to the few outsiders we had at the clubhouse.
Entering the code to get into my office, I opened the door, walked in, and sat down behind my desk, motioning to Blake to take a seat.
“First things first. The boys are taking revenge on the four fucknuts that tried to do to my girl what they did to yours. That’s where they’ve gone. They’ll be looked after, don’t worry. I’ve got brothers watching and following. They’ll be on hand if things don’t go according to plan. Now for you. I understand that you’ve been blacklisted in town. What do you do? Kyle seems to think you’re a mechanic, but I have a feeling you’re more than that.”
Blake blew out a breath, then looked at us, “Can I trust you?” he asked.
“You can,” I replied. “Can we trust you?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed, standing up and pulling his shirt off before turning around. I wasn’t sure what the hell he was doing, but his next words cleared it up.
“I want you to know I’m not wearing a wire and that you have nothing to worry about when it comes to me,” he hesitated before continuing, stating baldly, “I’m ex-FBI. I’ve been undercover for the last ten years. My children didn’t know until Jessie was raped by the sons of the sick fucks I’ve been watching. I don’t know why they targeted her; as far as I was aware, my cover wasn’t blown. It was a perfect cover; nobody suspected me of being FBI.
“I’d probably still be with the Bureau if they’d been there for Jessie after what she’d been through. It was them that hid the paperwork of what had happened to her. I couldn’t continue working for them after what they did. My girl wasn’t going toget justice because it interfered with their agenda. Fuck,” he screams, lashing out in pain, punching the door. This was a man in agony, let down by the very people that were meant to protect him and his family. I was second-guessing myself and our FBI contact after hearing his news.
“Fuck,” he starts to pace, shaking out his hand. “I handed my resignation in as soon as I found out that they’d swept it all under the carpet. We’ve been living off my savings. But before I handed it in, I went above my team’s head and got in contact with someone that I know who won’t put up with shit like this happening to one of his agents. He tried to get me to stay, but I couldn’t, not when I didn’t trust my team. I don’t know if someone gave me up, but my family paid for it in the worst way. My daughter is broken and my son,” he sighs, wiping a hand down his face, “my son is so fucking angry, and I can’t say I blame him. My wife is probably turning in her grave at the way I’ve fucked up.”
There was no way I could let him continue blaming himself for something that wasn’t his fault.