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I’m honestly thankful. I never would’ve considered collaborating with the Feds without my friends and partners behind me. We came into this together, and it’s only fair that we fight every battle together, all the way through to the best possible conclusion. I’m tired, too. I’m tired of the violence, of the drugs, and the gun running. I’m tired of constantly looking over my shoulder and ending up utterly disgraced after years spent in service to my country.
“All right then, I guess it’s time for the four of us to have a chat somewhere more private,” I conclude, giving Agent Johnson a confident nod.
I may not like what we have to do in order to protect ourselves and our future. I may not like that I’m having to break the bikers’ code for this, but it will save so many lives in the process. It will keep Nadia safe and out of harm’s way. It will save the club and give us a proper chance to really go legit with it.
We’ll have to pay a hefty price for this, but I am ready. I am willing. And I am too determined to survive Colton Harrow to let this opportunity slip through our fingers.
21
Drake
The following few days consist of constant back-and-forth with three different federal agencies. The FBI, the DEA, and the ATF joined forces for this particular mission, which Dale Johnson describes as one of their most ambitious RICO cases yet. Millions of dollars are being poured into the operation.
“The Feds have access to information we would’ve never gotten,” Orion says during one of our private meetings.
Downstairs, workers are busy replacing the windows and furniture that sustained too much damage during the shootout. There’s a deputy’s car outside at all times and the sheriff’s boys are taking turns keeping an eye on our clubhouse. They’re expecting a second attack, and so are we. But we are more than ready for whatever hell Colton might want to bring our way.
We haven’t heard from him yet; there has been no text, nothing. His minions have left our businesses alone; our riders haven’t had any issues while out on the road, either. Kai says it’s the calm before the ultimate storm, and I’m inclined to agree with him. There are worse things headed our way, and while I may not be a fan of the Feds, we need them.
“We never would’ve learned Colton’s real name otherwise,” Orion says, prompting a dry chuckle out of Kai.
“I mean, I don’t blame the guy. Peter Rabinowicz doesn’t exactly scream scary dude.”
“Now that they know who he is, they have his full criminal history, too,” I say, going over the copies of many files provided to us by Johnson. “Murder 1 and 2, trafficking aplenty, assault with a deadly weapon, and kidnapping. Yet he managed to get off with just five years in prison. I can’t believe it.”
“The system is a joke,” Kai scoffs.
“Nah, he had good lawyers. Six hundred bucks-an-hour lawyers,” Orion replies.
“Which means he also had a lot of money,” I say. And that’s probably how he funded this whole move to take over the Black Devils and gradually demolish every single rival club in the area—except us.”
“For now,” Orion reminds me.
I nod slowly. “What’s our next step?”
A shadow flutters across my friend’s face. I’ve been seeing a lot of shadows lately. The concern, the fear, the uncertainty of what’s ahead. We’ve fought hard to pull the club away from its previous endeavors and into a more legitimate direction.
We’ve had to sever some dangerous ties in the process, and what we’re doing now with the Feds will cost us dearly in terms of reputation. We all know it, but it is a price we’re willing to pay if it gets Colton and his goons off the streets.
“We let the agencies gather more intel and prepare the playing field,” Orion says. “According to Johnson, it’ll take a couple of weeks, at least, before they’re ready. We provided them with essential information about their operations and everything we’ve picked up along the way from the other clubs. They need to verify each morsel before they set the parameters for this RICO operation because when they do come down, they will come down hard. They can’t afford to give him the slightest opportunity to slip away before or after his arraignment hearing.”
“Provided they manage to arrest him,” Kai scoffs.
“What about Nadia?” I ask.
“She’s safe with her father,” Orion says. “I doubt she’s happy or at peace. But she’s safe. It’s all we need to know for now.”
I check my phone again. “She’s still not answering any of our texts.”
“She needs space, my brother,” Orion insists. “Though I still haven’t figured out what Quicksilver meant the other day. It’s not like anybody knows about us. The only reason he knows is because she told him.”
“Why, though?” Kai replies.
That’s another mystery we’ll have to deal with, but today isn’t the day for that. Today, we have several uncomfortable conversations to entertain.
The first is with our club members. They need to be brought up to speed regarding our collaboration with Dale Johnson and the Feds. Hammer won’t be happy about it. Paddy has already been made aware and is furious, but he understands why we had to do it.
“There’s a chance we could lose a few members in the coming weeks,” Orion says as we get off our bikes.
