Page 5 of Double the Redemption

She nodded. “I trusted my father, so I never questioned him. Until I was brought in front of Diego Lopez and told what I was expected to do.” She swallowed hard, recalling her confusion and fear. Then the anger. “Diego was very clear that I had no choice. He counted out the bills in front of my father before handing them to him. Five million for ten years of my service, with another stipend paid to him every month that I kept them from any trouble. I tried to fight, tried to run, but they beat me, and my father never stepped in. I was put in a cell, given sheets of paper, and told to get to work. I was terrified, so I did. That’s where I stayed for the past ten years, until they finally got complacent enough for me to run.”

“And when you ran, what did you take with you?” Savage, the man at the head of the table, asked. His patch read President, so she knew he was in charge even though she had little knowledge about MCs. Still, it wasn’t hard for her to see she didn’t want to be on his bad side. The man was huge, and he looked like he could break her in half without much effort.

“I … I took whatever I could carry. I have some ledgers, some lists, and what I could take for Asher. It wasn’t a lot, but there wasn’t supposed to be. The whole point was that I was brilliant and had an eidetic memory. I don’t need things on paper. I can recall it.”

“When you left, you went straight to the FBI?” Ink pressed.

She shook her head. “No, I knew they would expect me to go there. I remembered hearing a few of the men talking about a house they were leaving vacant for a week because the Feds were sniffing around. I had the address, and all I needed to do was get there. I knew the cartel members wouldn’t watch it except from the outside. I left a note on the bedroom door, told the agents I was inside, and shared the information I had. They came in and got us out of there.” She glanced down at Simba. “From there, it was hours of interviews and gathering information, then trying to figure out how to keep me safe and quiet.”

“The cartel will have rats inside the Bureau, so they couldn’t risk you going to a safehouse,” Fury agreed. He glanced at Code, who sat directly across from her. “How fast would those rats have let the cartel know she was there?”

“Immediately,” Code said, mouth set in a grim line. “She’s too valuable to kill, though, if she knows all that information. Especially information that might not be recorded and could be used against them. They need her alive.”

Naomi swallowed hard, trying not to shake, but it wasn’t anything she didn’t already know. The cartel couldn’t kill her. They wouldn’t let her take all that information to her grave; she was too valuable. No, if they got hold of her, they wouldn’t kill her, but they would know exactly what buttons to push to make her cooperate.

She hugged Asher tighter, a gut-wrenching fear gripping her. Asher grunted, so she relaxed her grip slightly, but not much. She couldn’t stop shaking.

A hand touched her upper arm, close to Asher. She jerked but forced herself not to pull away as she turned to look at Ink, who watched her with understanding. Why did she find his touch comforting instead of terrorizing?

“No one is going to take your son from you, Naomi,” Ink murmured. “Every single person in this room, and the women waiting outside it, will do anything to make sure the two of you are safe.”

She wanted to believe him, to believe in something, or she was going to break. She looked around the room again. Could she dare trust all these people? They were strangers. Strangers could be bought. Strangers could betray her.

She was already trying to figure out how to escape if she had to. Take Asher and run. She didn’t know where she would go, but it would have to be somewhere that even the MCs’ bikes couldn’t reach.

Had she made the biggest mistake by coming here with the Devil’s Predators?

3

NAOMI

She was exhausted but forced herself to follow Savage, Taz, Glitch, Simba, and Savage’s girlfriend—or whatever he called her, Royal—up the steps to an apartment above a large warehouse. Asher was sound asleep in her arms, and she was eager to put him down, her muscles trembling from holding him for so long.

“It’s not a large apartment, but it’ll be comfortable,” Royal said as they walked in. “I wasn’t sure what you needed for Asher, so I brought some of Ronin’s toddler clothes that Savage saved, and Esme had a few things too. If they don’t fit or don’t work, we’ll make sure to get you whatever you need.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, taking in the apartment.

Royal was right that it wasn’t big, but it was nice enough. An open living room and kitchen, a decent-sized bedroom, and a bathroom too. It would work fine for the time she was here. It wasn’t fancy but functional, and she appreciated it more than they would ever know.

“Here’s the key to the door.” Savage held out the key to her.

She shifted Asher and took it, gripping it tightly in her palm. Her heart hammered, knowing she finally possessed something as small as a key to an apartment that was hers, but she couldn’t help wondering who else might have one.

Maybe that showed on her face because he added, “No one will enter the apartment without your permission. I have a spare key for emergencies, but that’s it. For the first few days, you’ll notice the prospects or some of the brothers walking around below on patrol. They’re there for your protection, nothing more. If they come up, they’ll knock on the door. It’s your choice if you open it or not.”

She nodded but wasn’t sure she believed him. Knowing he had another key anyone could take made her want to turn and run, but that wasn’t an option. Relying on this group of people was her only choice, and all she could do was hope she made it out alive at the end.

“Why don’t you go talk with the others about a schedule?” Royal said to Savage, but Naomi didn’t miss the pointed look. “I’m sure Naomi is overwhelmed, and her little one needs some sleep. Glitch and I will help her get settled.”

Savage, Simba, and Taz exchanged a glance, but none of them argued. Naomi studied Royal a little more closely, realizing she wielded a lot of influence here. Was it because she was seeing the president? Did that make her really the one in charge?

It would be interesting to figure out the dynamics of this club. She had heard about MCs before, but it was always with varying degrees. There were plenty who worked for the cartel, smuggling goods across state lines and the like, while others actively fought hard against it, disrupting their operations as much as possible. The Dragons MC was among the latter, but that didn’t mean they were innocent.

“And here I thought I was one of the girls around here,” Taz joked. Glitch snorted, and Royal gave him an amused smile. The two other men, however, rolled their eyes. Taz looked at her. “Don’t worry, you’re in good hands with these two, and when you meet the others, you’ll fit right in.” He reached into the top pocket of his cut and held out a cell phone to her, and his tone turned serious. “This is an encrypted phone that Glitch made sure can’t be traced. If you need anything, you can call the number on this phone, no matter the day or time, and one of us will answer.”

Naomi hadn’t used a phone in years for anything other than to give information to her father or Diego. It felt strange to have it for any other reason.

“Naomi.” She looked at Simba, and he offered her a kind smile. “I know you’re frightened, but you’re in one of the safest places you can be. Glitch and Karissa will be staying here while we keep working. The Dragons have fought alongside us in a few different situations, and they’re fucking good. There are many former military members in their MC, so you have some of the strongest protection outside of us. You’ll also have support from their women too. If, however, you ever feel that you don’t want to stay here, just call that number Taz gave you, and we’ll get you somewhere else as fast as we can. Got it?”