Page 81 of Single Mom's Biker Brigade
I tried not to pick at the package in my hands. It looked right, as real and heavy as the original I’d burned to ashes. At a quick glance, no one would know any different. And Wade barely remembered how to match socks, so I didn’t exactly worry he’d figure our ruse out too soon.
“Almost time.” Diesel’s head cocked to the side.
I caught the faint hum of an engine and released my grip on the notebook. It curled in my lap, mimicking the old one after hours of twisting it in my hands so it held that perfect curl. I should’ve been scared. That hit me a second after headlights turned off the highway. My stepfather was about to show up. A man I hadn’t seen sincethatnight. A cold, calculated energy wrapped around me.
Wade had no hold on me. He might have Cody, but he was nothing to me.
A dark sedan rolled down the street, pulled to the center of the lot, and stopped thirty feet in front of us. The door opened and the man who used to live in my nightmares stepped out.
Seven years hadn’t done much to improve the bastard. He was thicker through the middle and thinner in the face. His hair had gone gray in the front and disappeared off the top of his head, but he still walked with that swagger, a loose-hipped roll that carried him forward with an ease that said he thought he was the baddest man in the room.
He smiled at me and spread his arms wide. “Callie, girl. Look at you.”
Barf. I stood, straightening my spine until I looked down at him with narrowed eyes. I held out the package. “Where’s Cody?”
He waved a hand. “Close. We’ll get to that.”
“Now.” I pulled the notebook to my chest. I’d known he wouldn’t bring Cody, but I had a part to play in all this. I could not, under any circumstances, let Wade become suspicious. If I gave the notebook up too easily, he’d wonder why. I took a step back, making sure I didn’t cut off Diesel’s line of sight. “Where’s my son?”
“Now, Callie.” He shook his head slowly, like I’d disappointed him. “That’s not how negotiation works. You should know that by now.” He clicked his tongue, his gaze roving over me before it landed on the package. “That it?”
I tightened my hold and lifted my chin.
Wade looked over at Diesel, and his smile turned putrid a split second before it transformed into his greasy, look-at-what-a-badass-I-am, grin. “The Hellhounds have been asking for their book back for a long time. Told them I knew who had it.” He shrugged. “Told them I could get it back.” A wink in my direction. “Turns out I was right.”
Their book. Spoken like he was some kind of broker, like he’d been making deals for them and was on equal footing, here to collect his commission.
Diesel’s weight shifted, his pinky tapping his thigh once.
He’d told me on the way over that he’d do that if Wade said anything that gave him away, anything that told him for sure that Wade was in over his head.
Good. I had my own way of pushing Wade’s buttons aside from bringing a big, silent man who wouldn’t be intimidated. Wade expected me to come after him, and I didn’t dare disappoint. I’dbeen looking forward to this part. “You helped them find me. You told them about my shop.”
Wade spread his hands, his shoulders lifting a bit in an almost too-casual shrug. “I pointed them in the right direction. That ledger belongs to them. You took it. It was my duty to help them recover a liability.”
“You burned my building.” Genuine fury shook my body and hardened my voice.
“I moved the process along.” He tilted his head. “You refused to listen to the smaller suggestions. Always so willful.” Another tongue click. If I never heard that sound again it would be too soon. “Fire gets attention, and you and the boy got out.” His gaze shifted to Diesel. “No hard feelings, I hope. You know how business goes.”
Diesel kept silent.
Wade’s smile flickered at the edges. Men like him needed a reaction, and Diesel held his gaze without so much as a blink.
God I wanted to throw my arms around Diesel and kiss him. Later. Once we were all home safe.
Wade didn’t know how to talk to a wall like Diesel, but he still thought he could impress him. That knowledge came to me as Wade took another step forward. “I proved I could get to the kid when no one else could. Right there on your protected little property with all your bikes and cameras.” He paused like this was a dramatic moment in a movie and we were supposed to gasp and clap for him. “That took doing, and you should appreciate the effort.”
He expected acknowledgment…or fear. He waited for it, his smile plastered in place and his arms open.
“And if you want the kid, you’re going to give me that ledger. Right now.” He held out his hand. All traces of patience vanished. He wiggled his fingers. “If you want your son back, give me the fuicking ledger.” Spittle flew from his mouth but he stopped before he lunged forward.
Diesel stood and tugged the ledger from my grasp. We’d talked about this too, about how I needed to be so reluctant to give it over that he had to intervene.
“Diesel.”
He gave me a look Wade would interpret as Diesel reminding me of my place. It was nothing of the sort. This was Diesel promising me we were almost done. A few more minutes and Cody would be in my arms.
Wade grabbed the ledger and ripped it open, his lips moving as he ran a finger down the columns on the first page. He flipped to a different page, his eyes narrowing. “You had the whole county looking for this. Do you have any idea what you cost me?”
