Page 77 of Triple the Secrets
“And I don’t think it’s her not trusting you to protect them,” Fury added. “I mean, she called you when shit went down, so obviously she does. But she’s been in charge of taking care of those kids for three years, and it’s not going to be easy for her to let that go and hand it over to you, or the rest of us. Let’s face it, she really doesn’t know us. She’s met us through her job and the kids, but this is a lot for her. Especially with us basically forcing them to move here, keeping them cooped up so these assholes can’t get to them, and throwing them head first into our world.”
He got their points, but he still didn’t like it. “This is why I never wanted a woman,” he griped. “They’re a damn headache.”
“They are,” Fury agreed with a grin. “But when they’re not being pains in the ass, they’re damn near perfect. I got a hot as fuck woman in my bed that keeps me from getting all pissed off at stupid shit, and a son that’s damn smart and going to make a hell of a brother when he gets older. I call that worth it.”
Rogue realized just how happy his friend was with the way his life was going. Still, he couldn’t resist ribbing him a little. “You might be happy now, but after today, you’ll be singing a different tune if you have another kid and it’s a girl.”
Fury chuckled. “I’ll leave all that girl shit to her mama,” he smirked. “And I’ll use you and your girls as an example of what to look out for.”
Rogue felt something weird in his chest at Fury’s words. It was the first time anyone had acknowledged that the girls were his, too, not just Scarlett, he realized.
“Speaking of,” Razor said casually. “Are you claiming them, brother? I mean, we all know you want Scarlett, but has she agreed to be your Old Lady?”
Rogue was quiet for a moment. “They’re all mine,” he said finally. “Scarlett is nervous that I’ll walk away when all this is over.” The men in the room snorted. He nodded in agreement. “She’s going to be my Old Lady, but for now, I’ll leave the label off until I can get her to understand that’s not how we work around here.”
Razor grinned. “Good luck with that, brother. Something tells me your woman is going to be damn stubborn about it.”
“And yours isn’t?” he retorted pointedly.
Razor scowled. “Karissa and I are going to have a talk soon, but not yet,” he said finally.
Rogue, Savage, and Fury all shared a glance. Those two were going to be fun to watch, but Rogue wasn’t sure if his brother knew what he was getting himself into with that one. Karissa had secrets, and she was a ball buster that had no problem going toe to toe with any of them. If Razor wanted to claim her, well, it was going to be an uphill battle.
The final few brothers entered the room and shut the door, giving Savage the signal to get started. He banged the gavel, ignoring Code as he flitted around the room and set up some devices. “Brothers, we’re here to discuss some new information on our trafficking problem,” Savage announced.
“They finally showed their dumbass faces and you have them locked in the basement?” Jax asked hopefully.
“I wish,” Savage sighed. “Fury and Rogue spoke with our informant inside the local precinct.”
“Good old Detective Isaac,” Razor snickered. “Did he piss himself when he caught sight of you again?” he asked Rogue.
Rogue didn’t bother answering. It was no secret the detective was afraid of him, and that was why he was often at those meetings. Nothing got by him, and there was the added benefit that he scared the detective enough to keep him from lying to their faces. Well, other than today.
“It seems that Detective Isaac is keeping secrets,” Fury drawled casually. He leaned forward, arms braced on the table, and looked around the room. His eyes were dark and glinting with anger tightly contained.
A palpable tension filled the room at that information. “Code, go ahead,” Savage said with a nod at the brother who was already turning on the projector. “Fury and Rogue got the feeling the detective knew more than he was letting on, and Code’s been digging ever since.”
“And I found what he was hiding,” Code said darkly. He pulled up the photos of the traffickers again and added, “I also found out who the woman is. Just got the hit before we came in. Her name is Tanya Jordan. From all the details I can find, she’s well liked, lots of friends, a normal twenty-eight year old woman. Until you start really looking deeper. She’s the daughter of a well known mobster out of California, and she normally only comes this way a couple times a year to meet with friends.”
“Friends that like to kidnap and sell women,” Jax said in disgust.
Code nodded. “My thought is that she’s here doing work for her father, but nothing ties him back to the trafficking happening in this part of the country.”
Rogue stared at her face. In the photo she looked pretty enough, with dark hair and blue eyes, but when you really looked at them, there was no hiding the true woman that lied underneath. Darkness recognized darkness, and this woman’s entire being was wrapped up in evil. “She here on a trip?” he asked Code.
“According to the itinerary for her private plane, she’s supposed to be leaving tomorrow, but just a few hours ago, the manifest was altered to leave in a couple more days.”
“Because she’s not planning on leaving without the girls or Scarlett,” Rogue summarized darkly. Rage swirled inside him as he continued to stare at the picture. He didn’t hurt women, but he would gladly make an exception when it came to protecting the women in his life.
Code nodded, mouth set into a grim line. “That’s my assumption. Now that I know who she is, I’m working on trying to break into her phone, but they’ve got it locked down tight so it’s taking more time. My guess, after learning who she is and why she’s here, she’s the ringleader. These two men, they’re the hired muscle.”
“Because the girls would be on the lookout for a man, not a friendly woman who might ask them for help or directions,” Fury summarized.
“That’s how they’re luring them in,” Savage guessed. “I mean, she’s pretty, and looks unassuming. If she came up and asked for help, you’d probably do it without another thought. You’re a kid, you see a friendly face, and you walk off with her thinking you’re safe.”
“So when we find her, we’ll find the other bastards,” Rogue said quietly.
Code nodded. “But that’s not all. When you asked me to look into our friend the detective and tap his phone, well, he did exactly what I figured he would. He tried to scramble the signal, but I was able to get around it and he made this call.”
