Page 83 of The Devil's Reward
Stone’s expression turns into a taunting smile. “If all you wanted was to get your hands on me, baby, all you had to do was say so,” he leers at her, giving her a lewd once over. I roll my eyes, knowing it’s a front. Though right now, he’s lucky his mother isn’t awake.
“You and your tiny dick will have to wait for another time, and a more willing partner,” she says easily. “Now, say goodbye to your father and then we’re going.”
He looks like he wants to argue some more, so I growl, “Go, Stone. And that’s an order from your President, not your father. I’ll be fine, and I’ll make sure you get a call if your mother wakes up before you get back.”
His jaw clenches, but he nods, turns on his heel, and stalks out of the room. “I’ll see you later,” Syn says before she follows him out, gaze determined and back straight.
Hulk pokes his head in and smirks at me. “Called in the big guns, huh?”
I grin back at him. “She showed up so I used the tools at my disposal.”
“Hammer’s here. You up for him?” he asks me. I nod.
Moments later Hammer walks in and I can see that he’s had a rough time. His clothes are wrinkled, and his face is showing more lines than before. “I told you not to do this shit to me again,” Hammer says gruffly as he comes to stand by my bed.
I chuckle. “Funny how the past seems to be coming full circle,” I muse thoughtfully, looking at my oldest friend. We’ve been through a hell of a lot together, and I’ve always counted him as my best friend. When the other brothers left or died, Hammer was constant. He’s an uncle to my boys; he’s fought and joked with Rose, and he was the first to have my back when I brought up the idea of taking the club legit when Bull was still running things.
I’d hate to think that he’s the mole, but I have to consider the possibility. It’ll be a stab in the back of the biggest kind, but being President means I have to consider every option. Even those that will hurt the most.
Hammer sighs. “It’s been more than thirty years of a good life in this club, being on the up and up,” he agrees. “Hard to believe we’re dealing with this shit. Again. And this time, our foes are both in house and outside. Makes me wonder sometimes if going legit was the right thing.”
My senses sharpen at his words. “You think we should have stayed an outlaw club?” I ask carefully.
He scrubs a hand down his face. “I don’t mean it like that,” he gripes. “But if we were, we would have a network of people at our disposal to find this son of a bitch. And our mole too. Now we’re on the right side of the law, and it makes it harder.”
“I wouldn’t say we’re on the right side completely. We have a fucking hacker for fuck sakes.”
He shakes his head. “You know what I mean. But there’s no changing it now, and we just have to work with what we got.”
I study my friend. He looks worn out, not just by this, but by life. “You having doubts, Hammer?” I ask him.
“About the club? No.” He looks at me, gaze weary. “I’ve lived my life this way since I was a kid. Grew up in it, and it’s the only life I know. But this whole mole business has me thinking that in the old days, we’d have just torn the place apart until we found him. None of this cloak and dagger bullshit. Had enough of that with Bull and all the ways he used to sneak around. I guess I’m just a tired, cranky old man now.”
“You are old,” I agree, and he flips me off, making me chuckle. “I agree the whole thing is a fucking mess. We’ll find him though. And then we’ll show him who we were before we went legit. I think I can still remember some of the old techniques we used to use to get information.”
Hammer is silent, and then he looks over at Rose, lips thinning. “Fucking bastard tried to run the women off the road, and that’s just fucking wrong,” he growls. “Rose and I have had our moments, but she’s my sister in everything but blood, Bullet. You know that. And going after her is a direct insult. When we find this bastard, I’ll be using a few of my old techniques as well.”
I look at my friend, and my gut tells me it’s not him. He’s right, he and Rose have had their tiffs, but I’ve stayed out of it for the most part. Rose can hold her own, and Hammer has never stepped over the line. They fight and laugh, but they always make it right with each other. At one point, I know my best friend had feelings for Rose, but he never crossed that unforgivable line. I can’t see him wanting to kill her.
I sigh. “It’s a fucking mess, Hammer.”
“Sniper called Church, and Dagger, Medic, and I went and checked out that old farmhouse that Bull used to use. We found no evidence that it was being used, but then Medic found a hidden doorway in the floor. I knew it was there, but couldn’t remember where it was.”
I nod, though I already know what he’s going to tell me. Still, I keep my face hard as I ask, “Did you find anything down there?”
He nods. “We know it’s been used. Found a fucking bucket full of waste down there. Stank to high heaven. Dagger just about lost his lunch. They’ve been holding people and their stash down there, but they’ve upgraded the old vault.”
“You think they know about the other places?” I ask him.
“If they know about that one, then I have a feeling,” Hammer says grimly.
“You know where Bull might have hidden that information?”
He shakes his head. “I remember him walking around with a black book at times, so I guess he could have written it down there, but we never found one. Not after the war on the streets, or when we tore the clubhouse apart to get rid of anything that was his.”
I purse my lips thoughtfully. “You think he sent it somewhere?”
“Or burned it.”
