Page 99 of The Devil's Reward
“He’s pissed, but I don’t know that it’s sunk in yet. He hasn’t had his moment to say goodbye, and I’ve asked the funeral home to keep Hammer’s body on ice until I can get Bullet over there to see him later today. I think once he does, Bullet’s going to do one of two things. He’s going to lose his shit and go after Dmitri with everything he has, or he’s going to pretend everything is fine and go on about things as normal. Bullet isn’t an emotional guy.”
He has that right, but he’s got a big heart. If it was Rose on that slab, he would burn the world to the ground. And we would all help him. Hammer was his oldest friend, and had been through hell with him, so I have to imagine that he’s going to want to do some burning to avenge him.
“Fucker doesn’t have one thing without holes,” Sniper gripes as he yanks out a shirt from the closet and then tosses it on the bed. “Found one shirt, and it’s still got the tags on it.”
I chuckle. “I don’t think we need to find something fancy for him,” I point out. “Hammer wouldn’t want anything fancy. He always said that when he died, put him in a box and bury him. Or cremate him and scatter his ashes on the land here.” It’s not lost on me how sad it is that I know that detail. That Hammer was so clear about his wishes.
Sniper grunts his agreement as he pulls a pair of jeans from the dresser. “Yeah, you got a point. Be nice though if I could find something without stains.”
I look over when I hear the click of nails coming down the hall and frown when I see Loki coming into the room. “What are you doing up here?” I mutter. I grab my phone and text Viper.
Me: Loki is up here. Everything okay down there?
Viper: Everything’s fine. I think he got tired of Macy and just needed a break. She’s still playing with Ebony.
Me: Is Quinn with you?
Viper: She came down, but she’s staying in the kitchen for now. I’m letting her have her space.
Me: Alright. Thanks, brother. And tell Syn I have Loki.
Viper: Will do.
I look down at the dog who is sniffing at the pile of clothes on the floor in the corner. “I wouldn’t if I were you,” I warn him. “Lord knows what you’ll find in there.” Loki looks up at me and then goes back to sniffing around.
“We’ll wait a bit before we clean this place out,” Sniper announces as he turns to look at me before tossing the pants he found onto the bed with the shirt. “I’ll ask Bullet if he had any family that might want it.”
I nod in agreement. “Damn it,” I sigh, running my hand through my hair. “This fucking sucks, brother. And I still can’t figure out why Hammer. Sat up last night thinking of it, but I can only figure that they saw him riding alone and took it as an opportunity to send a message.”
“Only thing that makes sense,” Sniper agrees. “Cryos is working on tracking down the SUV, but the plates on it came back as bogus, so he’s got to work at it from another angle. I think he was up most of the night too.”
“I’m ready to take these bastards down,” I say tightly as I look back around the room. I stop on a picture on the wall and move closer to it. It’s an old picture of our old clubhouse, now turned into Torque’s garage. The building was older, and some of the faces milling around in it are different and foreign. But something, a gut feeling, makes me look at it a little closer. I reach up and take it off the wall. Nothing sticks out about it, or in it, but I don’t put it back.
“What?” Sniper asks, coming to stand beside me.
I don’t answer, just keep looking. But then I see it. There, just at the edge of the frame, is a face. I quickly turn the frame over and make quick work of opening it up and pulling the photograph out. But before I can look at it closely, Loki barks sharply, drawing my attention to him.
He’s staring at Hammer’s nightstand, eyes never leaving and his tail wagging furiously. I glance at Sniper, who’s frowning. “Get Syn up here,” he orders. “I need to know if that’s an alert of some kind.”
I shoot Viper a message.
Me: Need Syn up here. Loki has caught on to something in Hammer’s room.
Viper: On it.
Within a minute, Syn comes up the stairs and into the room, looking at Loki with interest and concern. Loki doesn’t even acknowledge her. He just barks again, laser-focused on the nightstand. “Whatever he’s smelling is inside it,” Syn says, moving to stand by him.
“He going to bite if I reach in there for it?” Sniper asks.
She shakes her head. “He won’t move until I give him the command that he can,” she assures him.
Sniper carefully moves forward and I step back, but I’m on high alert. Did Loki just smell more drugs? Is Hammer our mole after all, and Dmitri took him out because we’re too close to figuring it out? All the questions in my head stop when Sniper curses. He pulls out a couple of bags of white powder, and Loki barks again.
It’s my turn to curse. “How many are in there?” I ask.
“Only three, but it’s three too many,” Sniper answers tightly.
Loki whines and barks again, stepping forward and sniffing at the drawer again. I step forward and look in. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. Condoms, lube, a couple of toys that I really hope he cleaned lately, and some papers. No more packages or anything suspicious. I reach in and grab the papers, wondering if anything is between them.
