“One of them was called Buck,” I recall, “Another one was Dewey. At least, that’s what they were calling each other.”
Cold silence fills the bar as each and every one of the Nine bristles furiously. I seem to have hit on something they can actually use.
“Buck,” Declan growls, “Did he have an accent?”
“Southern,” I say, leaning into Ollie’s side.
“And Dewey. He seem like an uptight sociopath?” Chuck asks.
“Pretty much, yeah,” I say.
“It was the Wraiths,” Dani whispers, “They told me to tell you as much, Dec. They want you to know it’s them behind this.”
“Who was the third man?” Declan asks her.
“I’m pretty sure it was Leo,” Dani says, her voice pained.
“It was,” I say.
“How do you know for sure?” Ollie asks.
I remember spotting the flash of Leo’s golden eyes. But I can’t very well tell the truth—that I’d know those eyes anywhere.
“I could see around the door. I got hidden behind it when they came in, but I got a look all the same,” I tell the Nine, “I, uh, recognized Leo from the other night. His build.”
“Why’d they wear masks, though?” Teddy wonders in his deep voice.
“Doesn’t make any sense,” Franks adds.
“The masks weren’t for our benefit,” John Baxter finally speaks, “Those were just for our security cameras, I’m sure. And for any other civilian surveillance they might have encountered along the way. We can’t go to the police without hard proof, and they know it. Not that we’d ever do that—”
“What do you mean?” I ask, “We have to go to the police.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Chuck says, rolling his eyes.
“Well, what’s your plan?” I shoot back, “Gonna go after her, guns blazing?”
“Did they say anything else to you?” Declan asks Dani, ignoring me completely. A burst of outrage tugs at my nerves at his disregard. Of course no one wants to listen to the yuppie Berkeley princess. If only they knew...
“Leo said that the Nine have tanked the Wraiths’ reputation,” Dani replies, “When their good name is restored, they’ll give Kassie back to us. They promised they wouldn’t hurt her, Dec. Leo said—”
“Fuck whatever Leo has to say,” Declan roars, “That son of a bitch was my friend. I can’t believe they’d sink this low. We didn’t do a goddamn thing to hurt them.”
“They’ve lost it,” Kip says, “I don’t know where they’re getting this bullshit about us ruining their reputation. All we did we ask around about Sam. He was with two of the Wraiths when he died. We were well within our rights to follow up. They just want someone to blame their busted business deals on, and we get to be the scapegoats. It’s horse shit.”
“We know we’re in the right, but it seems like they don’t agree with us, there,” John says, “Whether or not we did anything wrong, Mac and the Wraiths feel wronged by us. And as long as that’s the case, there’s not much we can do to persuade them otherwise.”
“So what do we do?” Ollie asks.
“We have to wait them out,” John replies.
“Like hell!” Declan exclaims, “They’ve got Kassie!”
“We can’t go after her,” John says, “If we stole her back that would just piss the Wraiths off even more. Not that I’m convinced we’d even be able to. Their MC is far bigger than ours, and far less...morally sound.”
“So you just want to abandon her to them?” Dec seethes, “Just leave Kassie to fend for herself against those animals? You know what those guys are like, John.”
“I believe them when they say they won’t hurt her,” John insists, “They’re just trying to prove a point. The only thing that the Wraiths love is their power and standing in the outlaw world. It’s as important to them as Kassie is to you. All we can do is figure out where this rift between us is coming from and patch it up as best we can.”
“Can’t fix an imaginary break,” Declan spits.
“There has to be something else we can do,” Dani pleads, “Until we figure out how to fix things with the Wraiths, I mean. Kassie’s tough, she’ll be able to get through this. They’re not going to mess with a man’s old lady, even if she’s from another MC. But we need some way to understand what it is that the Wraiths really want, what they’re thinking, what they plan to do with her. We need someone on the inside.”
“We don’t have any connections inside that MC,” Dec says with finality, “We’ve never needed an inside man because they’ve always been straight with us. There’s no way we can get word from the inside about what they’re up to.”
“Actually...” I say softly.
“What’s that?” John asks, looking my way.
“Speak up,” Ollie urges me.
“Actually...” I repeat, “You do have a connection inside the Devil’s Wraiths. Or at least, one end of a connection...”
“What are you talking about?” Declan snaps, “Who?”
“Me,” I tell him.
The Nine brothers and four women stare at me in baffled silence as my statement sinks in. For a long moment, it seems that no one can figure out what to say. I can almost hear the gears of their brains spinning, trying to understand this new chunk of information. I have to say, I’m a little pleased to have shocked them. It’s nice to get something besides disdain from these people.
“You,” Declan says, jabbing a finger at me, “Back room. Now.”
The Nine file off into the depths of the Forty-Five Club. They’re off to “church”, as they say—off to convene and figure out their next move. And it would seem that they want me to come along with them.
“Come on,” Ollie says, tugging me by the arm, “Guess you’re going to the chapel with us tonight, babe.”
I stare wildly at Dani as I’m led across the bar. She nods her encouragement, looking at me with a certain sense of wonder. Even the three sweet butts examine me with more interested curiosity than disdain. I’m sure everyone’s wondering how a prissy LA princess could be their in to the Wraiths. I just hope I didn’t get myself in over my head by saying anything at all. What if the Nine decide I’m too dangerous to keep around? What do they want with me?