47. Grizzly

47

GRIZZLY

A few of the guys from the house were brought back to the clubhouse and questioned. Some of the questioning got rather colorful, resulting in Dart and I having a little fun before we were given the answers that we needed.

We tend to almost always get the information we need by force. Not that we always want it to come to that, but it does from time to time. This was one of those times, and it felt nice to get some frustrations out. The informants will live for now, but that status might change if the information we got is wrong or if they've lied to us in any way.

With how much they squealed, I know in my gut that the information they had…is the truth.

It's just a truth I'm not sure I want to tell to the one person it needs to be told to—Meredith.

Trap joined us just after the festivities, once his arm had been bandaged up. I'm happy he's no longer bleeding everywhere, but the son of a bitch needs to quit getting shot and stabbed. If we keep getting hurt like this, I don't know if even Lifesaver will be able to fix us.

I look over at the exact same time the others do and see Meredith walking down the steps. I frown involuntarily. The information we received from the interrogation is not pretty, but the fact that it involves her makes it that much worse.

"What's wrong?" she asks as she joins our little circle to the side of the pool room.

"You're not going to like it," Dart admits with a frown of his own.

"I don't like any of this, so what difference is it going to make? Spill," she commands with her arms folded across her chest. "But first, how are you?" she asks Trap.

"I'll live," Trap responds.

His ripped tank shows both of his arms are bandaged.

He's tough, and I know he's going to be okay, but I hate it when any of our guys get hurt. Let alone killed, like the prospects today.

"So, Dart found some information out the other day that pointed to your father. Upon further interrogation of some of the suspects today, we found out a little more information," I begin.

"We hadn't said anything to you before now because we didn't know if it was true, and there was no reason to upset you unless we confirmed it," Dart adds.

"That's understandable." Meredith frowns as she leans into the wall and relaxes a little.

I can't help but look her up and down as she does so. She is so damn beautiful, and the prospect of her being pregnant with my baby is enough to send me over the edge right here and now. I don't give a damn which guy that baby belongs to—if she'll have us, we'll do this together.

But for now, there are more important things to deal with…like her fucking good-for-nothing father.

"It turns out that your father's debts with the Bratva are so great," I say with a frown, "that he's essentially paying them in women."

"What do you mean?" she asks as her eyes dart back and forth between all three of us.

"You yourself know exactly what it's like to be involved in a trafficking situation," Trap says. "Your father all but sold you into it," he adds, and I can tell that it's all sinking in.

"He's basically been providing the women for the trafficking ring. It's all as a payback for his debt, and yes, he obviously involved you for a reason," Dart finishes.

"So, he was willing to give me up as payment for his debt?" Meredith says, and I can see the fire dancing behind her eyes.

"Not completely pay it off. There have been numerous others that have been taken—all under his advisement it would seem," I add with venom in my voice.

"If only we could catch him in the act…make him pay," Meredith says with a sniff that mimics crying, but it's all just anger.

"We thought about that, but we don't want to put anyone else in danger," Dart adds.

"We would have to find someone who can hold their own," Trap says.

"It can't be just anyone, it has to be a woman who's worth something to the Bratva, or at very least your father, in order to bring out the higher-ups," Dart adds.

"There isn't anyone my father cares about but himself, and I don't see him stepping up for the job any time soon," Meredith says with a scowl.

"I want his fucking head on a platter," I say. "For all the hell he's caused you and everyone else. He's a menace and needs to be snuffed out."

I look over to Meredith. I can tell the wheels in her head are turning. I hope she's not thinking what I'm thinking she's thinking, but until she brings those beautiful thoughts to the light, there's no way to tell.

We all grow silent for the moment as we think about all the possibilities. Any of us would kill that bastard and not think twice about it. That bastard has to die.

My thoughts linger on Meredith and all the shit she's been through in her life, and how she deserves to get out of this with little to no more trauma. Hell, she was just worried about possibly killing a man. Trap tells us that she did it saving his life. That's admirable, and rather badass, but still something she may not recover from.

I hope for her sake we can find out if the man died or not. But in the end, it doesn't really matter to me. He went after her, so he deserved to die whether it was by her or one of us—it's just sweet justice.

If she's around much longer, it won't be the last time she goes to war. We have all paid the price for protection, but with our baby growing in her, now is the time she needs to feel safe and protected. I just know that's not going to happen until we can get to the bottom of this and take her father out once and for all. It's only a bonus if we can take some of the Bratva with him.

"I'll do it," Meredith says, and it takes me a moment to realize what she's talking about.

My stomach lurches. This was exactly what I was worried about her thinking about. This isn't her job. She doesn't have to sacrifice herself like this. While none of us would ever let anything happen to her, it's dangerous and may end badly.

"We're not going to let you do that," Trap beats me to it.

"There's no way you should ever have to become bait to catch your own father," Dart adds.

"We would never ask you to do that anyways," I add as I put my hand on her shoulder.

A look crosses her face as if she might spontaneously combust. She's determined.

"You didn't ask me, I volunteered. I'm the only one who would go for a high enough price for my father to come out of the woodwork, plus some of the higher-ups. And—" She gears up for a rant. "If I did kill that guy, then that will give even more ammunition for the Bratva to show themselves as well."

"No," Trap says with his own touch to her back.

I know it's a mistake when he says it—hell, he does too. It's something I thought of saying. I'm sure all three of us were thinking about it.

None of us would ever tell her what to do, but to save her, to save our baby, I would pretty much walk through fire, and I know the two knuckleheads standing next to me would do the same.

"You don't own me, we aren't married, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. Now, either help me so that I can do this the right way, or I'm doing it alone," she says, and my cock thrums at the sound of her voice.

The sheer determination and bossiness in her tone sends me pining for her. In a way I would have never guessed I would want a woman.

I think about it for a minute. I pace the floor as I continue to think about it. Moments ago, I might have been inclined to agree with Trap, but the more I think of it, the more I think she's right.

"I think we need to let her do this. None of us are going to allow her to get hurt, but if she doesn't do this, more women are. That's all there is to it. This is never going to stop unless we make it stop, and she's right, this may very well be our only way."

I turn toward Meredith and look her in the eyes. "The moment you tell us that you're out of this, the second you say you want to back down, we will pull you out."

"Damn it, I don't have a good feeling about this," Dart adds in the mix.

"Neither do I," I bark at him, probably harder than I mean to. "Sorry," I say before continuing.

"He's right, Dart," Trap adds. "I know I said no, but this may be our only way of catching those bastards…and I will enjoy taking them down one at a time." He cracks his fingers one at a time on each hand.

"So, this is what I'm thinking," Meredith says as she leans in a little.

We all listen to what she has to say, and her plan is genius. She will step in and be bait. She'll lure her father out from whatever hellhole he's in, and we will get him and as many others as we can.

We respond by worshipping her in the best way we can. Sure, she's broken and bruised, so we don't take her in all the ways we ordinarily might take her, but in the moments after she declares she is going to be bait, we kiss her, love her, and are with her in the most meaningful way.

She will do this, and we will win. There are no other options that are acceptable to any of us.