Chapter 39

Static

Iglanced over as Rainer pulled into our lot. Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I waited for him to join me.

He glared at me as he walked up. He was holding a huge ass file in his hands. ”Why is there a person-shaped dent in my Mustang?” he asked.

Chuckling, I shrugged my shoulders. ”Have a mechanic get me a quote,” I told him. ”I”ll pay to have it fixed.”

”Damn right you will,” he muttered. He huffed out a breath while the rest of the guys walked up. Our crew was a mix of Vikings, Berserkers, and Saint”s Outlaws. ”Did you guys fucking multiply?” he asked.

”Something like that,” Lock answered. ”Any news?”

”You sure uncovered some serious shit,” he admitted, looking around. ”A district attorney taking bribes is bad enough. But blackmailing people? Hiring men to do all his dirty work? Getting cops involved?” He shook his head, his salt and pepper hair shifting with the movement. ”It”s a damn shitshow. But we”ll get it cleaned up.”

”What about Gwen?” I asked.

”It was self-defense,” he replied. ”Plus, there”s the footage from the security cameras in the parking garage. The hospital couldn”t pass that over to Torres fast enough. It was enough to corroborate all of your witness testimonies. And if that wasn”t enough on its own, a couple of the cops that were there are rolling over on Fremont to get reduced sentences.”

”With him dead they know they won”t get any protection,” I said with a nod. ”Makes sense.”

”It”s best for your lady, and for you guys,” he added. ”So, we”ll give them a deal even though we have the rest of the evidence.”

”Thanks for that,” Lock told him.

”Hey, without you guys we wouldn”t have even known about this shit. He”s been doing this a long time. Had a lot of people involved.”

”How long is it going to take before it”s over?” Ricochet asked.

”Years, probably, but most of it won”t involve you,” Rainer replied. ”Not with Fremont gone. Most of the attention will be on us Feds. Torres will need to watch his back, but if I get my way he”ll be working for me soon. There won”t be much attention left for you guys.”

”Good,” he replied. ”My sister”s been through enough.”

Everyone nodded. Even the Berserkers and Saint”s Outlaws guys picked up on her nervousness around them and had asked about her. I didn”t want to invade Gwen”s privacy, but I told them so that they didn”t inadvertently put her in a position that scared her. We were on the downhill side of that battle though. After she fought Fremont, she hadn”t broken down. She was handling it. And herself. I could see the strength in her now. It was always there, but had been buried deep unless needed. Now it was out in full force.

”Whatever you need from us,” Rip told Rainer, ”just let us know.”

”Thanks. It”s mostly him, I”ll be needing,” he said, pointing toward me. ”He”ll be a part of prosecuting the shitheads that are left. Like Sikes.”

My smile was feral. ”I”ll be fucking happy to help.” That asshole had been the reason my bike was wrecked. Damn near all my vehicles were in a shop at this point.

”Then you”ll need this.” Rainer handed over the file. It was so thick I had to grab it with both hands.

I flipped through it and nodded. It was a listing of all the misdeeds that Fremont and his lackeys had done. Or most of them. More would surface as we got into the case.

”Did you know Fremont had Trent Baker killed?” Rainer asked.

Most of us pasted on surprised expressions.

He laughed. ”Figured.” We weren”t fooling him for one minute. ”Did you know he was indirectly responsible for Trent going after Gwen?”

My fingers tightened on the file. ”We had a feeling.” We”d spent weeks discussing what might have happened. Our theory was all the shit with Fremont pushed Trent into using cocaine, whether to keep up, or to deal with all the shit that was happening, we weren”t sure which. And his ”prestigious” job had him wanting his family back, for appearances. It went downhill from there. It wasn”t completely Fremont”s fault, but he was a piece of the puzzle.

”You want a beer?” Hush asked.

Rainer”s brows rose. ”It”s ten in the morning.”

”We”re fucking celebrating,” Smoke told him. ”Doesn”t matter what time it is.”

I looked over at him and winced. He looked like shit. Dani was past her due date and Smoke wasn”t sleeping well. It was easy to see that he was exhausted, but he was here with us and that was what mattered.

”Sure, why not?”

Everyone moved over toward the field where the kids were playing and the women were sitting nearby, watching over their children.

Scarlett came over, carrying some beers. She gave Rainer a wide smile. I wasn”t surprised in the least. The older man usually had a flock of women surrounding him, trying to lock him down. He never took any of them up on their offers.

Rainer took his beer with a thank you for the bunny, then looked away. His gaze froze on Sylvia.

”See something you like?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral.

”The women here all belong to someone...right?”

”No,” Rip told him with a grin. ”Scarlett there is single.”

”So”s Sylvia,” Hellfire added, pointing toward the gorgeous older woman who was chasing Dex in a game of tag.

Warrant came out, carrying a cooler, filled with ice and beers. ”Plenty of free ass around here when these guys throw a party.”

”Free ass?” Rainer asked with a wry grin.

”Not locked down,” Cynic clarified.

”How old are you?” Rainer asked.

Cynic rolled his eyes, but Rotor was the one to speak up. ”Old enough to get some pussy, though I”m pretty sure he”s a virgin.”

”Your mother took care of that,” Cynic said, flipping Rotor off.

Rainer gave him a look of mocking disbelief.

”You can hit up our club”s parties, too,” Kilo offered, changing the subject and giving his friend a break. ”Since you”re based out of Phoenix. That”s where we are, too.”

”Thanks,” Rainer replied.

”You”re one of our clubs” allies now,” Cypher told him with a cunning smile. ”And it”ll be very helpful to me to know a US Attorney.”

Rainer frowned and looked over at me. ”Do I want to know why?”

”You”ll find out soon enough,” I promised with a laugh. Cypher would take full advantage of anything that would help his security company out. I wasn”t about to mention to Rainer that I might have just dragged him into shit he wanted nothing to do with. ”Want me to introduce you?” I asked, flicking my eyes toward Syl.

Rainer”s gaze had returned to her. ”No. Thanks. In fact, I better get going. Some of us have cases to start.” He gave me a dark look. ”You can come in in a few days and give us a hand.”

”Sure. Be happy to,” I replied.

”Stay,” he said when most of us started to follow him back out to the parking lot. ”I can find my way.” He pointed at me. ”I”ll be sending you that bill.”

I waved him off and smiled when Gwen came over and pressed against my side.

”Is everything okay?” she asked, worry in her eyes.

”It”s going to be fine,” I promised her. ”Me, Rainer, and Torres aren”t going to let a damn thing come back on you.”

She smiled up at me and went up on her toes to press a kiss to my mouth.

It made me want to toss her over my shoulder and head back inside for round two. A phone ringing cut through the moment.

”Lock and I are both right here,” Toxic said, looking over at Butcher, who was holding his phone in his hand. ”Who the hell is calling you?”

Butcher rolled his eyes and answered. ”Yeah?” His normally grim expression darkened. ”Yeah. I hear you.” He disconnected the call and stalked off without another word.

My brows shot up and I looked over at Lock. ”What was that?”

Lockout sighed and exchanged a glance with Cypher. ”Nothing good, I”m betting.” As if on cue, Lock”s phone rang. ”What”s going on?” he said as he connected the call. His eyes flashed over toward Butcher”s retreating back. ”You sure?” He paused to listen. ”Well, fuck. Alright.”

Toxic shrugged his shoulders, a worried look on his face, when I gave him a questioning look.

”Come on,” Lock told the group. ”Let”s go celebrate.”

Wrapping my arm tighter around my girl, I steered her over to where Sean and Grace were playing. We”d deal with whatever came at us in the future. Today? We were going to spend it as a family. With our ally club brothers here, and Fremont gone, there was a lot to celebrate. We”d take the time to revel in our good fortunes now that the imminent threat was gone. There”d be time to worry about what was coming next later. Today was for us. I planned to take full advantage of that, and my old lady, as much as I was able.

Swinging Grace up into my arms, I pulled a permanent marker from my back pocket. ”Who”s ready to sign Sean”s cast?”

”I get first dibs.”

I looked over in shock as Scythe ripped the pen from my hand and went over to the boy. Looking down at Gwen”s grinning face, I asked, ”Are you happy, Sugar?”

She sighed and laid her head on my chest. ”This all feels like a dream.”

I set Grace down and pulled Gwen into my arms. ”Then I”m never waking up.” I kissed her, ignoring the cheers from my family that echoed around us. I wanted to do exactly this, every day, for the rest of my life.