Chapter 23

It'sSunday morning and Pistol, Marni, and Kiki went to deliver the tree to the family with Iggie. With my head buried in my hands, I sit at my desk, the sound of my sigh echoing in the room as I struggle to come up with a better idea to lure the rat out. My meeting with Iggie is tomorrow, and I can"t shake the concern that it might jeopardize his safety.

Someone knocks on the door, pulling my eyes to the black wood. Lately, my office feels like Grand Central Station. This room used to be my sanctuary, where I could sit undisturbed for as long as I pleased. Nowadays, I can"t even sit for twenty minutes without someone knocking. Before I can answer, the door swings open, and Combo strides in. This is why I usually lock it, but with time ticking down, I wanted the guys to be able to get in right away if they had information.

"You don't just barge into my office," I bark at him.

"My bad. I swore I heard you say come in," he responds, but I can tell by the glimmer in his eye he knows I fucking didn't.

"What do you want, Combo?"

"Just wanted to check in, since it seems there's been a lot of secret meetings in this office. Is everything okay?"

"Are you keepin' tabs on my fuckin' office? I can have who I want in here when I want, since it's my goddamn office. This is where I meet with my officers. You ain't one of them, so nothing concerns you that happens in here. Now fuck off." The balls he has all of a sudden. What the fuck is he playing at?

"If something is going on with the club, we have a right to know." He crosses his arms, staring at me and still in my fucking office.

In a split second, I grab the object nearest to me: a stapler. I throw it and it flies through the air straight toward his face, but he ducks at the last second. If he hadn"t, it would have probably broken his nose. "Unless you got something to confess, Combo, there ain't shit goin' on you need to know. Now, get the fuck out before you leave here in a body bag."

"Unfit president," he grumbles, but leaves the office, slamming the door behind him.

That was a very strange encounter and I'm sure he had ulterior motives, but what were they? It's odd for him to ask these questions here when he knows he could bring that shit up in church. This just looks even worse for him and his buddy, Pepper. I have no doubt they"re our rats, but now we need to gather proof to back it up. Would they stalk Iggie though and drive us apart? While I know they don't like me, what did they have to gain by pushing him away?

My phone beeps and I pick it up.

Pistol- Tree is delivered. Girls are back and your man is home.

Me- Thanks. Any issues?

Pistol- Nope. I'm supposed to tell you thank you for sending us and he'll see ya tomorrow.

I guessthat's one less thing I have to worry about. Iggie got his tree delivered and didn't have to do it alone. He's back at home since I had Pistol follow him before he came back with the girls.

Pistol- I'm going to Cockpit

My best friendhates being my errand boy, but he knows he has to right now in order for me to have a chance with Iggie. I appreciate him and when the time comes, and he finds his special someone, I will back him a hundred percent like he has me.

* * *

The music blaresfrom the main room of the clubhouse, vibrating through the walls and into my room. I'm not in the mood to drink or party. The time to figure this shit out is up in twenty-four hours, and we don't know shit.

The new bouncer couldn't lift any prints, so that was a dead end.

I messaged Michaelov but have yet to hear from him. My patience is thinning, so I throw caution to the wind and call him. He answers on the fourth ring.

"Steel."

"I sent you a message and I'm growing tired of waiting, Michaelov," I say, my voice low and serious.

"I was busy. Your issues are not my issues. But now you're calling, so you've made it my problem," he tells me, as if he's bored with this conversation.

"I just need to know the day you called to change your order and the time if you can get it. You were affected by a leak somewhere in our system too, and I'm handling it. If you'd like to keep doing business with us, you'll look at your fucking phone and tell me the day and time. Then we're done here today," I snap.

"Fine. No need to get so hostile, little biker boy. Let me check." The line is silent, minus his breathing. A few minutes later, his voice comes down the line. "It was December fifth. I don't have the time anymore, but the call lasted only a few minutes. I hope this solves your problems, so you stop calling me like we're old friends." I hear the click signifying he hung up.

Wasting no time, I click over to Hawk's name.

Me- December 5th. No time of call but it lasted a few minutes.

Hawk- I'm on it. Will have it for you soon.

Me- Not partying?

Hawk- This is important to you. I've been searching.

Me- Thanks.

I dropmy phone onto the bed and close my eyes. Finally, I feel like we have a break and this will be the end of our rat problem.

Hawk slaps me awake sometime later and I blink up at him, a scowl on my face instantly. "What the fuck?"

"I found it," he says.

"Why didn't you start with that? Let's hear it." I bolt up and throw the blanket off of me. "My office."

He follows me out, and I don't even bother locking my bedroom door like normal. I"m too excited and on edge knowing we"re on the verge of discovering the truth. Once inside my office, I find my seat behind the desk while he chooses the chair facing me.

"You didn't let me finish." He sighs. "I found it and listened, but they used a voice changer. Can't tell who it is."

The sound of a commotion in the hall grabs my attention, and I fix my eyes on the door. The noise persists for a few more minutes before eventually subsiding.

"Fuckin' drunk bastards. Always fightin' and fuckin' off when they've had too many." I look at Hawk again. "I don't care. Play it. I want to hear it."

He nods and hits play on the tablet. I didn't even notice he had it in his hand.

"Hello."

"It's Michaelov. I'd like to add to my order."

"I can do that for you. What do you want?"

"RPGs. And I want them the same day as the rest."

"They'll be there."

"Send me the invoice."

"See you then."

The call abruptly ends, leaving a silence hanging in the air. Who the fuck was that? I didn't recognize the person, but they also used a voice changer, so I figured I wouldn't. They had to get into my office and take the call, so what were they doing in here? They must have picked the lock since Pistol and I have the only keys. But why? I don"t keep anything in here because I"m paranoid, constantly on edge about potential intruders.

The sound of someone knocking on the wall interrupts my thoughts. I glance at Hawk, my brows creasing and my lip curling in annoyance. I am not in the mood for this shit. Whoever is out there causing a scene is going to get their teeth kicked in.

I walk toward the door, Hawk following closely, and open it, but nobody is in the hallway. What the hell? We hear the noise again, but it's not really banging now that we're out here, more like someone knocking repeatedly and it's coming from the closet that we keep the extra blanket and cots in when we go into lockdown.

I remove my knife from my boot and grip it as I place my other hand on the doorknob. I look back at Hawk and he has his gun armed and ready. "One. Two. Three," I whisper and pull the door open.

Kiki comes tumbling out, and she looks like she went ten rounds with Rocky Balboa. A groan escapes her, and she directs her eyes toward me. "About time you got here. I've been locked in there for a while."

"What the hell happened?" I ask, bending down to get a better look at her. Fuck me. She's got a split lip and for sure a broken nose and a few cuts on her face. That's only what I can see.

"Came down to get a drink since Marni is sleeping," she rasps. "Saw that fucker trying to get into your office. He pulled me into the closet and tried to get me, but I got his ass. I wasn't raised no bitch."

"Who," I growl.

"Cody. Should be in there, knocked out and tied up. Did the best I could before I passed out. Then I woke up and couldn't get out, so I banged on the door. It must have locked behind us in the fight."

Hawk moves past me into the closet further and sure enough, Cody is in there, hands tied behind his back and tied to a sheet that's wrapped around his ankles. I reach into my pocket, grab my phone, and call Pistol.

"Yeah?"

"My office now. Bring the guys. And get Gabe down here too," I bark and hang up.

"What the hell happened?" Gabe gasps as he steps into the hall. He's the first to arrive, and he hurries to Kiki and bends down.

"That cunt, Cody, tried to pull one over on me." She gives him a small smile.

"No," he gasps. "It's okay, babe, you're gonna be alright." He runs a hand down her hair and smiles, then looks at me. "Where is he? I'll kill him myself."

"We got him, don't worry. Well, Kiki here knocked him out and tied him up. We'll handle him, though. Take her up to her room and clean her up. I'll call the doctor to look at her. Also, she's been watching Marni. Can you just keep an eye on her?" I tell Gabe and he looks at me with anger blazing in his eyes.

"Yeah, I got you, Prez. Just do me a favor and make it hurt."

A smile slowly crosses my lips. "Oh, we will."

My officers come crashing into the hall like a row of dominoes. "About time you lot got here," I snap.

"What the fuck?" Viper strides over to us. "Who did that to Kiki?"

"Cody. Hawk has him in the closet. We need to get him to the shed." I nod toward the door in question and Viper steps around us into the closet.

There's some shuffling before the door opens wider and Viper and Hawk come out holding a body-shaped object wrapped in a sheet. "See you there." Viper chuckles.