Chaper Seven

B eretta_Penn: Why are you still awake? St_Margarita: Can't sleep. Beretta_Penn: Me neither. St_Margarita: What's wrong in your world? Beretta_Penn: Boredom? I just thought I'd be more. More independent, more successful. But I'm still me, just older. St_Margarita: At least you don't spend all day and night thinking the worst is going to happen to everyone you love. Beretta_Penn: You can't protect everyone all the time, Mags. St_Margarita: Why not? Beretta_Penn: Because you're not Superman? St_Margarita: He's a pussy anyway. St_Margarita: I just feel like I'm failing people. I don't want to see anyone I love get hurt. Beretta_Penn: I know. But you can only do so much. When it gets too big you need to lean on others to help you. I'll always be here if you need me. Call and I'm there. Always. St_Margarita: Only if you promise the same. Beretta_Penn: Promise. We have each other's back. St_Margarita: For always. Beretta_Penn: Always.

Wire

Fuck fuck fuck! I was trying to be extra vigilant with our security after that shit with the Death Riders and Flack being shot, but obviously it's not enough. How the fuck did I miss an active shooter coming onto our property? What fucking use am I if I can't even do my job?

"Get out of your head Wire, we've got baddies to fuck up," Chewy says as she strides to her chair, kicks her shoes off and plops down. She has an earpiece in already and is barking instructions.

I shake myself off. She's right. I have to get a fucking grip on myself. My eyes close and I pull a breath deep into my lungs before letting it out.

"That's it, dude, in the zone," Chewy whispers under her breath, side eyeing me for a moment.

The thud of running feet breaks through and Remy comes flying around the corner, straight to her station.

"The men have their ear pieces in. I need you to be badass, Rem, like we practiced." Remy nods her head once at Chewy, before turning to me, holding out her small pale fist. My lips twitch and I bump mine against her.

"OK ladies, let's fucking do this."

My fingers fly over the keys and I broadcast all our cameras onto the large screen in front of us.

"Remy, you all good to monitor the front gate, parking lot and treeline?" She doesn't reply and my eyes are glued to the screen, so I need her to talk to me. "Need your words, sweetheart."

"Yes, yup. I can do that."

"You'll need to warn brothers through comms too, so make sure you use your firm voice, OK?" I finally turn to look at her, her eyes are wide but I watch her steel herself, her shoulders back and stubborn tilt to her chin.

"I've got your back."

"Good girl. Chewy, you all good to monitor out the back and all the roads that run behind the compound?"

"Yeah, homie."

I ignore Remy's soft snort and check my own cameras. It takes no time at all for us three to fall into an easy rhythm. The nomad riders have us almost surrounded. By the looks of it, the shooter at the back of the compound was taken out fairly early on. Luckily for us, there is dense wood behind us with heavy duty fencing beyond that. There are some country roads that run behind us, but you'd have to be local to even know they're back there, and these guys are most definitely not local. If they were, they'd know not to fuck with us.

Scanning the screens, there have to be about 15 of the fuckers. Hammer has recruited a large crew without us or Death Riders knowing about it, which is fucking concerning. Although he obviously hadn't factored in that his men were going to be walking into a bloodbath. Yeah, they may have numbers, but they have absolutely no fucking skills, making it easy for our little IT team to bark out orders. Brothers are taking out targets as soon as we call them out. With our eyes and new comms tech we are running tighter than the units I worked with when I was deployed. Between the Tombs, DRMC and Death Riders, we have already cut a swathe through the men that thought they could attack us. Fucking idiots. I'm feeling rather confident that we'll have this buttoned up quickly, and that is when I hear Ana calling for backup. Spinning to look at Remy, she looks pale and Chewy has taken over calling the shots for her.

"Oh no! I didn't see him and now Gus has been shot!" Remy gasps. She turns her wide eyes toward me, tears pooling. Turning back to the screen, I watch as Gus seems to be moving around, even if he isn't looking too flash. The way Ana is leaning over him and gripping his arm, I can see it's not a life threatening wound.

"Hey, hey, look at me. He's fine. It's in his arm. There was no way for you to see that sneaky fuck from where he was firing from. It's OK." I make sure I make eye contact with her, so she can see the sincerity in my face. She lets out a breath and nods, before turning back to her screen.

I watch her for a moment and feel a weird tightening in my chest. I don't like it when she's upset. It screws my guts up. I don't know how it happened, but the way I feel about her is like the way I feel about Retta. Is that weird? Maybe I'm projecting my feelings for Retta onto Remy? Or the other way round? Fuck. I have no clue. I need to get both of them off my mind and concentrate on my fucking job. Two minutes ago, I was berating myself for not doing good enough.

"Aaaaand that's a wrap, folks. All nomads have been maimed or killed. I'm gonna get out there and see if I can get any information outta the injured ones." Chewy states, although before getting up from her chair she clocks something on the screens, tilts her head with a frown and then rushes out of the room.

Following where she was looking, I see Tank bringing in Gus, who looks unconscious. Remy hasn't noticed yet and I don't want her to either.

"Hey Rem, do you want to go down and see how your dad is? We'll probably debrief in the common room if you want to get ready to bring him down. I'm sure Marx will want us all there."

She gives me a small smile, nods her head and drops her hand to my shoulder, before leaning forward and brushing her soft lips against my cheek. Her floral scent swirls around me, and I wonder if it's some type of body wash or if it's her natural smell.

"Thank you, Wire." She gives me one last smile before heading out the door and turning left into the hall, and the direction of Switch's room.

I give myself a shake, taking in the screens once more. Gus is lying on a table with his shirt ripped off. Everyone looks tense as hell, but thanks to Switch's loud as fuck voice, I can hear everything that's going on and it sounds as if Gus will be perfectly fine. I count off how many brothers, including Tombs, I can see on my screens and let out a breath. Everyone is all accounted for, safe and sound.

Still feeling a little wired I quickly type in my passcode and pull up the GPS on my mom's and sister's phones. Mom is in her office in downtown Rose Grove. Eve is on shift at the hospital in Roxwell, and both Zoe and Jade are on campus around two hours away from here. I can feel myself breathing a little easier, so I log out. I told Mama I'd stopped checking on them, but what they don't know won't hurt them.

Switching my alerts to my watch, I grab my laptop and balance it on my forearm, getting everything open as I walk into the common room where I can hear Marx going off at Savage.

"OK fuckers. This is the second time we've been attacked in our own house and I dont know about you, but I've had e-fucking-nough of it. Savage, this seems like your shit you brought to our doorstep, so I hope you have a fucking clue on how to fix it." Marx shoots daggers at the other man, who does not seem the least bit concerned.

"Fuck man, I would if I could, but this only happens when we're in Rose Grove." He shrugs his shoulders and looks at his SAA Dex, who nods in agreement. Everyone is quiet as that sinks in. Coming to a stop at an empty space at one of the dining tables, I place my laptop down before making myself comfortable. Looking across the room, I see Chewy in her favorite spot, perched on Rhodie's knee, squishing her lip.

"So, you've never been attacked at home?" Chewy asks abruptly, cutting Marx off. He just rolls his eyes and gestures for her to carry on.

Savage shakes his head. "The two times it's happened is when we've been here."

"Very interesting," Chewy says, stroking her imaginary "thinking" beard. "Ana, you still having shipments tampered with?"

Ana nods "Yup. We thought we nipped it in the bud when we found the men that were being paid off by Hammer, but we had another shipment arrive today that was all messed up. Roman is tightening up security. We have another shipment coming in two days that Savage and Dex are transporting, and neither of us can afford for it to be missing any product."

Chewy spins to look at Savage and Dex, making them jump with her sudden movement.

"Right, so we can assume Hammer is after you because you cut him from his own club. His men only attack us when you guys are here and I would imagine that's because DRMC and Death Riders are now allies. If he takes out both clubs, that gives him control of a larger territory and the ability to move anything he likes. The question is, why fuck with the Bratva and how the hell did he get in there in the first place?" Chewy asks the room.

I tap away on my keys, searching for any and every link there could be between the MC's, bratva, and Hammer, coming up short. Although there is something that has been bugging me since Remy landed here. After Flack got shot it was mentioned that he requested Remy for the hacker role to get her off compound because he thought shit was about to go down. He has another daughter, so why only send one?

Chewy must have the same train of thought that I do, asking Savage outright. "Last time this happened, you said that Flack had been getting paranoid. That's why he wanted Remy here?"

"Yeah. He's been antsy since we put Hammer out. We thought he was just being paranoid. Although after he was shot, we've been looking into our books and things in the clubhouse. Whatever he knows, it's enough for Hammer to shoot him and to keep coming after us. All of us."

Dayz nods once and then leaves the room without any warning.

"I fucking hate when she does that," Rider says to no one in particular. "Just leaves you hanging, no explanation at all."

"Chewy said you may need our input." Remy's husky voice quietly addresses the room. Rider jumps as she's standing closest to him and he hadn't even noticed her and her father were there.

"Fuck! You need a bell, girl." He says, his large hand splayed across his chest.

"Sorry ‘bout that," she whispers. I hate when she makes herself small. Her gaze catches mine and I try to transfer my strength to her through a look. She must sense what I'm trying to do as she nods at me and gives me a small smile.

"Thanks Remy, Flack." Marx nods at them both as Chewy takes a seat in Rhodie's lap. "Savage said you had an idea shit was going South with Hammer. Was that before or after you kicked him out?" Marx says in a slightly softer voice than usual. Remy does that. She makes us less gruff and growly. Well, all of us except Switch.

Flack opens his mouth to speak, but Remy beats him to it. "It wasn't Dad. It was me. I overheard some things and told my dad about it."

We watch as she pulls her shoulders back and raises her head to look at Marx and then Savage.

"I-I don't have all the information yet, but with Wire and Chewys' help, I will. And I will kill the man that put that effing bullet in my dad."

"Good girl," Flack says at the same time as Chewy and Ana. My brothers all look a little taken aback by her words, which is funny in itself given that she said ‘effing' instead of fuck, but that doesn't stop us from banging our fists on the table to give her our support. She looks around the room, a blush growing on her cheeks. Catching her eye, I send her a wink and she smiles wide.

"What do you know so far, Rem?" Savage asks her.

"Well, you know how no one ever notices me around the compound?" She says, her voice growing stronger, eyebrows raised. Savage looks embarrassed as fuck, and so does Dex. He goes to say something, but before he can, Remy puts her hand up to stop him. "It's OK, Pres, it was my choice. It's just how I am, or was." She looks around at the DRMC men and gives us a little smile. "Anyway, I never really paid too much attention to what I heard because it was always club business, so I stayed out of it. But before the stuff with Kraykowski, I overheard Hammer. Speaking Russian." She looks at me before darting her gaze back to Savage.

"How do you know it was Russian?" Marx softly asks. It freaks me out when he speaks in a soft voice like that. But I guess it's preferable to his usual way of barking at people.

She stares at him for a moment before answering. "Because it sounds a lot like when Dex talks to his mom," All the eyes in the clubhouse shoot to Dex.

"Both my parents are Russian immigrants. All above board." He grits out. Savage places a hand on his shoulder as Marx eyes him slightly before giving him a chin lift. All the brothers know that both me and the Tombs ran prelim background checks on Savage's men before they became our allies. Nothing was flagged, but it is a wild coincidence. Especially with us trying to find a link between Hammer and the Bratva.

Remy continues talking, "No one ever notices me around the club, it's just how it is. Hammer was the same. He had started taking more and more phone calls when I was around, speaking Russian. I told my dad, and he said he'd keep an eye on him."

"When was this?" Savage prods.

"Around a month before the Kraykowski thing."

"Weren't you already Pres by that time Savage?" Marx says

"We were in the transition then. Flack was the one who led the charge in getting Hammer to step down."

"No wonder you got your ass shot," Pops pipes up, tipping his chin at Flack, who just grins back. Pops' eyes then dart to Remy "Oh, sorry girl" She smiles sweetly at him, crinkles her nose and shrugs.

"So I think we agree Hammer is fucking with us all, MC and Bratva. Around the time Remy is talking about there were three Russians at play. Roman was running the Bratva here, Ushakov was pulling strings from Russia, and Kovalev was in the skin trade. Savage, your MC under Hammer's leadership were still 1 percenters, although you never traded in skin, so if he was headed down that track he could have been in business with either of them way back then, and Roman, along with the rest of us, shut it all down. That could explain why he has a hard on for us," Dayz says, looking around the room at everyone who had a role to play.

"Motherfucker. We should have just taken him out," Savage moans as he runs a hand down his face.

"We need to find who he's working with. How does he know when you guys are on a run?" Dayz looks to the Death Riders, who look at each other before muttering "Fuck" under their breaths.

"Remy, is there anything else you can remember? Names, places, dates?" Chewy asks, her eyes extra stare-y. She does that when she's in the zone.

She shakes her head for a moment, her short blonde hair whipping around her face. Her brows are pinched in the center when she stops abruptly. "Wait, he kept saying ‘ devushka '. He said it more than once. I'm not sure what it means."

We all look toward Dex, who frowns. "It means ‘girl' or ‘the girl'. Can you remember any other words, Remy?"

She closes her eyes and I see her lips working. "‘ Devushka moy ' that's what he kept saying. He was adamant. He growled it before hanging up."

Dex curses under his breath and runs his hands through his hair. " Devushka moy means ‘the girl is mine'. What girl?"

Theories and murmurs go around the room.

Marx's whistle splits the air, gaining everyone's attention. "Looks like we have shit to sort out. Ana, if he's working with someone in the Bratva, we need to know. Savage, start cleaning house. Hammer may still have allies within your walls. Wire, Chewy and Remy, you try to figure out who this girl is. Is she someone we already saved when we shut down the trafficking ring last time, or is she someone else? Tombs brothers along with Fox, Nitro, Sniper and Tank, I need ears on the ground. What's the word on the street? We got our work cut out for us."

Chewy claps her hands, rubbing them together with a grin on her face.

"Why the fuck does she look so excited about that?" Dex says under his breath.

"Because it means me and Pops can try out some new techniques, Dex."

I watch Dex shudder and chuckle to myself.

Remy

I lean back and stretch my arms up over my head. The pull on my muscles creates a good type of ache. I've been hunched over, staring at my screen, researching anything I can think of to find even a sliver of a hint where Hammer could be hiding. Two nights ago, we found out that Ivan was Hammer's contact in the Bratva, which devastated Ana. So much so that she "went bush" as her mom says, to get her head around her friend's betrayal. Gus followed his wife to make sure she was OK, and they decided to stay a few days to decompress in Roman's cabin. Which, I have a feeling, is why all the Tombs have been hanging around the clubhouse the past two days. Gus hasn't been here to tell them to get back to the office.

With no sign of Hammer on any of the programs I am now proficient in, I instead try to relax. I've never been one to meditate, but now may be the perfect time. If I can relax my mind and think through everything I know about Hammer, I may be able to find a lead. Leaning my head back in the comfiest office chair I've ever sat in, I close my eyes and rock slightly; the movement soothing me further.

"Devochka moya, ty menya slyshish'? Ona moya" Hammer grips his phone and growls. "Fuck!"

"All good Pres?"

"What the fuck do you think, Snake? Fucking Devil's Rose MC -"

I can't make out anything else because they walk the other way down the hall. I wait a moment longer, not wanting either of them to know that I may have heard them. I'm not scared of Hammer, but I've never been fond of Carter; Snake, as he's now called. It suits him. He's as slippery and as mean as a snake. I wonder if he will leave when Hammer leaves? I shouldn't know this, but my dad and Savage are going to ask him to stand down. What he's doing, the way he wants the club running, it's dangerous. It's always been dangerous, but if he's in bed with the Russians, it'll mean he wants to get into the skin trade, and I know Savage won't let him. Well, Nat won't let Savage. She'd kill him if he tried.

Deciding the coast is clear, I move down the hall, heading for the common room. As soon as I enter, Hammer steps in front of me.

"Hey Remy Girl, what've you been doing?"

"Oh, hey Uncle Hammer. I've just been in my room, reading." I wave my Kindle at him and keep my face pleasant. His eyes dart all over my face, searching for the lie. When he's satisfied with whatever he was looking for, he takes his finger, his silver skull ring glinting in the light, running it through my bangs, sweeping them to the side. He stares at me as his finger runs down my cheek.

"Fuck, Rem, you look more and more like your mother every day. You ever think about growing your hair out?"

I take a step back, putting space between us. My movement snaps Hammer out of his thoughts, and he smiles at me, but not before I see something flash in his eyes.

"You'd look good with all this blonde hair out of your face, give everyone a chance to see how beautiful you are, doll."

"Maybe. Um, I'll think about it." I give him a smile, side step him and walk toward my dad, who's been looking over at us with a frown.

"You good baby girl? What did Hammer want?"

"I need to talk to you, Dad. Something weird is going on." He does the same thing Hammer did, scrutinizes my face. But where Hammer's felt uncomfortable, my dad's is out of concern.

"Sure thing Rem. Let's take a ride."

My body rocks a little longer, but nothing else comes to me, other than how uncomfortable I felt with Hammer in that moment. The only Death Rider's brother I ever had that feeling with was Snake. Hammer had always, until that moment, been an uncle to me. When I told my dad what happened, that's when the ball really started rolling. Savage asked Hammer to leave. He took half the MC with him, and then two months later I moved here.

With nothing helpful coming to me, I stretch, this time from side to side. My stomach lets out a groan and I remember I haven't had a lot to eat today. Since that day in the library with Jovie, I've been taking extra lunch food and sharing it with her. Her dad has continued to be late for pickup, and when I asked Jovie if he had a new job or anything she told me he doesn't have a job but he's been busy with his friends. I have a bad feeling about this, but with no proof, there's nothing I can do about the situation. I tried looking online for any information on Jovie and not a lot came up. There are no records of a Jovie Spencer anywhere.

I even spoke to Mags about Jovie. Not all the details, of course, that's not how we work. But he knows enough to know that I'm worried about leaving her with her awful father. So much so he's been pushing for us to meet up and I said yes. The feelings I have for Mags are real, deep. He's my person. He always has been. But, my growing friendship with Wire, if that's what this is, has me feeling like I'm being disloyal to Mags. I'm hoping meeting up will make my feelings for both men much clearer.

I spin my seat and then decide to head to the kitchen. I'm alone at the control center and I feel like a snack and maybe some company. I've been getting a lot better at engaging the brothers in conversation, and I've been enjoying my time with them. They're all so different. Some, like Rider, are really funny and always trying to get a rise out of his brothers. Others like Tank and Sniper are quieter. They're the ones I'd say I was closest to. At the moment, though, they'll all be in Church.

The scent of brownies or cookies wafts down the hall and I follow my nose until I'm on the other side of the large stainless steel island facing Ana's mom Debs. A brownie big enough to feed an army sitting on the counter between us.

"Mmmm, they look and smell so good!"

"Well, help yourself, kotiro ! Take one for all the hard working security team too. It'll help you relax a little." She winks at me, so I take one gratefully and let the sticky sweetness play on my tongue. It's soft, chocolatey, gooey with just the right amount of chew. In other words, it's delicious. There is an earthy hint to it as well, so it must be a secret Debs ingredient. I take another bite and try not to groan too loud. The brownie is so good I don't even realize I've closed my eyes in bliss until I open them to a glass of cold milk in front of me.

"Thank you so much, Debs. This is just what I needed."

"Been a day, huh? Tell Mama Debs all about it while I make another batch. You know what these boys are like."

I shrug, pull up a chair and tell Debs all about Jovie and my concerns. She listens intently to me, holds my hand when my lip wobbles, and gives me a hug when I tell her how powerless I feel to help. I know she's not mine, and I know I've not known her long, but somehow Jovie has burrowed her way into my heart and I really want to help her.

"Well, kotiro , I think you should do whatever you need to do to help that baby. If all we can do at the moment is make sure she's getting a good meal, then that's what we'll do." She pats my hand and goes to open her mouth to say something else when Chewy comes storming through the kitchen, heading straight through. She has brown gunk on her hands all the way up to her elbows, and the smell emanating from her is a mix of Port-a-Potty and roadkill. What the heck has she been up to?

Sharing a look with Debs, we both shrug at each other. Debs pops another slice of brownie on my plate before looking at me with raised brows. I take the plate, thanking her, then heading back to the control center. I have a dirtbag to look for.