Page 23 of Snake (Road Rebels MC 3)
“You don’t need a warrant to arrest someone. You just need probable cause to bring them in for questioning about the case,” he said.
“Funny. We’ve got an entire motorcycle gang steeped in hardcore evidence, yet we’re allowing the DEA to use them to… what was it? Kill two birds with one stone.”
“It’s the DEA’s case. They’re just using our office and resources to aid them in the process,” he said.
“Then when the DEA tells me to arrest someone to bring them in for questioning, I’ll do it,” I said.
My captain’s eyes were hard on me. And that is when I realized it. Special Agent Monaco was a woman that had descended into his territory, and he was pissed about it. Pissed that a woman was bossing his ass around in his own damn precinct. I knew men like him. I was familiar with the type. And if talking back to him like this cost me my job, then so fucking be it. I wasn’t about to allow a man of his stature to bully me and push me around just because his own fucking ego was fragile.
“Is there anything else?” I asked.
My captain gave me one last look before he stalked out of my office and shut the door.
Sighing, I leaned back into my chair. How the fuck could I have missed this? That was Jace in that picture… in the middle of that damn shootout. There was no question about it. Was that what he was doing when we were dating? All the late fucking nights and the weekends he’d go missing? Was he with his club?
Was he dealing with stuff with The Road Rebels?
I had to hear it from him. I was done trying to put these measly pieces together to get a clear picture of my life. I was done trying to beat around the bush and come to conclusions without confessions. I was tired, I was pissed off, I was beaten down, and I was hurt.
If he was part of a motorcycle gang when we were dating, then I could understand why he wouldn’t tell me. I had dreams of becoming a law enforcement officer even before I met him. And him keeping it from me now would be a move he’d use to protect his club. This new information was slowly revealing a Jace I didn’t know. A Jace that was prioritizing the health and protection of someone above himself. In some twisted way, if I thought about it long enough, he had protected his club from me by keeping the secret and breaking up with me the way he did.
Holy shit, could all of this be connected?
Now I knew I needed to talk with Jace. It was the only way I would know for sure. I shut my computer down and pulled out my cell phone, then toggled through my contacts to find his phone number. I took a deep breath before I pushed the button, then I leaned back in my chair to wait.
And wait.
And wait.
“Hello?”
“Please don’t hang up,” I said.
“Laiken?”
“Jace, just… I need to ask a favor,” I said.
“Are you hurt? Is everything okay?”
No. No, everything wasn’t okay. It was less than okay. Everything was in upheaval, and I was losing my fucking mind. I was a police officer being asked to use suspicion rather than evidence to back up my fucking cases. I was a cop in love with an outlaw, and motorcycle gangs were waging war near my own fucking hometown.
“Can we meet up? Just to talk?” I asked.
“Of course we can. Did something happen at work?” Jace asked.
“I’ll see you at your place. Can you meet in, say, half an hour?”
“See you then,” he said. “Just answer me. Are you okay, Laiken?”
I drew in a deep breath as I sighed, relinquishing myself to the tears that were brewing behind my eyes.
“No,” I said as I shook my head. “No, Snake. I’m really not.”
Chapter 21
Snake
Holy shit, did she just call me ‘Snake’? I froze on the other end of the line as I heard something akin to a sniffle. Was Laiken crying? Holy shit, what the fuck was happening? My mind was spiraling dangerously out of control as all the balls I was juggling slowly began to hit the floor. There was no doubt in my mind that she had figured it out. Laiken had figured out I was part of The Road Rebels before I could distance myself enough from her.
Or worse, before I could tell her myself.
I stood back from the rest of the group as they made their way to the lodge. Mac looked back at me, throwing me a curious glance before they all made their way inside. I turned my back to the lodge as the silence on the other end of the line consumed me. She still wanted to talk? After the information she had just found out, she still wanted to meet up and talk?
I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. I could blow her off and block her number. That would certainly put distance between us. I could continue to push her away until she got the picture. But if she knew I was associated with The Road Rebels, then that meant she probably knew where our shop was. Where our lodge was.
Where our compound was.
“Snake?” Laiken asked. “Or should I call you Jace?”
My throat ran dry as I cleared it.
“I’m not sure if meeting up to talk’s a good idea, Laiken,” I said.
“Why not?”
“Come on. Don’t be stupid. You’ve never been stupid. If you don’t count last night at the bar,” I said.
“I wasn’t being stupid. I was being… desperate,” she said.
“You? Desperate? Who the hell are you and where the fuck is Laiken?” I asked.
“There are plenty of sides to me you haven’t seen. Most of them didn’t even arise until you threw me out of your life.”
“Are we really gonna travel do
wn this road again? Because we’re definitely not meeting up if that’s the topic of conversation.”
“It’s not, trust me.”
I knew this was a bad idea. I knew that sitting down with Laiken would be dangerous. She could be luring me into a trap. She could be bugged or wired. She could be working directly alongside the DEA to take every single one of our asses down. When it came down to it, Laiken was a cop, and I was a criminal. It was her duty to put shitbags like me behind bars. I ran my hand down my face as I walked towards my bike, my body drawn to the idea of seeing her again while my mind screamed at me to hang up.
“This is really important, Jace,” Laiken said. “This goes beyond my job or your affiliation with… whoever. I need to speak with you. In person. I’ll even let you pat me down if it makes you feel better.”
“Might make you feel better,” I said, grinning.
“Can the jokes for another time.”
“So serious,” I said.
“You’re fucking right I am. I want answers, and if you don’t want to give them to me, then I’ve already proven to you what I can find if I dig hard enough.”
“Is that a threat?” I asked.
“It’s a promise,” she said.
I looked back at the lodge, and I could see the guys staring out at me. Going back in there and answering questions as to who the hell I was talking to didn’t sound all too pleasant. In fact, I would’ve rather slept on a bed of rusty nails than done that shit. So, I figured talking to Laiken wouldn’t be so bad after all.
At least she’d let me pat her down.
“All right,” I said. “Meet me at my place in thirty.”
“See you soon.”
I hopped on my bike and rode back to my house. I knew the guys were going to be pissed me with leaving, but I didn’t care. They told me to be back by nightfall, and the sun was still shining as bright as my pale ass. This would give me a chance to really size up Laiken. Pick her brain about what the police department knew about us. Who their targets were and what the hell they were going to be doing about The Devil Saints.
