Page 12 of Archer (Dirty Misfits MC 3)
“We got a lot of work ahead of us,” I murmured.
Cole held up his finger. “You know, it takes a lot of fucking balls to simply walk into a club, demand to see the owners, and then tossing money down on the table like it’s nothing.”
Tanner furrowed his brow. “I was sitting over here thinking exactly the same thing. Business sure as hell doesn’t work like that.”
Finn drew in a breath through his nose. “What if they have someone on the inside?”
Brooks blinked. “The inside of what?”
Finn shrugged. “The strip clubs, my dude. What if there’s someone on the inside filtering information to them, or maybe doing small things here and there to sabotage the strip club so it makes the owners more willing to sell the place off?”
I nodded slowly. “Then, they swoop in with a ‘holier than thou’ offer to take the entire place off their hands—along with the problems—and they look like the heroes.”
Brooks folded his hands together on top of the table. “All right. Suppose that’s what’s happening—which we don’t actually know, but we’ll go with it. What’s in it for the people who are syphoning them information?”
I shrugged. “If I were a stripper and I had just watched them make the kind of example out of Josie that just happened? The simple idea of not ending up like her would do it for me.”
We all looked around at one another and I could tell that the theory registered well with the guys. And while I don’t always want to toot our own conglomerate horn, we were usually right about this kind of stuff. We were able to think like them because only a few actions and morals we had set up in our crew separated us from those animals.
And when no one objected, Brooks proceeded. “Okay, so. We have a working theory that seems more than plausible. How do we tackle this issue head-on, then?”
Tanner chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Surveillance?”
Brooks shook his head. “Too out in the open. You know they’ll be looking over their shoulder, especially since they probably know it was one of our own that took Josie to the hospital.”
Porter nodded. “Someone was watching us from an alley across the street. They even knew what room we were in. Which floor to look up to.”
“Jesus,” Finn murmured.
I shrugged. “What if we send someone in to tap their phones or something? Surely, those strip clubs have off hours where no one’s around.”
Brooks pointed at me. “That could work.”
Porter clapped his hands. “I got it.”
All eyes were on him as he stood to his feet. “We plant someone inside at the club—maybe this club they’re about to purchase or something—and they can syphon us information.”
Brooks grinned. “Play their own game. It’s ballsy, and I like it.”
Cole crossed his arms. “It might be the kind of play they aren’t expecting since they always seem to underestimate us.”
I set my chair back down on all fours. “That’s true. But who the hell are we going to find that’s willing to go undercover?”
And when they all paused before looking at me, I shook my head. “No.”
Brooks sighed. “Archer.”
I pointed at him. “No. It’s not happening, you got that?”
Cole shrugged. “It’s not like we’d be asking you to go in there.”
I gnashed my teeth together. “I’d be the one going in there before her. Josie’s off limits.”
Finn chuckled. “Says who?”
I glared at him. “Says the man who’s taken her well-being into my custody. She’s healing from a massive beatdown. You really want to take a woman like that, who needs fucking bedrest, and throw her back into a situation like this? One that could get her killed if someone found out what she was doing?”
Brooks slowly stood. “As much as I hate it, she’s our best bet.”
I shot him a look. “Then, why don’t we throw Astrid out onto the table and see how you like it?”
He growled at me. “Don’t you dare do that.”
I scoffed. “Why? Because she’s your sister? Or because you don’t like the idea of dangling someone you care for as bait while you’re more than willing to throw someone you don’t care about under the bus?”
“Enough!” Porter roared.
My nostrils flared with anger as I slowly sank into my seat. I felt Brooks’ eyes on me as he sat down himself, but Porter stayed standing as his eyes volleyed between the two of us.
“You two good?” he asked.
I snickered. “I’ll be better when we find someone who can actually stand on their own two feet without pain medication to do this job.”
Brooks chuckled. “I didn’t say we’d throw her in there tomorrow. We have to wait until the heat dies down a bit. At least, until she’s healed enough to cover up healing bruises with makeup.”
I shook my head. “Fuck you all for even insinuating this shit.”
