Page 89 of Vengeance

Peak took a seat near the back of the room, resting his boots on the rung of the chair in front of him. He kept his expression neutral, but his instincts were screaming at him that trouble was brewing. Whatever this was about, it wasn’t small.

Captain rapped his knuckles against the table. “Let’s get started,” he ordered. The room quieted instantly.

“Territories have been getting tested,” Captain continued. “Nothing overt yet, but we’ve had unfamiliar bikes sniffing around the southern edge of our grounds with Delaware plates on them.” A low growl rolled through the room.

Peak was barely listening. Territory disputes were nothing new to the Grave Prowlers. Clubs postured, and lines got crossed. Blood was spilled. It was the cycle—a vicious one. The guys went back and forth and decided to send Warden and a few of the guys to check out the other club. They needed to know what or who they were dealing with before things got out of hand.

Captain leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled. “Now for the real issue, why we’re all here.” Here it comes. Peak felt as though he was holding his breath waiting for his Prez to give them all bad news.

“There was a woman picked up two nights ago,” Captain said, “down near the docks.” Peak sat forward in his seat. “She wasn’t trespassing or stealing anything. She was just watching,” Captain went on. “Which raises questions.”

“Who grabbed her?” someone asked from the back corner of the room.

“Prospect patrol,” Warden answered. “She bolted when she saw the kuttes, as though she knew who the Grave Prowlers were and wanted out of there.” Smart woman. Most of the guys in the club were pretty intimidating—even the prospects. Whoever the woman was, she was smart enough to try to take off before being brought in by them.

“Name?” Captain asked.

Warden shifted. “Maeve Carter.” The name hit Peak harder than he expected. Not because it meant anything to him, but because of the way Warden said it. He was being careful, measured even, and Peak wondered why that was. A part of him already knew this wasn’t going to be a simple task. Captain wasgoing to ask him to research Maeve, and he knew that telling him no wouldn’t go over well.

“We need to figure out what her story is and how to handle her,” Captain said, eyes flicking to Peak. “That’s where you come in.”

Peak leaned back, folding his arms. “You said you needed to figure out how to handle her. That doesn’t automatically make her my problem.”

Captain’s mouth twitched. “Funny. I remember you being the best problem-solver we’ve got.”

Peak clenched his jaw. “I’m not your hacker.”

“Tonight, you’re our researcher,” Captain countered. “Different title. Same skill set.” A few chuckles rippled through the room as the men around the table stared him down.

Peak shot Captain a look that promised payback later. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” Captain said. “Who she is. Why she was snooping around our territory down by the docks, and whether she’s a liability.”

“And if she is?” Peak asked.

Warden answered that one. “Then she becomes my problem, and I deal with her.” Peak didn’t like the sound of that. He never liked it when Warden had to deal with any woman.

“Where is she now?” Peak asked.

“Locked room in the back,” Warden said. “Under guard.”

Peak stood. “Then I want to talk to her.” The room erupted in chaos with men shouting at Captain that that wasn’t how things were done. He knew that, but if he was going to research this woman, he wanted to have a conversation with her first.

Captain raised a hand, silencing them. His gaze stayed locked on Peak. “You think that’s wise?”

“No,” Peak said honestly. “But I think it’s necessary. If you want me to research her, then I need to do this my way.” Silence stretched between them, thick and loaded.

Finally, Captain nodded. “You get ten minutes with her, and Warden stays close.”

Warden pushed off the wall. “Already planned on it,” he growled. From the look on his face, the club’s Enforcer thought that Peak’s idea was a bad one.

Peak stood to leave the clubhouse, Warden hot on his heels. “Ten minutes,” Captain shouted after them.

Peak grabbed his laptop from his saddlebag and headed toward the back hallway, Warden’s heavy footsteps following him. The door was guarded by two prospects who straightened when they saw Warden coming.

“Open it,” Warden ordered. The door creaked as it swung inward.

Maeve Carter sat on a metal chair, hands cuffed in front of her, dark hair falling loose around her shoulders. She looked up when they entered, her eyes sharp and unafraid—too unafraid for someone in her position. That alone told Peak this woman was trouble, and not the helpless kind—the dangerous kind.