Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83777 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83777 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“So, she was out when Maddox showed up.”
“Yeah. Had no idea what happened. Just knew her partner was dead, and the girls were gone.”
Memphis turned to me with a scowl. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“He used the time to cover their tracks and move the girls.” I shook my head, “God, this motherfucker.”
“What about the night at the Vault?” Grim asked. “Where was he then?”
“Let me see.” After a few strokes of his keyboard, Shep let out a breath and announced, “He was on patrol in that sector, parked less than half a mile away.”
“You gotta be fucking kidding me.”
“So, he’s deeper in this trafficking bullshit than we thought?” Grim asked.
“Yeah, and he’s out there trying to pin this shit on us.”
“So, what are we going to do about it?”
“We gotta turn the tables on him.”
“But how?”
“Right now, we have bits and pieces. We gotta figure out exactly how this all fits together and get it into the right hands.”
And with that, we buckled in for the night. We spent hours on end searching for anything that could help us build a case against Maddox. Every click, every file, and every log entry was another nail in his coffin, and we were going to bury him with it.
20
DEVIN
“Did you see the news?”
“Yes, Mother. I saw it.”
“Those are some pretty serious allegations, Devin.”
“I’m aware.”
“Do you think it’s true?”
“No, I don’t, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.” I let out a breath and tried to fight back the tears. I was a mess. I’d been a mess since Brian threatened to take the kids, and it only got worse when I saw the news about Fury. “What am I going to do?”
“Have you talked to Jameson about this?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
"I don’t know. I guess I was waiting for him to come to me and explain what was going on.”
“Hmmm, I don’t think this is a wait around and find out kind of thing, sweetheart.” Her motherly concern was shining through as she said, “He’s a big part of your life right now. He’s in your home. Around your children. You have a right to ask what the hell is going on.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“And why not?”
“If I ask him about it, he might think I’m accusing him or that I think the stories are true.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“But it’s true, and you know it. And the timing of all this couldn’t be worse.”
“What do you mean?”
“Brian found out that I was back with Jameson and threatened to sue for full custody if I didn’t break things off with him.”
“He can’t force you to do that.”
“But he can.” My stomach turned to knots as I told her, “He said that I was putting the kids in danger by having him around, and right now, there’s not a judge in the world who wouldn’t agree with him.”
“Oh, honey.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
I felt like the floor beneath me was crumbling apart, and I didn’t know how to stop it. Jameson had been so good. He made me feel like I was his everything.
I felt it when he touched me and when he talked to me, and the way he was always thinking of me.
The kisses.
The flowers.
The crazy snacks.
And the late-night texts.
I didn’t want to lose that. I didn’t want to lose him.
Mom seemed to sense my unease and said, “It’s going to be okay.”
“I don’t know. This is a lot. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Brian wasn’t behind this whole mess with Jameson and trafficking investigation.”
“You think?”
“It would be just like him to try something like that.”
“It’s certainly a possibility.”
“I feel like I’m barely keeping it together.”
“Oh, sweetheart. I know all of this is hard, and Brian certainly doesn’t make it any easier. But you aren’t alone in this. We’re here, and we’ll do whatever we can to help.”
“I don’t want to drag you into this.”
“You’re my daughter, Devin. I’m already in it.”
“This is so bad. I can’t imagine what Jameson is going through right now. I know he’s terrified he’ll lose the club and everything he’s worked for.”
“He won’t.”
“But what if he does? And what if Brian actually tries to take the kids from me?”
“That’s not going to happen,” Mom replied with such confidence that I wanted to believe her. “You’re going to have to stop with all the what-ifs and face this thing head-on.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
I brought my knees up to my chest and sighed. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Do you love him?”
“Yeah,” I whispered. “I do.”
“Then you have to trust him until he gives you a reason not to.”
“I hate this.” My voice was barely there. “What if I’m the reason he loses everything?”
“And what if you’re the reason he doesn’t? Either way, you need to talk to him. You need to tell him what’s going on with Brian, and you need to give him a chance to explain what’s going on with the club and these allegations.”