“Why?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Fuck.” I shook my head. There was no way I could put her in danger again, not after I’d just promised myself I’d never do it again. “I can’t bring her.”
“Listen, Ford,” he said slowly, “I don’t want the girl hurt, so I have a plan to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“I can’t bring her. Not after what I did, dragging her into an ambush.”
“You’re going to have to, son. This is an order from the council.”
I stared at him silently for a long moment.
This was what it came down to in every biker’s life. Your loyalty to the club would come up against your loyalty to just about everything else, and you’d have to quickly figure out what kind of man you were. I’d never betray my club, but I’d also never betray Caralee.
I believed Larkin when he said that they had a way to try to keep her safe during the meeting. But even with that in place, I wasn’t sure it was a good move. I understood that it was necessary to meet with Jetter, to try and get the drugs back. We needed to sit down at the negotiation table with the Snakes before our clubs destroyed each other and there was nothing left.
Jetter held the key to that negotiation. And Caralee was the key to Jetter.
The whole thing was fucked. And more lives were at stake than just Caralee’s and my own. The whole damn chapter was in danger because of her. I had a big hand in that, a responsibility to see our club through this fucking mess.
Loyalty to your club above all else.
Except Caralee was a part of my club now.
I nodded at Larkin. “Tell me your plan.”
He began to speak, and I listened, trying to keep the warring ideas in my mind at bay.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Caralee
Ford looked at me, frowning. “You don’t have to do this, Caralee.”
“Yes, I do.”
I looked out across the construction site, butterflies churning in my stomach.
Yesterday, Ford had come back from the clubhouse and explained to me Larkin’s plan. At first I wasn’t sure, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought about how I had dragged his whole club into a war they had nothing to do with, the more I knew I had to do what I could to help.
Even if I was acting as bait.
Ford, for his part, said that it was my choice. He said he would never bring me into danger again, never force me to do something I didn’t want to do. I believed him, but I also knew that his club needed this from me.
And so I said I’d do it. Even when he warned me against it, asked me to reconsider, I knew it was the right thing to do.
Which was easy at the time. But standing in that construction site the next day only made me realize how far out of my depth I was.
“Let’s go,” Ford grunted.
We headed forward toward the spot where the deal was going down. Clutch, Spoil, Noble, Thade, and Larkin all walked with us, carrying serious weaponry.
Ahead, we saw Jetter and his people. They were standing near their bikes, but they weren’t heavily armed. Jetter was there, along with his short henchman, plus a few other club members. I didn’t recognize any of them.
We stopped not too far away.
“Good to see you, Larkin,” Jetter called out.
“We brought the girl. Now let’s talk about the drugs,” Larkin said.
“Not one for small talk?” Jetter laughed. He gestured at one of his guys, and the man brought out a briefcase. “Got the drugs right here.”
“What do you want for them?”
“Money.”
“How much?”
“Thirty grand.”
Larkin laughed. “We all know the street value of that much heroin is around ten. You want three times that?”
“You know this isn’t about the street value anymore. You want this shipment to prove that the girl didn’t steal it. I get that.”
“Thirty grand is too much. Fifteen.”
Jetter laughed. “This isn’t a negotiation. The price is thirty. If you want the drugs, pay the price.”
The whole time Jetter spoke, he was staring directly at me. It was creepy, totally unnerving. I had no clue what I was doing there or why he’d requested me, since all he was doing was talking about selling the drugs. And yet he wouldn’t stop looking at me. I had a creepy feeling running down my spine.
“We’ll talk it over,” Larkin said and then turned to the group. “Well?” he asked softly. The Rebels were far enough away that they wouldn’t hear.
“Feels weird,” Ford said. “Why did he want Caralee to come along?”
“Yeah, seems messed up,” Clutch said.
“Thirty is way too much,” Spoil added.
Larkin nodded. “Almost like he doesn’t really want to sell.”
“So what is this then?” Ford asked.
The sound of a roaring engine answered his question. We all looked up and saw a huge armored truck tear around the corner of the construction site, barreling directly for us.