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“First order of business is the three men you see before you. They want to wear our jackets. Prospecting for Satan’s Pride is not to be taken lightly,” he says, addressing the three men. “When you came to me, I gave you a Pride brother to meet with. Each of them has come back to me and said you’re worth the time and effort. Before we put it to a vote, I ask if this is still what you want. If you don’t, no hard feelings. You leave, we’re done. Keep in mind that a prospect’s time isn’t his own. You belong to the club, and we’ll use you as we see fit.” Guard speaks the truth. I didn’t mind being a prospect, but I came from the army life, and I knew how to take an order. For others, that’s a huge problem.
“I’m in,” all three say.
“Fine. You’re done for now,” Guard says. “Wait for me outside.” He pauses while the guys exit, then says, “Demon, you take Ben. Saint, you keep your eye on Aaron, and War, you’ve got Owen.” He keeps his eyes glued to War. “Keep watch. That cloud is dark. I want him kept so busy that he doesn’t have time to do anything but work and sleep.”
Every prospect meets with Guard before they even get the opportunity to prospect. I often wonder what it is that makes him take on the men that he does. Men like Priest and Wildcard and me. It’s like he sees something in us that we can’t see for ourselves, until one day, we do. How the hell did we get so lucky? Best not to question it, but pay it forward. That’s why each one of us gives all we’ve got for the prospects coming into the club. We haven’t lost a brother yet. I’m not sure if that’s dumb luck or pure tenacity on our part not to fail the men coming in. Either way, it makes us stronger as a unit.
“Second item is an update on the Jessop situation. Nathan and Orion have been conversing back and forth with the guy. He’s made calls to make sure Nate’s company is legit and Orion is tracking his emails, phone calls, and anything else we can get our hands on. It’s a twenty-four-hour-a-day job, and we’re pulling Wildcard from his regular duties for a while to help out,” Guard announces.
“How close are we to closing this shit down?” Demon asks.
“Not as close as we’d like. Jessop is apprehensive, and he knows all too fucking well that a trip to the United States is risky. The dangling carrot has to be big enough to want to bite into for him to make his move,” Guard says.
Risk steps forward. “Here’s some good news. I just got word that Jessop has made direct contact with Reno Viale. He wants to deal with Reno as his partner. Reno knows his end game and has insisted on meeting prior to moving forward with his half of the money in hand.”
“I can’t see him giving in that easily,” I say. I fucking wish he would, but Jessop picked Moldova for a reason. He doesn’t have any intention of spending the rest of his days in a prison cell.
“Dante and Orion have it worked out. We’re bringing in a third buyer. We gotta make it look enticing to the bastard,” Risk says.
I look over at Orion, who has a sinister smile and is nodding his head. I’m fucking glad he’s on our side. Orion’s gruff and burly, but there’s so much more to him than meets the eye. He’s a cunning, self-taught hacker who exceeds anything you can imagine in the way of technology. He’s also a lethal fighter where the Pride is concerned and has no problem ending a man’s life if it’s to protect one of his own.
“Who’s this other buyer?” War asks.
“One of Reno’s allies. We just got his last name. Cassini. That’s all we need for now,” Risk replies.
“I want five minutes before we hand him over to the cops,” I tell them.
“That’s not safe,” Guard says. “Best plan of action is to get him behind bars.”
“He needs to confess that the fraud that was committed was all on him. He needs to clear Francesca and her family,” I remind him.
“Isn’t it more important that he pays for his crime?” Priest asks.
“You don’t see what this has done to Francesca. I see it every day. She’s constantly looking around to see if anyone recognizes her. She hides away in the house, turning off all the lights. She has nightmares of losing everything her grandfather worked for. She worries constantly that the employees of these companies won’t have jobs, even though the CEOs say that things are getting better. She knows it could all change at a moment’s notice. I need a confession!” I demand.
“Yeah, but—” Priest begins.
I stare Priest down. “If it were happening to Quinn, would prison be enough?” I look at each of my brothers. “Or Vi? Izzy? Camille? Any of them?” Then I look directly at Guard. “Or Ava.” I hit a nerve. A tendon in Guard’s neck flexes.
“A confession it is,” Guard agrees. “We’re going to have to revise our plan. The confession has to be made to someone other than a Pride member. Jessop will know we’re behind it and out of spite will drag Francesca further into the hole.” Guard turns to Risk. “See if you can get an in-person meeting with Reno.” He sighs.
“We’ll owe them a marker,” War says. He hates owing markers. You never know what’ll be asked of the club, and as a rule, War hates surprises.
“I saved Sebastian’s wife from becoming a sex slave,” Ghost says. “I think we’ve got that covered.”
War nods.
“We’re done for now.” Everyone begins to file out. Guard calls out to me. “Hold up.” I hang back and wait. “I want you to be present at that meeting. Likelihood that it’ll be in Philadelphia. I know you don’t want to leave Francesca, but the message will be more convincing coming from you.”
“Just say when and where,” I confirm. I’m already thinking of a way to get Francesca to stay with Izzy for the night. “I can’t wait for this to be over. Francesca needs to be free of this bastard and put this all behind her.”
“Listen, I can sense your urgency, but this guy is smart. He’s avoided getting caught up to now. He has an escape plan already mapped out. We have to stay one step ahead of him at all times, and that means you’ve got to slow the fuck down. I’m putting you with Steady for a while. He’s your shadow until this is over,” he orders.
I know better than to argue with him. Steady is the guy who always maintains his composure. I don’t know how he fucking does it. Even when Camille’s family was running her ragged and stealing from her, he kept his cool. Well, except once, and even then, it was a controlled anger.
“Got it. I won’t let you down.” I let out a heavy breath.
His hand lands on my shoulder. “I know you won’t. We’ve come this far. Now, slow and steady is the way to go.” He smirks. “No pun intended.” That’s when Steady walks in, and we both laugh.
