My assumption that Judge had been the only link that tied the two men to us was wrong. Both men shook our hands, but when Theo reached my brother, he grinned. “Thanks again, Gray.”
Grayson gave him a flicked salute. “Always a pleasure. Let’snotdo this again soon.”
“Come by for dinner before you take off. Dahlia and the kids would love it.”
“I will.”
I waited until Theo and Luca were out of earshot and nearly to the door before asking, “You know him?”
“Yup,” Grayson said.
“So you know he’s?—”
“Yup.”
“And you tipped him?—”
“Yup.” He looked at me. “Not everything is black and white.” He gave a pointed glance toward Judge and then a somehow more pointed one at Rhys. “But you already know that.”
I did. I really did.
“Speaking of…” At the change in my brother’s tone and body language, I braced. I probably didn’t brace enough for the bombshell he dropped when he said, “I lied the other night.”
“About?”
Because if he says he’s actually going to investigate everybody after all, I will purple his nurples so bad, they’ll never recover. They’ll fall off from blood loss.
“Nash.”
At his one word, it wasn’t just me who braced. Rhys went rigid beside me, but Judge was basically a statue.
“What do you mean?” the biker asked, his tone eerily calm.
“He’s not dead. Once he found himself completely cut out of his own organization, he knew it was a matter of time before he did end up in pieces spread across the country. He’s the one who tipped us off about the filament shipments.”
“That fucker is still alive and breathing?”
“Breathing? Yes. Alive? Only to work everyone’s last nerve. He’s less than pleased about his relocation. Apparently, working overnights at a convenience store and living in a studio apartment isn’t the grandeur he’d expected when he flipped on the Irish. Not that he’d offered much. By the time he knew what was happening, his throne of garbage had already been usurped, and he had no current info to offer beyond the filament.”
“That’s fuckin’ karma if I’ve ever heard it,” Judge said.
“After being such a scumbag, I would think he’d enjoy the simple life in West Virginia. Close to the Mothman Museum andeverything.” Grayson shrugged as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Anyway, I should head out.”
“Same,” Judge muttered distractedly. That was as much of a goodbye as we got before he hustled from the room, pulling his phone out as he went.
I stood in stunned silence that my brother pretended not to notice when he pulled me into an awkward sibling hug. He shook Rhys’s hand and walked out while whistling a jaunty tune that said he knew exactly what he’d just done, and he wouldn’t lose a second’s sleep over it.
“I’m going to pretend none of that happened,” I told Rhys once it was just the two of us.
“Probably for the best, hellcat.”
I assumed we would be leaving, too. I was exhausted. Wired. Sore. More exhausted. And completely overwhelmed.
We didn’t head for the door, though.
Rhys prodded me forward until we were at the bar. I reached for a stool, but my fingers barely grazed it as he continued moving me until we were behind it.
“Is this another training session, barman?” I asked. “Because I’m pretty sure I’ve already proved I’m a kickass bartender. I can even whip up a Rusty Nail if you want.”
