“Of Kivisto?”
He nods.
I contemplate that before knee-jerking into another argument. Nero has a reason for everything he does. I can see where he is going with this. I’m not convinced, but wave a hand for him to explain.
“Blaze looked into him. The bastard’s father is the head of the Kivisto family.”
“Why the fuck is the son of a mafia boss coming to another city to stab a stripper?”
“If he’s working with a mafia family, we need to tread lightly. The last thing I want is to be pulled into a war with people like that. Mafia menare a pain in the ass, all retribution and shooting shit up for no reason other than someone called their dog a bad name.”
I can’t help but laugh at that. It’s so true. They’re big fucking babies.
“It’s likely what Storm wants,” Nero goes on, keeping his tone serious. “To get us embroiled in something we have no fucking right or desire to start.”
Shit, I never looked at it that way. “We find him, we follow him, then we make a move?”
Nero nods. “I’m not taking these decisions lightly, Rebel. You don’t like it, but what I’m doing is to protect the club. I’ve underestimated how low that slimy fucker is prepared to go. He’s sending others after us because he is too chicken shit to do it himself. We need to find out who is backing him and get ahead of that. Isolate him, take away his safety net.”
Makes sense, even if it infuriates me.
The door opens and Blaze comes in. He has a tablet in one hand and a takeout coffee cup in the other. He dips his chin and takes his assigned seat at the table.
Since we lost Ghost, the man who used to do all the surveillance and gather digital information for us, Blaze has stepped up. He could do it before, but Nero relied on Ghost for more covert shit.
Nero’s little brother Phoenix is Ghost’s best friend and business partner, so that mellowed Nero into letting him go without the usual shit that comes with leaving the MC. That being death, or the ruthless ejection Storm received.
“Anything?” Nero asks, cutting off my memories of Storm being kicked out and how it went down.
“I’ve tracked the car he was using, abandoned by the rail yards.”
“That’s close,” Nero muses.
“Yeah. Makes me wonder what else he had planned,” Blaze says with a deep exhale.
“The plan was to kill Ellie, throw us into chaos and disappear. He didn’t plan on Charley,” Nero says.
“What about Charley?” Nashville walks in.
Just last night he claimed her as his old lady. I approved it at the hospital rather than having an official vote at church.
We don’t have time for shit like that right now, it’s an outdated ritual Nero needs to wipe out. If the brothers want to claim women, why get permission?
My mind goes back to the interaction last night. Despite the infuriating exchange, it’s undeniable Kinsley is hot. She’s got a mouth on her and fighting skills. And is off-limits. She’s related to the priest across the street.
He might accept us and allow us to take part in neighborhood events, but he doesn’t agree with what we do. One thing I’ve learned, priests are good at turning a blind eye if it benefits them. We bring a lot of money their way when we run food drives or organize charity shit for them.
This is our way of having the church’s support and, when required, their loyalty.
I missed what Nashville was saying, and Razer and Beast arriving while lost in thoughts about someone who isn’t supposed to be in my head.
Fury and Stryker follow the others in as I pick up on them talking about how Nashville’s new woman attacked Kivisto last night, stopping him from killing Ellie.
“Remind me not to play frisbee with her,” Razer laughs. “That was a hell of a shot.”
There is a low rumble of laughter, but it fades to the seriousness of the situation. As I listen to my fellow officers fill us in on what has happened overnight, my fists clench, knowing Storm is still evading us.
There is some confusion and dissent over Nero’s idea to track Kivisto, leading us back to Storm, but having discussed it before they all got here, Nero and I present a united front and talk them through what we’re going to do.
