Page 97 of Peak’s Code

"There wasn't any fine print,” Peak insisted.

"It’s in the club bylaws,” Captain said.

"Show me where it says that I have to put up with your bullshit,” Peak insisted.

Captain leaned back in his chair. "No, I don’t have to do shit because I’m the fucking president." Peak stared at him, and Captain stared back.

Finally, Peak shook his head and returned to the computer. "Asshole."

Captain smiled. "That's Prez Asshole to you." Peak's middle finger appeared over the top of the laptop, and Captain laughed. The man sitting across from him wasn't the reluctant mechanic Captain had spent years trying to drag deeper into the Grave Prowlers. No, he had changed. Peak was patched now. He was committed to the club and to his Ol’lady, Maeve. And now, when someone threatened the Grave Prowlers, Captain no longer had to manipulate the asshole into helping because Peak was already there. Which was good, because Captain had a feeling he was going to need him.

“Can we get back to what we’re going to do about the woman that Warden kidnapped?” Ruin asked.

“I didn’t fucking kidnap her,” Warden growled.

Captain sighed and looked back over at Peak. "I want you to look into Jezebel."

Peak nodded. "I want to speak to her first."

Warden frowned. "That's a mistake. She said that she’ll only talk to Captain."

"Maybe it is a mistake, but are you going to send our Prez in to talk to her without knowing if she’s a threat or not?” Peak said. "I can feel her out, and if she's innocent, I don't want us treating her like an enemy."

"And if she isn't innocent?" Warden asked.

Captain's expression hardened. "Then I’ll talk to her, and she'll be mine to deal with." No one questioned him after that. Nobody ever did when he used that voice. Captain stood. "You've got ten minutes with her, Peak."

Peak looked at him like he had lost his mind. "That's it?"

"You asked to interview her, and I’m giving you ten minutes to get it done,” Captain said. "I didn't say you could become best friends with the woman. Ten minutes should be plenty of time to assess her and then do your damn research.” The room laughed, and even Peak smiled.

“I’ll go with him to the warehouse,” Warden offered. Captain nodded and watched as the two left the clubhouse. He hoped Warden was wrong about this woman, because Captain had a feeling the moment Jezebel walked onto Grave Prowler’s property, she'd brought trouble with her, and trouble had a habit of costing good men their lives.

Captain stayed in the clubhouse long after Peak and Warden left to go to the warehouse. The laughter that had filled the room moments earlier had died, replaced by the low murmur of brothers speculating about the woman locked in the storage room at the warehouse. He let them talk because sometimes a Prez learned more by listening than speaking.

Ruin leaned back in his chair and studied him. "You seem uneasy. Is this about the woman?"

Captain snorted. "You finally figuring me out?"

"You've got that look again,” Ruin said.

"What look?"

"The one that says you're already expecting bodies to drop." Captain couldn't argue with that. He'd been doing this long enough to trust his instincts. They'd kept him alive through club wars, DEA investigations, crooked sheriffs, and one particularly nasty turf dispute that had left half the clubhouse riddled with bullet holes. His gut had never steered him wrong. And right now, his gut was screaming at him.

"I don't like trouble, and I’m worried that she’s going to give us a whole lot of it," Captain admitted.

"She's one hell of a mystery. Warden called and said that she’s still not talking. Our only hope is Peak finding something in his research,” Ruin said.

“I’m working on my own theory,” Captain said.

"What do you mean?" Ruin asked.

Captain stood and walked toward the large map mounted on the wall. Colored pins marked the Grave Prowlers' businesses, known hangouts, and stretches of road they watched closely. He tapped one finger against the Chesapeake Bay. "A woman spends two hours watching our docks and runs the second she sees our prospects. Now, she refuses to tell us why." He turned toward Ruin. "That doesn't tell me she's our problem; it tells me that she is someone else’s problem."

Silence settled over the table. Warden's voice echoed from the hallway before he appeared in the doorway. "Peak's talking to her now."

Captain nodded. "How's she acting?"