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Leo cleared his throat. “So… Is it your own finger, or hers?”

I couldn’t help but crack a grin as I climbed the stairs. There was scuffling behind me and a few muttered words. We’re walking into God knows what, and our SAA is here cracking butthole jokes.

This isn’t how I intended to spend my day.

We took seats around Deacon’s huge dining room table. Judge sat with my mother and Skins across the table from Optimus and me, while Deacon and my other brothers leaned against the walls and furniture.

I eyed Judge’s badge. “What division are you with?” He wasn’t just a police officer, I knew that much.

“Federal.”

I raised my eyebrow. “As in ‘Bureau of Investigation?’”

He dipped his chin in acknowledgment.

Skins was the only one of the three still dressed in his club gear. With the tattoos and the look he had going, I couldn’t imagine him in anything else. But I knew he was one of them too, or he wouldn’t be sitting here.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” My anger was building by the second and I was struggling to keep it at bay.

I was thankful when Optimus took over.

“You asked us for help. You came to us. Rose risked her life to get your daughter back. We risked ours going in after her.” Op’s fist was clenched tightly on the table. “Now explain to me why the‘F-B-fucking-I’is asking for our help to bring down a group of dangerous douchebags when y’all could blow the fuckers up and sweep that shit under the massive rug that you callthe system.”

I had to laugh. Op was angry and where I was losing my mind trying to get my head around what the fuck was going on, his shit was on point.

My mom twisted her hands nervously, but Judge just nodded his head.

“You’re right, that’s exactly what should have been done.”Well, that was unexpected.“I’ve been doing this for a long time. I've been undercover for longer than you’ve been alive.” He scrubbed his hand over his beard. “Sending people in after Lane had too many risks. We’ve spent so long getting to where we are that the possibility of them putting two and two together and finding out who we really were wasn’t one we could take. We gave up seeing our families every day, fuck, even once a year, so we could make a difference in this country. To see that destroyed in one swoop…” Judge shook his head.

I saw his position. These people gave up their lives in order to lessen crime. They might not get it all, but they did enough to make a difference. The Brothers by Blood dealt in weed here and there, some guns on occasion, but we discouraged the hard stuff. It changed people, it made them angry and violent and feigning for their next fix, which meant they would do anything to get it.

Anything.

And that wasn’t what we were about. We believed in family and the brotherhood. Helping each other stand when we were weak. That’s how we made it through. Not some white crystals that removed your problems for a few hours, only to have them come back, even more fierce and aggressive than before.

Clearing his throat, Leo broke the silence that had filled the room. “What exactly is it that you do?”

“We remove the dirt. It’s obviously not news to you that there are clubs out there trafficking women and filling the streets with toxic substances,” Skins explained, speaking up for the first time. “Sending in undercover agents isn't new. Which unfortunately meant that it was getting harder and harder to get men inside without someone within the club to vouch for them.”

This was true. A lot of clubs now made it compulsory for new members to be known by someone within the club before they can be brought into the fold. Even with a man like Wrench, who had the abilities to find extensive information on people, there was still a possibility of deception.

“Starting a club of our own took away a lot of the suspicion. We have authority to make deals with other clubs. We don't care much for the little people, we use the information to take down the head of the chain.” Judge talked casually like he was sitting at the table with a group of friends, discussing the latest movies or television shows. “That way, we know they are dealing with so many different clubs or gangs that the blame could fall on any one of them.”

It was smart, I had to give them that.

Putting an agent in a club was dangerous because the majority of the members could have known each other for years—since they were kids even. The finger would so easily be pointed at the member with the least connections.

“And Jackie’s place in this whole thing?” Op asked the question I couldn't.

I wanted to know, but I knew the answer may be something I didn't want to hear.

Judge looked to my mom who nodded before taking a large breath. “I was initially sent to the Brothers by Blood to get information. We had word that drugs were coming in from Mexico, but they weren’t crossing the border. They were taking them out on boats and bringing them into small ports on the coast of Florida that weren’t as vigilant, then tracking them up through Alabama.”

I noticed the difference in her as she spoke. This wasn’t the woman I thought I knew. This was the Federal Agent, who knew exactly what she was doing and was sure about her facts. She held herself a little stronger, more sure of herself, like this is what she was made for. This was who she was.

“At that time, the Brothers by Blood was the biggest and most well know club in that state. And we figured if someone were pushing shit through, it would be you or you would know about it.”

I saw Optimus nod out of the corner of my eye. It surprised me. It was well before our time. “They knew about it,” he confirmed. “But it wasn’t us.”

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