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Ace doesn’t miss a beat and shakes his head, but I know that name. I met the woman and helped her clean her house. “Nope. Should I know her?”
“According to her, she’s Braden’s fiancé and has been for a few years now.” Doherty laughs. “I’ll bet that comes as a surprise to Mrs. Braden.”
“Might come as a surprise to her, too,” I snarl at the cop, angry on Kathy’s behalf. She’s a nice woman put in a position she doesn’t deserve by a scumbag.
To his credit, Doherty’s smile fades and he nods before turning back to Ace. “Either way, she’s calling, and she’s insistent, and I can’t say Mrs. Braden isn’t too happy about our perceived indifference either. Something needs to be done, Ace.”
“We need more time, Doherty. Braden’s put himself in a really fucked up spot, double-crossing us and the Iron Kings. If I hand him over to you now, he’s dead by the end of week anyway, and that’s only if you can scoop up Hector and his boys by then. Any progress on re-arresting them?”
Doherty’s shoulders fell. “Not really.”
“That’s what I thought. I need to know every fucking thing Braden knows, and then I’ll figure out what to do with him.”
Doherty’s eyes widen. “That’s not what we agreed on, Ace.”
“We didn’t agree on shit. I told you I had him in respect of our relationship, so you wouldn’t waste time looking for his remains. Tell the people what they need to hear, and I’ll keep you informed.”
Knowing he was beat, Doherty nods and ambles back to his patrol car before slowly rolling out of the Ace Motors parking lot.
We all stare after the patrol car until it disappears from view just to make sure he doesn’t swing around and interrupt Club business.
Ace says, “To The Chamber. We need to settle this with Braden.”
“Sooner rather than later,” Coop adds, leading the way through the garage and to the hidden metal door that takes us to The Chamber.
“Oh, God, I thought you’d forgotten about me,” Braden snivels as soon as he sees Coop. “Uhm, what’s going on?” he asks when he spots the rest of the MC.
"We're here to talk, Frank. That's all," Coop says in a voice that brooks no argument.
Frank nods and swallows hard before asking, "What do you want to talk about?"
"Your betrayal," Ace says in a dangerous tone. "You went behind our backs and made a deal with the Kings."
Frank shakes his head vehemently. "No, I didn't. I would never do that."
"Fucking Liar. Why were you meeting with them?" Coop asks. "What was so important that you had to go behind our backs?"
Frank looks around wildly as if searching for an answer that might save his life. “I can't tell you."
"Can't or won't?" I ask.
Frank looks at him pleadingly. "Please, don't make me say anything. They'll kill me."
“Scared, Pastor?” Shades grunts the words and gets in Braden’s face, towering over him to make sure he’s good and intimidated. “I wonder why that would be.”
“Maybe because I’ve been locked up in here for God only knows how long,” he spits back, as angry as he is afraid.
“This is your doing, Braden. Not God’s,” I growl at him. “Yours alone, so just tell us what we want to know, and maybe you’ll delay meeting your maker for a little while longer.”
Braden sucks in a breath, and his eyes go wide with genuine fear. I think he realizes there are no allies for him in this room. No friendly faces.
“No,” he begs.
Ace nods and flashes an angry smile. “Tell me about the money you stole from me.”
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Braden shakes his head, and a bead of sweat runs down his temple.
“You were skimming money from the club funds, Braden,” I say. “You were stealing from us, and then you had the audacity to go behind our backs and make a deal with the Kings.”
