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The paperwork arrived sealed in an anonymous parcel two weeks back, printed on fancy paper with gold filagree in the bottom corner. A juxtaposition with the absolute trash the offer on our second lot was.
What had me send the nomad after information was the fucking fact whoever made the offer knew my birth name. The one fucking piece of information about me that’s not public. And for a damn good reason.
“What else?”
Graves sparks his stick, shaking out the match before answering. “I traced it back to a trucking firm two states over. The guy who runs the yard has been there for twenty-plus years, so my gut tells me Terry’s bought out the operation. Caught a man in his desperate time of need, you catch my drift?”
“Yeah.” I do. But the fucking M.O. Sounds more like Marco’s kind of deal.
I scrub a hand over my face, looking up in time to catch Rae disappearing into the garage.
Graves follows my line of sight, taking a long draw on his smoke. “She’s important, huh?”
“Sure is.”
“Haven’t seen the club this protective of a civilian since that shit with Minion’s wife.”
“Yeah.” And look how that ended. With a motherless child and a man we needed to hold back from the edge on more than one occasion. “So, the shadow company owns the trucking place, too, huh?”
“Just the land it’s on. But at twice the going value, so he’s more-or-less bought the business too without having his name attached.” He flicks the ash between his mid-calf boots. The fucking things have four buckles apiece. Too much rattling around for me, but then again, I’m too fucking lazy to lace my boots properly half the damn time. “I’ve got a contact checking out another business two hours from the trucking yard, but the verdict’s not in on that one yet.”
“Another land purchase?”
Graves nods. “Warehouse.”
“Fucker’s making moves on that freight corridor, ain’t he?”
“Sure seems to be.”
It’s been Terry’s fucking dream for the past decade: create a perfect corridor of private land that runs adjacent to the highways. Dirt roads and so-called driveways that link together to make a backdoor into the state.
"I thought he'd bought off Fennex so he could use the highways?” Graves asks. “Made a huge donation at the policeman's ball the past three years in a row."
"Yeah, well, last year, the money went directly to a trust fund operated at the state level. Fennex didn't get a chance to skim the pot before the money went north."
"So, he's lost their support." He leans back and folds his arms, involved in the details.
I nod. “Law enforcement has opened their eyes, so to speak. Taken off the blindfold, and what they've found, lookin’ at the situation from a new perspective, is an opportunity to glean even more out of the asshole."
"He wouldn't have that, surely."
"Nope." I shake my head. "But it's infinitely easier to buy our land from underneath us and create a private corridor that runs through the shadows of the town than it is to do the very public thing of threatening and strong-armin’ the local cops. Buy out one sheriff, and when the shit hits the fan, it’s only the lawman to blame. But when the whole fuckin’ precinct don’t play ball, Terry stays the villain if he has to resort to breaking kneecaps and kidnappin’ children.”
"He wants to avoid attention from federal departments.” Graves bops his eyebrows, staring down at what’s left of his cigarette pinched between forefinger and thumb as light rain begins to speckle the paper.
"Ultimately." I sigh, gaze roaming to the beautiful woman standing in the yard, face up to the sky. “Rae saw Terry kill Tom Battersley.”
Graves leans forward, head turning to take in our guest as she rubs her face. “Shit. No wonder she’s important.” He flicks his head around, pinning me with a hard stare. “You’ve got her as blackmail.”
“That I do.” And don’t I feel like a right fuck for doing so.
“She know that?” He stands, fetching keys from his pocket.
Rae disappears back into the garage, much to my displeasure. “Nope. And I’d like it to stay that way for now.”
“Rumors in the club are that she belongs to Digger.” He hitches an eyebrow. “That right?”
“As far as anyone needs to know.”
