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A few clicks later the deposit appeared on her screen showed $298,546.18.
“You’re fucking rich. He really took care of you.”
She couldn’t answer, her throat too thick with emotion. He pulled a t-shirt out of his backpack and slipped it over his head. Sitting next to her, he put his arm around her shoulder. She fell against his chest and cried until there was a big wet spot over his heart.
“I’m sorry. There hasn’t been much time for me to process everything. The money was too much. We never had that kind of money when I was growing up. Plenty of food, and my clothes were okay, I guess. Nothing fancy. The house was a small two-bedroom, but we had quite a bit of property.” She sat up and put the laptop back on her lap.
“How long did Pops have his business?”
“About 23 years. As his business became more established, it attracted wealthier clientele. He bought old bikes and restored them in his spare time. Built racing bikes. He was constantly in demand. A couple of guys worked in his shop, but he handled the specialty work. I guess it added up.”
Bash lifted her chin from the screen and held her eyes. “He was saving for you, Morgan.”
“I…I guess,” she barely spoke.
He handed her a box of tissues sitting on the nightstand. As she wiped the tears from her face and sniffed, she asked, “Want to look at the ledger Pops left?”
He grabbed the ledger off the bedside table and handed it to her. “I was reading through it while you showered. It’s interesting. Now I know why they were hellbent on finding your Pops. It’s dangerous for you to have this in your possession. For us to even read it. It could be a death sentence if we don’t get some serious help.”
Bash’s comments only doubled the anxiety she already felt. With trepidation, she opened it and stared. The Dragon Fire Motorcycle Club Income and Expenses. The pages contained dates, client names, illegal activities, member cuts, banks, account numbers, and locations. The entries ended the day before her Birthday. Reality hit. Everything Pops revealed in his letter was true. She took a deep breath and let it out. When she turned toward Bash, the color had drained from her face.
“You’re right. This information is lethal. Even if we gave it back, they would never let us live. We’ve seen too much. I recognized some of the names. That senator from California is in Washington DC now.” Morgan’s voice was strained with emotion.
“I recognized him, too. There’s more than one elected official on that list of purchases.”
“Why would Pops do this to me?”
Bash took her hand and held her eyes. “Morgan, I don’t think he intended that at all. I doubt it even occurred to him. Think about it. He had the ledger for 25 years, and as far as he was concerned, the club left him alone because of it. He assumed it would be the same for you. I think his mistake was in underestimating his son. Maybe Asa’s planning to use the ledger as his way back into power with the Dragon Fire. He may know exactly whose names are on the list, and now that those men are rich and high-profile, it’s a cash cow. Blackmail is a huge motivator. Those are all reasons for the ledger to become relevant to the club again.”
“I’m so sorry I got you mixed up in all of this.”
“You didn’t get me mixed up in anything. This fell into your lap. Besides, I got you mixed up in my drama first. You are correct about one thing. We do need help. I’ll make some calls.”
Chapter Eighteen
Morgan was sound asleep when Sebastian slipped out of the motel room to call Gray. The night sky was filled with stars and enough moonlight to easily find a greenspace with picnic tables, where he took a seat. The motel parking lot was mostly empty. They appeared to roll up the streets at 8 pm, but it was the off-season. According to his cell, it was almost 10 p.m. It rang three times before Gray picked up.
“Bash. Good to hear from you, man. I thought you were going to call as soon as you got to the cabin. Your follow-through sucks.”
“Do you realize every time I talk to you, you’re admonishing me like I’m one of your kids? Cut it out. I’m a grown man!” Bash said with frustration. Why hadn’t he noticed it before? Maybe because he had relied on Gray too much to keep his life in order. When had he become so co-dependent?
“Chill, Bash. I didn’t mean anything by it. Tell me what’s going on,” Gray asked, trying to placate him.
“I’ll get to that in a minute. Did you meet with the security company? Get a background check on Morgan’s grandfather, Eli Skylar?”
“Yes, to both. I met with Samuel Barrett of SMB Protection Agency and filled him in on the attack from Fontana’s men. He’s checking out Maximillian Fontana, too. He ran a more thorough background check on Morgan Skylar. Her record is spotless. Not even a parking ticket.”
An image of Morgan pulling guns out of her grandfather’s safe and checking for ammunition came to mind, and he snickered.
“What? Have you found evidence to the contrary?”
“I have not. Go ahead with what you were saying.”
“As far as her grandfather, Eli Skylar, he was a highly respected motorcycle and classic car mechanic in closed circles around the country. His personal life was completely invisible to his customers, and his services were word of mouth and through recommendation only. He was a closely guarded secret within the motorcycle who’s who. There was no trace of Morgan or any other children in his background check.
“The two mechanics who worked with him for years knew nothing about his life outside of work. Never met one of his friends. Didn’t think he had any. A couple of years ago, when they heard Skylar was going to retire, his mechanics talked one of Skyler’s wealthy clients into going into a partnership with them to buy the business. As soon as the purchase was closed, they moved the business to Knoxville, Tennessee. That seemed suspicious, so Sam sent a local PI to Knoxville to talk to them. The new owners said the most valuable part of the business had been Eli Skylar himself, but the client list and the recommendations from apprenticing with Skylar for 20 years proved enough to establish themselves. The move out of state was one of Skylar’s conditions of the sale. The most interesting thing about Skylar—he doesn’t appear to have existed before 1994, a huge red flag. If we had his fingerprints, we might be able to do a better search, but everything seems to fit with what Morgan told you.”
“It’s not necessary to look further. Is there anything else important before I fill you in on what’s happened on our end?”
