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“It depends on whether he values himself or not,” Roscoe replies.
“You gave your word you’d go see him.”
“I did.” He crosses his arms over his chest, laying his head back on the headrest and looks at me. “Everyone deserves a chance. This is his one shot with me. He screws this up, I’m done. He had no reason to give a shit. I gave him one. The rest is up to him.”
“I’ll come with you when you go.”
“You just want some alone time with me,” he teases. “Francesca has competition.” He pretends to swoon and bats his lashes.
“You’re not my type.” I roll my eyes, shaking my head. “And Francesca is all I want.”
“I’m happy for you, brother. She’s a good woman.”
* * *
The worst part of this job for me is the paperwork. Sitting behind a desk is not for me, but it must be done, and Roscoe did it the last time. While we’re back at the office, Ghost comes searching for me.
“Guard wants a word with all of us. Stick around for a bit,” Ghost says. “Sofia’s in this too.”
I lift a brow. Sofia only gets involved with club business when needed, mainly for drawing up contracts. On the odd occasion, she’s had to step up when the cops came around asking questions. We’ve all learned to shut our traps until she’s by our side.
The Pride have built good relationships with the majority of law enforcement in this area, but every once in a while, we get profiled because we’re bikers. It’s a damn shame that that kind of stuff still happens. They don’t take into consideration that Risk has been running his own contracting business for years, or that Saint’s a doctor and volunteering at the free clinic when he can, and we employ a ton of people in this town through our trucking company and auto- and bike-parts distribution companies. They see a cut and automatically think hoodlum.
I put down my pen. “Just finished.”
He nods, then leaves the room and returns moments later, Guard, Orion, Demon, and Sofia joining him. Priest, Roscoe, and Wildcard come closer as we gather in the center of the room, most of us leaning on the edges of our desks, except for Demon, who stands beside his wife with an arm around her waist.
Guard doesn’t delay. “The other night, we decided Francesca was part of this family. We can wait around and do nothing, and it may be that nothing will come of it. But after talking to Demon, I figure the media are always looking for the next juicy tidbit, and it may fall on our doorstep.” He jerks his head to Orion. “Orion’s done some digging, and we think we know where in Moldova Jessop is living.”
“Yeah, but we can’t touch him,” I say, glancing at the guys around me. “Right?”
“True, but if he were to come to the United States, then we would have no recourse but to alert the authorities, and we have an extradition agreement with Britain,” Orion says slyly.
“We’re going to lure him to us?” Priest asks. “Why would he do a fool thing like that? He knows he’d be one step away from jail.”
“He’s a conman. He’s after a big score. We’ll create an opportunity he can’t refuse,” Orion replies. “Wildcard and I can make it all look legit online. Once we figure out his handle, we can track his every move and emails.”
“What if he gets wise to what we’re planning?” Roscoe asks.
“He won’t. Nathan’s going to be our frontman,” Guard says. I’ve never met Nathan, although I know he’s Orion’s brother. He’s a big deal in the cybersecurity business, and he and Orion run one of the most prestigious companies in their industry. “He looks the part, and he can talk the talk.”
“Why would he want to take the chance?” I ask.
“Nathan has dealings with Deleigh Electronics, and he knows all about Jessop and his bullshit. He wants to help,” Guard says. “Orion believes he can get him to come back, and I have faith that he can.”
“That’s part one of the plan,” Sofia cuts in. “I’m going to work in the background to make sure that all the Pride members and their significant others are protected. This means that anyone trying to dive into backgrounds or open sealed files will have to contend with me,” she says pointedly and with her “don’t fuck with me” tone. “I’ve already made provisions for Demon and Priest, and Orion has an alert built in if anyone tries to web search on either of them. Ghost is safe. Orion assures me of that. I’m speaking to Maddie and War tonight and will be meeting with each member and their families. As for Francesca, that’s up to her. She wants her privacy, and I’m going to do my best to give her that. I was hired to protect her financial dealings in North America, and I’ll work directly with her legal team in London. Her businesses are off-limits, and what is public information is whatever the board of directors deems important to share, with Francesca’s approval, of course.”
“They’ve already trashed her once,” I snap.
“Unless there’s new information, all that’s available is to rehash old information that’s already been deemed false by the courts. That’s when I’ll slap on a lawsuit for slander and libel and make them regret hurting my friend,” she says, sounding like a protective mama bear protecting her cubs. For a little thing, she packs a wallop. Demon looks on proudly with an “I told you so” expression.
“So how does this start part one of the plan?” Priest asks.
“Nathan’s coming into town tomorrow. We’re going to need Reno’s help on this one. Seeing that we’re catching a very cunning asshole, Reno has the right people to flush him out and lure him into a deal of a lifetime,” Guard says with a sinister smile. “Risk is in on this. Reno won’t buy in without him.”
“After all this time, he asks for Risk,” Wildcard comments, shaking his head. “He knows us. I don’t get it.”
“I protect my family, and he’s protecting his. Reno, Sebastian, and Dante see Risk as a brother. If they think Risk is being coerced, Reno will lose his fucking mind. It’s his way.” Guard shrugs. “I accept it. I don’t like it, but I accept it. Nostra Casa has been good to us in the past, and I have to respect the way he does business. Reno did more than his part when the mob came after Rose. We’ll play it his way, for now.” Guard turns to me and adds, “Your job is to let Francesca know what we’re doing. We don’t want threats hanging over us, and the best way is to face it head-on.”
