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The woman let out a long string of other curses, some of which Izzy had never heard before. “Tell me, Isolde. How did a Harvard valedictorian, with a degree in applied mathematics, end up at the Powder House?”
“By accident.” Two men came out of a door near the car garages. They were talking to each other, hands waving, and hadn’t noticed her yet. There was no place to hide, so she turned away and whispered, “I have to go.”
“Wait. We’ll make this work. I need time to figure it out, but we will come get you. Keep the phone close and we’ll text you the plan. We’ll try and make it today. You’re not alone. You need to remember that.”
“If you’re going to come, sooner is better because the Black Jacks know I’m in town.”
“Isolde.” The woman’s scolding voice sounded so much like Izzy’s mother’s voice—exhausted and exasperated. “You are so much smarter than this.”
“So I’ve been told.” A million times. By her irresponsible mother and evil stepfather. “I’ll wait for the text.”
She shut the phone and shoved it in her back pocket. When she turned around, the two tall men were walking toward her. One had a bald tattooed head, huge biceps, and facial scars. The other man had long black hair braided with silver beads that matched his earrings. Their harsh faces, along with their black leather cuts, made them appear even more menacing.
The bald one said, “You need to come with us.”
She nodded and prayed that they hadn’t heard her talking to her contact. The last thing she wanted the members of the Devil’s Renegades outlaw motorcycle club to know was that she’d just made a deal with Agent Miller of the FBI.
ChapterSeven
“Are you fucking this woman?” Acid, the president of the Devil’s Renegades, stood at the head of the table and pointed at Hawk, who sat on his left.
Hawk crossed his arms and stared down all of his brothers who sat around the table, including Cheery, Thor, Drac, Volt, Eagle, Fate. A few prospects, including Cali, stood in the corner. “Not right now.”
Acid scoffed and ran a hand over his head. His short blond hair matched his scruffy beard. Every inch of Acid’s heavily muscled form was inked. Some of the tattoos came from his time in the state prison, some came from his stint as an Army Ranger, and the rest came from the tattoo shop the club owned in town, not far from the pawn shop. He also preferred to wear sleeveless black T-shirts and black combat pants, probably to live up the world’s image of what an outlaw MC president should look like. “Tell me again how we ended up with the fucking Black Jacks in our town?”
“As I said before, I think they’re looking for Izzy. Her father—”
“I know who her fucking father is,” Acid said sharply. “What I want to know is why is Izzy here, in our compound, and why are the Black Jacks following her?”
“I don’t know.” That, at least, was the truth. He nodded at Cali who stood in the corner with the other prospects. They normally didn’t allow prospects in church, but this was a war council and it affected everyone in the club. “Cali was with Izzy this morning when the Black Jacks attacked, but they may have believed she was alone.”
“I think they thought you were there, brother.” Thor sat back in his chair and took a drag on his cigarette. “Why would they kill her if they were hired to find her? I doubt her stepfather wants her dead.”
Hawk didn’t have an answer for that.
The door opened and Twitch entered the room. He took his seat and started reading a text on his phone. “I spoke with Tish.”
Everyone waited for Twitch to continue, but he remained silent as he read his text. Finally, Acid pounded his fist on the table and said, “What did Tish say?”
Twitch put down his phone and looked around like he was surprised to be singled out. “Okay. Well, apparently Tish and Izzy knew each other at Groton. It’s some uber-expensive boarding school in Connecticut.”
Hawk met Acid’s shocked gaze. While Hawk wasn’t surprised about Izzy going to an expensive boarding school, he was surprised to hear Tish had. “What else did Tish say?”
“Not much.” Twitch clasped his hands on the table. “They lost touch after Izzy went to Harvard and Tish moved to Virginia—until Izzy appeared at the bar three months ago. When Izzy’s car broke down, Tish offered her a place to stay and a job at Rebel’s Refuge. She also mentioned Izzy’s father is a complete asshole and they’ve never gotten along. It had been his idea to ship Izzy off to boarding school after he married her mother.”
“What happened to her father?” Thor asked.
“Died. In a car accident,” Twitch said. “Izzy was also in the car, but she survived. According to Tish, her mother remarried very quickly.Tooquickly.”
No wonder Izzy kept to herself. She probably had trouble trusting other people. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Did Tish say anything else useful?”
“Yeah.” Twitch belched loudly and reached for one of Thor’s cigarettes. “Four months ago, Izzy left Boston. Her father put a fifty thousand dollar bounty on her head. But she has to be brought back alive. Her father offered the money to the Black Jacks first. But since it’s been four months, her father may have opened up the opportunity to others.”
Hawk’s mouth went dry, and he looked at the prospects in the corner. “Cali, are you sure you saw Nine this morning?”
“I’m sure it was Nine,” Cali said. “And his buddies were all riding Harleys.”
“This doesn’t make sense.” Acid stroked his short beard. “Why would the Black Jacks shoot at her if they need her alive to get paid?”
