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That surprised me. “You have doubts about me?”
She met my gaze unwaveringly and took another little piece of my heart when she did. Whatever she was about to say next wasn’t something she was going to let me off the hook easily with.
“How much did you know about Scarlet?” It wasn’t a question so much as a demand.
“All I knew was what I told you and Scarlet a year ago.”
“Yeah. That the club was in danger or some shit and you thought it safer. If that’s the truth, why not send her sisters with her?”
I knew this was coming. These were questions I’d been asking myself since the shit had hit the fan. “The strict truth is that I had doubts Hammer could keep all three safe. The rest of it is, Hammer taking Scarlet away was one less person I thought I had to worry about.”
She frowned, clearly not expecting me to be so brutally honest. “Look, Lemon. I’m not proud of my actions regarding Claw, Hammer, and Scarlet. There are so many things I should have done that I didn’t. My only excuse is that I’d stretched myself too thin.”
“Which wouldn’t have happened if your club had been on the same page.” She didn’t sound angry, just like she was trying to drive her point home. “Was there ever any indication Hammer was as twisted inside as he was?” Again, there was no anger. She was looking for answers to questions she needed to take action. I knew the feeling well because I often did it myself when trying to solve a difficult problem.
I thought about that question. Really thought about it. “No. Looking back, maybe there were small signs I should have paid attention to better, but nothing overt. I knew how he felt about Claw. He told me soon after Claw killed Madina. But he made me a promise he’d back off until he could control his anger. Even took some time away from the compound for beach house duty. There are always three brothers there, so he was never alone.”
“The house in town.”
“Yes. Crush kept tabs on him covertly, making sure he wasn’t planning anything outside the club. He stayed there six months before he said he was ready to come back to the club. By that time, Claw had been sent on a mission to North Korea. It was another six months before the two saw each other again.”
She started. “North Korea?”
I grinned. “Told you. Black Ops.”
“Sweet Jesus.” She scrubbed a hand over her mouth. Yeah. She understood the full impact of my disclosure. I was all in with her. Now, she had to be all in with me. She must have come to that last conclusion a little late because it took her a second before she glared at me. “Don’t think I don’t know what you did there.” She tapped her temple. “I’m on to you, buddy.”
“It’s one more tie to weave us together. I will continually drop little things like that just to keep you on your toes.” I held my grin for a moment before letting it fall. “You do know information like that is only ever to be discussed between the two of us, right? Never say anything even in front of the members of this club. Even to the person in question.”
“You said before Crush knew everything.”
“He does. No one but the two of us knows he does. Hell, who am I kidding? He doesn’t tell me everything. Just about eighty percent or so.”
“Why.” Again, it was a demand.
“Crush is our… safeguard, for lack of a better word. There’s not much he can do for a member if things go to shit, but he can keep blowback from coming to the club.”
She stood again, pacing back and forth. “See, that’s the problem. He should be able to help one of your brothers out if things go to shit on a mission. All of you should. Especially in your own city.”
I frowned. “Lemon, no one can know about us. Or about this compound.”
“The government knows,” she countered.
I nodded. “Maybe,” I conceded, “but the more time goes by, fewer in government remember. Administrations change. Agency heads change. Paperwork gets buried. For teams like us, paperwork never existed.”
“Aren’t you afraid someone will find the place? I mean, just because it’s off-limits doesn’t mean people don’t wander in. For that matter, there have to be scientists who wander through.”
“Not in this area. When it was set up by the land owners, it was to allow no one in. Let nature take its course. While there is a huge area around us, we are in the very center. We keep things small, only using what we need to be self-sustaining, and we never hunt outside our area, and only small game like squirrels and raccoons.”
She nodded, my answer apparently making sense to her. “OK, so back to Hammer and Gina. They were an item?”
I frowned. “To be honest, I’m not sure. I thought they were, but then Claw said Hammer and Scarlet wanted to be together.”
“Well, obviously that went south. I know you don’t think Gina could have been Hammer’s plant, but what if she was?”
“So, we need to talk to Gina.”
“No.” She shook her head. “We don’t need to do anything. I need to talk to Gina. One on one.”
