Beyond the Cut (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #2)(84)

“I was hired over the phone to set up some woman behind a school, and then testify in court. I’ve done setups before. I don’t got any issues with them, so long as I’m paid. I was given a time and place where the woman would be, and the location of a duffel bag that had half the money, a school sweatshirt, a photograph, and a small ziplock bag filled with coke.”

“You sure it was coke?” Bunny said.

“Yeah. I tasted it ‘cause it had a sparkly sticker on it, and I wanted to be sure it was real. You gotta use the real stuff ‘cause they need it as evidence.”

“Who filmed you?”

“Dunno. Usually I do that myself with a hidden camera but that wasn’t the job. I put on the sweatshirt and told the woman I was selling tickets for the school picnic. She handed over the money. I handed over the coke. Usually the mark knows what’s going on right away, but I think the sticker threw her off. When she figured it out, she threw the bag at me. I got the rest of the money after I testified in court that she’d approached me asking if I had anything for sale.”

Dawn sighed after the video finished playing. “He’s right. Because of the sticker, I thought he’d given me something for the kids—pretend fairy dust, or a sugary treat. My brain just couldn’t process the danger because of the sweatshirt, and the way he looked, and because I was at the school, and who would sell drugs at a school?”

“Every drug dealer in the city,” Banks said. “But your kids are young. You don’t have to worry about that until they’re eight or nine years old.”

“Eight?” Dawn stared at him aghast.

“Got offered my first joint when I was eight. Good stuff. Got me through Mrs. Keevil’s art class. I was never big on art, but when I was stoned you shoulda seen the kind of shit I painted.”

“I called my lawyer before we left Bunny’s place.” Dawn leaned back in her chair. “He said we can offer the video as evidence but with the investigator dead it’s a long shot whether the court will accept it. I looked at the video of the setup last night, and I went back to the school, but all I could figure out was that the person who took it had to be taller than me.”

“Well, that narrows it down to every adult in the city,” Banks said.

Dawn huffed. “I’m not that short.”

“You’re not that tall, either.”

“I figured he must have been at the curb, and not in the shadows, which means it wasn’t Jimmy because I would have recognized him.”

“A mini Colonel Mustard with a pipe in the kitchen.”

“Did you just tell a joke, Banks?” Dawn shared an incredulous glance with Arianne. “I think Banks just told a joke.”

“Write down the date and time. I think it only happens once every five years.”

Banks gave Dawn’s shoulder a squeeze. “Why are you doing this? Even if you found out who it was, how would you get them to testify? Dirt bags don’t answer subpoenas and they tend to disappear when they know the police are looking for them. And if you go into witness protection, they’ll bury that court decision and you’ll have the girls back.”

“I can’t let Jimmy win. When I go into witness protection, I’ll lose everything I built since I came to Conundrum. Even my name. I can deal with that, although I’m going to miss you guys something fierce. I’ll be back where I started, rebuilding my life all over again. But what I can’t deal with is the fact that there is a document out there that says I’m an unfit mother. I’ll always be afraid it will come to light and I’ll lose them. I want to clear my name. I want to know no one can take my girls away. I want to fight back.”

Arianne gave her a searching look. “Then why are you running away? If you run, you’ll always be looking over your shoulder. You’ve always been a strong person. But since you hooked up with Cade, you found just how deep that strength goes, especially when you have support. Believe in yourself and the life you choose to live. That’s what Sinners do. That’s our creed. And that’s what it means to wear the cut.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t be wearing it.” She stroked a hand along the soft, black leather. “Ever since I put it on, I’ve been doing things that really aren’t me.”

“The cut is neither here nor there.” Banks closed his laptop. “Hell, you got away from that bastard and made a life for yourself on your own and every time he threw you a curveball, you hit it out of the park. But some fights you can’t win on your own. And right now, you’ve got a team of damn Sinners on your side. You got a coach who’ll go to bat for you if you want to drive that ball straight at the pitcher.”

“Write that down, too,” Arianne said. “I didn’t know Banks knew that many words. I also didn’t know he knew anything about baseball.”

“I know another word,” he muttered. “Fired. I’m gonna get myself some staff that aren’t old ladies and know how to treat their boss with the proper respect.”

“I’m not…” Dawn cut herself off. An old lady. But she was. Although she’d been tempted to hand the cut back to Cade after she called Doug, something held her back. She wasn’t ready to give up. At least, not yet.

“You wanna watch it again,” Banks said. “Maybe it will trigger a memory second time around.”