Chaos Bound (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #4)(93)
“Gimme the good news.” Although how much worse could it be? When he’d seen Ella’s email with the gas station video attachment, he’d almost handed in his cut right there. No way would Jagger let him stay in the club after he’d broken the rule about fraternizing with reporters. Add to that, taking the video in the first place without authorization, getting so pissed he forgot basic safety protocols and left his phone unattended and unsecured, and now putting T-Rex, Naiya, and the club at risk, he’d be lucky to be kicked out without some broken bones, maybe even his life.
Hacker, tall and lean with unnaturally bright green eyes, and the kind of face that sent the sweet butts into a swoon, ran a hand through his long hair. “She emailed the video to herself. I can hack into her email account and delete it. I can also find out if she’s sent it to anyone else.”
“And the bad news?”
“If she’s downloaded it, or if she sent it to someone else and they downloaded it, then it’s going to be more difficult, if not impossible, to get rid of it. And if she’s uploaded it to the Internet, then we’re shit out of luck.”
“I say we grab her. Bring her to the clubhouse and let Dax scare her a bit,” T-Rex said. “We’ll find out pretty damn fast who got it.”
“And you’ll find your way to a jail cell pretty damn fast once she goes to the authorities, as if you’re not headed there already.” Naiya snorted her derision. “She could have just put it on the news or sent it to the police, but she didn’t. So why not meet her at the rally like she’s asked. Find out why she took it and what she’s going to do with it. Then make a decision. It might be she’s planning to air it while she’s reporting on the bike rally unless you give her what she wants.”
“I don’t know what she wants.” Tank folded his arms. “And if I see her alone, feeling the way I feel right now, I might lose control. And she’s got this way of twisting words around…”
“You won’t be alone,” T-Rex assured him. “I’ll be with you.”
Emotion welled up in Tank’s chest. “Thought you had your own shit to do at the rally. You can’t be in two places at once.”
“The only place I need to be is at your back, brother. And it might be that the Sinners have a good plan I can go along with. While they’re setting it up, and taking care of my girl, I can be with you.”
It took a moment for T-Rex’s words to sink in, and when they did Tank’s heart seized in his chest. Was T-Rex really going to return to the club for him? Join with the Sinners instead of going after Viper alone?
“You and Naiya.” T-Rex answered his unspoken question. “I trust you more than anyone, but I trust the brothers, too. I want Viper so bad it burns inside me, and for the longest time it was all I lived for. But now I got Naiya and you, and if I lost either of you, it would f*cking kill me. I’ll hear Jagger’s plan. And if it’s solid, then I’ll work with them to take Viper down.” A grin spread across his face, a flash of the old T-Rex. “But I’m still gonna be the one who pulls the trigger.”
Tank’s hands clenched and unclenched by his sides, and his throat tightened so hard he could barely breathe. He couldn’t hug T-Rex here. And he couldn’t f*cking cry. Christ. Ever since T-Rex had returned, he’d been an emotional mess, and Tank didn’t do emotion. Bikers didn’t do emotion. Men didn’t do emotion. But he was so goddamned grateful to have his best friend back, and even more relieved that T-Rex was going to talk to Jagger. Not just because it meant he had a chance of getting out of this mess without losing everything that mattered—his life, his cut, his club, and his friend—but also because T-Rex stood a better chance of surviving a confrontation with Viper with the Sinners at his back. And he wouldn’t be able to take T-Rex dying all over again.
He forced his words past the lump in his throat. “Appreciated, brother.”
“I got your back, Tank, like you always had mine.”
Tank shot a look at Naiya to see what she thought of the new plan. Clearly, not much, given how tightly her lips were pressed together and how she was shooting daggers at T-Rex with her eyes. He figured that might have something to do with the fact T-Rex still wasn’t backing down about her going with him when he went after Viper. Tank gave an inward chuckle, wondering if T-Rex had planned it out this way. Once the Sinners were involved, it didn’t matter how much Naiya protested; she would be staying behind. Women were not allowed to participate in club business. Not even Arianne. And it wasn’t that way with just the Sinners, but with all outlaw MCs.
“Holt,” she said. “Could I speak to you outside?”
Tank shuddered on his friend’s behalf at Naiya’s icy tone. But he had T-Rex’s back, whether it was in a gunfight, a revenge quest, or an angry girlfriend. “Actually, the board meeting is in fifteen minutes, so we gotta split if you want to talk to Jagger before it starts. He won’t let you sit in without a cut, but I’m sure he’ll talk to you in his office.”
Hacker squinted at his screen. “I thought it started in—”
“Fifteen minutes.” Tank cut him off, biting back a smile when T-Rex gave him a grateful nod. “Hacker, can you take Naiya out back when we’re done? Shaggy’s meeting her at the shooting range to show her the basics.”