Sinner's Steel (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #3)(53)
Gunner nodded, following Zane’s train of thought. “What if he offers his services as a personal chef to Viper? Once we get the intel we need from him, we give him the cash, he pays them off and we help him disappear.”
“That’s a huge risk and a lot of cash,” Cade said. “I mean, what if he cooks up a bad meal and Viper decides to off him ’cause he doesn’t like shrimp?”
“You ever have a bad meal at Mario’s?” Gunner licked his lips. “He’s a genius. The things he can do with salmon are f*cking sinful.”
“Christ. We’re not interested in hearing about your kink,” Sparky said, his nose wrinkling in mock disgust.
Zane bit back a smile. “Maybe Mario shoulda thought about the risk when he borrowed fifty grand from the Jacks.” Just like he should have thought about the risk of what he’d done with Evie last night. But she was as much an addiction for him as gambling clearly was for Mario, and one taste wasn’t enough.
Jagger drummed his fingers on the boardroom table, once a fancy dining table, now carved with the Sinner logo and stained with coffee rings. “Without the restaurant to pay off the debt, he’s out of options. He knows the Jacks will be coming to him for the money, and with all the connections they have now there’s nowhere he can run. I like the plan. Everyone vote.” All hands went up and Cade and Tank offered to pay Mario a discreet visit that afternoon.
“Don’t forget the party tonight,” Jagger said after he officially ended the meeting. “We’re having it at Sparky’s shop instead of Rider’s Bar because it’s more secure.”
“It’s not right,” Tank grumbled. “We shouldn’t be partying when T-Rex is being held prisoner.”
“I hear you, brother.” Jagger clapped him on the shoulder. “But this is the best way to get everyone fired up about the rescue mission, and to make sure we’re all still thinking about T-Rex. This party is about him. We’re gonna toast him and pledge to do what it takes to bring him back. But we’re going to need that Sinner bond to be as damned strong as it can be before we go in. I’ve made one last offer to Viper. If he turns it down and we have to raid the Black Jack clubhouse to get him out, I can’t promise all of us will come back without a few scratches.”
After the meeting broke up, Zane headed down to the basement with Dax to interrogate Doreen. Assuming T-Rex was in the Black Jack clubhouse, they needed more information before launching a full-on assault, and Doreen was the key to getting T-Rex out alive.
“These are the moments I live for,” Dax said as they descended the stairs to the basement. “Torture sessions and the time I spend with my family.”
“You’re one sick f*ck.” And yet, last night with Evie … this morning with Ty … he wouldn’t trade those moments for the world. But Evie kept trying to push him away. Should he respect her wishes and back off? What the f*ck did he know about being a dad? Or being in a relationship when his loyalty was to the club? Christ, it was all f*cked up. Good thing he was with a brother who specialized in this very thing.
“So, I got this friend…”
“You don’t have friends.” Dax laughed as they stepped out into the games room. “You have brothers. And brothers look out for each other. Jagger already told me what went down ‘cause he was worried about you, and he didn’t want anyone getting hurt.” He paused at the bottom of the stairs. “So, to recap, you found your long lost girl who turns out to be Viper’s girl. You decided to steal her away, but you don’t know if you want her or she wants you. You got a son you didn’t know about, and the whole shebang scares the shit out of you ’cause who the hell can prepare themselves to be a dad when they don’t even know it’s coming?”
Zane bristled. “I’m not scared.”
“Then you’re not human.” Dax ran his hand through his dark hair, slicked back to show off his widow’s, peak. “I was scared shitless the first time Sandy got pregnant, and I had nine months to prepare and the love of my life to catch me when I fell. And boy did I fall. First month, I took every job Jagger had on offer just to get away. But Sandy set me straight. One night I came home and she dumped Jett in my arms and told me it was her turn for a month off. Then she walked out the door. I didn’t know she was just stayin’ next door with her friend. But hell, by the end of the night, Jett was still breathing, and I was feeling pretty damn good about myself. Sandy came back the next day and I told Jagger I’d be slowing things down for a while.”
“He’s not a baby.” Zane leaned against the worn pool table that had seen one too many games. His gaze flicked to the wet bar in the corner. If he didn’t need his wits about him to interrogate Doreen, he would be over there pouring himself a shot of the good stuff. “He’s eight. I missed…” His throat tightened. “All that.”
Dax’s face softened. “Yeah, you did. And the way Jag tells it, that’s another burden you have to bear. Who we are as teenagers isn’t who we are as men. We don’t have the maturity or even a sense of responsibility under our belts. They say the male brain doesn’t fully develop until we hit twenty-five, and I’d say that’s about right. Women on the other hand are born mature. That’s why they can so easily f*ck us over. They’ve got years of practice before we come into our own.”