Twisted Pieces (Back Down Devil MC #5)(53)

“It’s done for now,” Miller said. “We look like paranoid f*cks. Chief Jerry thinks we’re losing our edge. This is not good.”

“Yeah, well, want to see something?” Jace asked.

“Don’t give me anymore bullshit conspiracy shit.”

“Here,” Jace said.

He put the pictures of himself burying a body into Miller’s hand. Miller looked at the pictures wide eyed. He looked at Jace.

“How in the f*ck?”

“Strokner,” Jace growled.

“Get to the table.” Miller looked back. “Table! Now!”

Those who were patched in rushed to the meeting room.

Jace took his seat and Miller slammed the doors.

Jace looked around the table at the men he considered his brothers. Men he had fought, hugged, hated, and loved.

Erik to his right, Blaine to his left. Shay and Nate at the other head of the table. Then Landon, Griffin, and Gaige. Finally, at the head of the table, Miller. He pulled his chair out and sat down. He threw the pictures to the table and pointed to them.

“Where the f*ck did they come from?” Gaige asked.

“Strokner,” Miller said. “Motherf*cker.”

“He was setting it all up,” Jace said. “Then he attacked Jordyn. He tried to force himself on her. Then he tried to slit her throat.”

“What?” Nate asked.

“Christ, brother,” Griffin said. “Where is she? She okay?”

“She’s in the shower,” Jace said.

“Beautiful,” Blaine said. “Hot water, tight body…”

“I’m going to f*cking shoot him,” Landon said.

“Come on, do it,” Blaine teased.

“Shut up,” Jace said. “She fought back. Stabbed his arm and then knocked him out with a bottle of scotch.”

“Tough chick,” Erik said.

“Yeah,” Jace said. “Her grandmother died this morning. Then she gets attacked in the afternoon. What a f*cking mess.”

“At least tonight she has you,” Gaige said.

“Hey,” Miller said. “She’s welcome here for the rest of her goddamn life, Jace. I respect what she did for us. We got the information we needed.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sure Strokner is thrilled,” Jace said. “He’s probably on the phone to get that land off us right now.”

Miller nodded. “Strokner had the pictures. So he must have been in bed with the judge. Maybe even talking to Coast Road. So right now, we need to send a clear message to everyone. And I mean… everyone.”

“What are you thinking?” Blaine asked.

“Strokner is going to die,” Miller said. “And his fantasy office over there… it’s no more.”

“I’m ready,” Blaine said.

“I think we all are,” Griffin said.

The table then nodded and everyone tapped their bottles on the table.

Miller waved his hands and got the table to calm. “We need smart action. Strokner is on the loose right now. I’m sure he knows Jordyn has run to us, which is fine by me. We have enough muscle on our side to take care of this.”

“How do we get him?” Blaine asked.

“Simple,” Miller said. “He’s going to come for Jordyn. Strokner will fall right into our laps.”

“Fuck no. Leave her out of this,” Jace said.

“It’s our only option.”

“Her grandmother is being laid to rest tomorrow,” Jace said. “I have to be there with her. There’s nobody else.”

Gaige stood with his fist out. “We’ll all be there, bro. For you. For her. She deserves it.” Jace nodded and bumped fists with Gaige.

“The entire table,” Miller said. “We’ll make sure she’s okay. And that there’s people there for her. Nobody should go that alone.”

“After that, we find Strokner,” Gaige said. “We go to his office and start tearing things apart. If by some chance he doesn’t come to us, we’ll scare the shit out of him.”

“What about the land?” Jace asked.

“I’ll call the lawyer right now. Make sure that nothing can happen, at least temporarily. I don’t know if his mind is right enough to jump at that land.”

“The guy lost his wife and daughter,” Griffin said. “I know he’s an *… but damn…”

“Hey,” Jace said. “We’ve all lost someone. Look at it this way - we’re speeding up the process for him to be reunited with his family.”

“That’s deep shit,” Blaine whispered.

“Either way, it’s done,” Miller said. “Strokner will die.”

“What about the pictures?” Jace asked. “Should we talk to the chief? Tell the lawyer?”

“No,” Gaige said. He dragged the pictures in front of himself. He took out his lighter and lit them on fire. The pictures burned and Gaige nodded at Jace. “There were no f*cking pictures, man. There was never evidence. It was just a ploy to rattle our chains.”

“I consider the murder charges dropped,” Miller said. “One mess down, a couple more to go.”

“Thank you guys,” Jace said. “I mean… f*ck…”