by K. Ryan
"Alright," Agent Jordan replied simply. "I'm sure you have a pretty good idea what I need to ask you."
"Yep," I nodded.
"You and Caleb Sawyer have been together for..." he flipped through a few pages of the file in front of him as he spoke. "About seven or eight months, right?"
He glanced up at me with inquisitive eyes while I nodded. "Something like that."
"And in that time, have you seen or heard anything related to illegal activity? Anything related to the illegal purchase and transfer of firearms?"
I frowned at the direct question. Didn't seasoned interrogators spend more time working up to those questions? I'd been expecting a little more resistance on his part, maybe even sly interrogation tactics to get me to trust him, but he hadn't wasted any time with that. What was really going on here?
"No, Agent Jordan, I haven't."
His eyes darkened slightly and it probably had something to do with the fact that I'd ignored his request to call him by his first name. That was too personal, too intimate, and I didn't want to have anything to do with him.
"Nothing that comes to mind?" he pressed again.
"Nope."
He abruptly slapped the file closed and leaned forward on his elbows. "You know why we're here, right? You know we're here to investigate the Iron Horsemen? And by extension, Caleb, too?" He waited for me to nod before continuing. "It's only a matter of time before we find what we're looking for, Isabelle."
I froze in my seat, knowing exactly where he was going with this, but I didn't want to hear it.
"Sooner or later," he went on softly and it felt like the temperature in this room had free-fallen. "He's going to end up in prison and then where will you be? Have you ever thought about that?"
I couldn't even conjure a reply and all I could do was sit quietly in my chair, willing this all to be over.
"He's already been arrested three times. The fourth could happen at anytime. You know that, don't you? At any given moment, we could find something or he could make a mistake and get caught and then he'll be gone, just like that."
My blood ran cold that this latest piece of information. I knew he'd been arrested once, but three times? Why didn't I know that? Why hadn't he told me? My head was barely above water as it was and if this went on for too much longer, it might drown me altogether.
Agent Jordan's head cocked to the side as he silently observed me. "He never told you that, did he? I can only imagine what else he hasn't told you, what else he's done that he doesn't want you to know."
I now understood what was really going on here: Agent Jordan had set out to twist my head around until I couldn't see straight. And goddammit, it was working.
"I don't even want to talk about what must go on at their clubhouse when you're not there—how many women he must have behind your back, especially now that you're living together. And he still has his room in the clubhouse, doesn't he? You'd never know, never have any idea what he was doing in that room whenever you're not around. They all do it, Isabelle, and trust me, Caleb isn't any different."
My eyes narrowed suspiciously at his current line of questioning and he seemed to realize his error. There was a line and he'd just crossed that invisible line. I didn't even want to know how he knew Caleb and I were living together and now, I was done with this conversation.
"I'm sorry," Agent Jordan backpedalled quickly, holding his hands up in the air in defense. "I'm just trying to help you. That's all this. I'm sure you don't believe me, but I really want to help you."
"How are you planning on doing that?" I shot back hotly.
Agent Jordan shrugged simply. "You may not have been around them long enough to see it yet, but their lives are just an endless cycle. They commit crimes, get caught, go to jail, get out, and then do it all over again. Sometimes there are months in between, sometimes years, but it always happens. The cycle never ends and Caleb is just getting in deeper with the Horsemen. Sooner or later, that's going to catch up to him."
My breath caught in my throat as his words sank deep.
"If you stay with him, Isabelle, you're just going to get caught up in it too. And the longer you stay, the more responsibility you have. Look at your friend Lexie—what would happen to her and her baby if Dominic went to prison? What would she do? How would she make ends meet?"
"We would help her. I would help her. I know she'd do the same for me," I shook my head furiously, trying to block out everything he was telling me.
"Maybe. But that's not the kind of life anyone aspires to. And someday, Isabelle, you might have kids with Caleb and even if he marries you, even if you have some help around you, you'll still be alone at the end of the day."
It was like he'd just taken everything Caleb and I had planned and twisted it into something evil and ugly. There was no way he could know how close all that hit home, but still...I hated myself for even giving his words a moment's thought.
My eyes burned from the impact and all I wanted to do was get out of this room. In that instant, I hated Agent Jordan. The fear and intimidation he'd instilled in me crept away, leaving only frustration and disbelief in their wake. I had the sudden urge to leap to my feet and punch that slimy smile off Agent Jordan's face, or at the very least, use the pepper spray on him that Caleb had given me a long time ago. It was just too bad something like that would get me arrested because then I'd have to actually stay here in this precinct.
"Why do you care so much?" I glared back at him.
"I told you," he shrugged again. "I just want to help you. You've got a wonderful future ahead of you. One you won't be able to realize if you stay in this environment. I've seen it happen plenty of times before with women who get caught up in a whirlwind relationship, completely in over their heads, with no information and no experience in these kinds of organization. You know what always happens to those women, Isabelle? They get eaten alive."
"That's not going to happen to me," I told him defiantly.
"Sure," he shrugged. "But when they suspect you now, when they wonder what you told me in this room today, you might think differently. You might be scared enough to realize you don't have any other safe way out other than the protection my partner and I could offer you should you choose to cooperate."
He paused, as if to make sure his point was made, as if to make sure I knew how serious this was. That overwhelming sense of foreboding, that raw instinct that slipped down my spine told me that Agent Jordan wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted: Caleb and anyone else connected to the club behind bars. He wouldn't be able to use me to do it. His words and this doubt he'd planted in me wouldn't be enough to help him get what he wanted, but his words had hit their target all the same.
"And when that happens, Isabelle," he told me darkly. "You know where to find me."
. . .
It wasn't until Caleb ushered me inside the clubhouse, with Skyler right on our heels, that I finally felt myself relax a little more. At least now the heaviness Agent Asshole had set on my shoulders felt a little lighter, even if I still had some sorting out to do. Once we were alone in Caleb's dorm, then I could release some of this pent-up frustration. Until then, I had to keep up the appearance that everything was fine.
Marcus was already seated at a table near the bar and gestured with his head for us to get closer as Lexie and Becca took a seat across from him. For probably the tenth time today, a cold shiver crawled down my spine and I forced myself to fall into the empty seat next to Lexie in spite of my urge to cut and run.
Marcus was watching all three of us with sober, weary eyes and while there was no suspicion on the surface, there was only one reason why we were all currently seated at this table. And even though Caleb moved to stand protectively behind my chair, I felt totally and completely alone.
"First of all, ladies," Marcus began gruffly and took a swig from the beer bottle in his hand just for good measure. "I have to apologize for everything you must've went through today at the precinct. These ATF assholes thin
k they have something here in our town and even though we all know they don't, they seem to be pretty persistent, don't you think?"
He grinned back at us, like he actually expected us to see the humor in the situation and I could only stare back as Agent Jordan's last words to me replayed in my head.
"Now, nobody here actually believes that any of you ladies had anything to say to those pricks and you don't need to tell me what they said, 'cuz I've got a pretty good idea," Marcus told us carefully and I sensed some serious manipulation was headed our way. "But it's been awhile since any old ladies have been brought in the way you were today. I just wanted to make sure that you all understand our policies about loyalty and discretion. You're family and I know none of you would ever do anything that could jeopardize your family."
Both Lexie and Becca nodded quickly and I immediately followed suit, not wanting to look even slightly suspicious by hesitating. Marcus's dark eyes appraised the three of us for a moment, taking plenty of time to study each of our expressions before moving on to the next one as he nonchalantly slicked a hand over his salt and pepper ponytail. It felt like he was readying himself to strike, like a coiled snake, and waiting for one of us to give ourselves away. This wasn't simply a friendly conversation or even a sincere apology. This was a thinly-veiled threat.
Marcus nodded his dismissal of us, emptying his beer bottle as he leaned back in his chair. Someone to his left handed him another frosty beer and I watched uneasily as Caleb's club president lounged around like he hadn't just not-so-discreetly threatened me and my two best friends three seconds earlier.
Like it was just any regular old day. Business as usual at the Horsemen clubhouse.
Marcus had always carried an air of superiority and I'd always understood it was necessary, given his position in the club, but today was the first time I saw the violence and danger in him as well. The possibility that, should the need arise, he wouldn't hesitate to act on the threats he'd just made.
I squeezed my eyes shut again and jumped a little when Caleb's hands ghosted over the top of my shoulders.
"We're gonna sit down for church quick to go over all this shit," he murmured in my ear. "Why don't you go lie down in my dorm? Rest a little bit until I'm done?"
"I'm fine," I snapped at him. I didn't mean to let my frustration bleed into hostility, but that was the only emotion I could come up with right now that made any sense to me.
Caleb blinked back at me in surprise for a moment before swallowing hard. "Okay, Iz. Whatever you want...just sit tight until I'm done. Then you'll tell me what happened, right?"
The best I could give him right now was a tight nod. He waited patiently for more, but when he realized he wouldn't be getting much else from me, opted to press a quick kiss into the side of my head before heading to church.
Yeah.
We were going to talk, alright.
CHAPTER FIVE
Baby Momma Drama
Caleb
I needed to get my head in the game and focus on getting through church, but as I sank down into my chair at the table, all I could see were Isabelle's eyes. Cold shards of blue glaring at me like I was the one who'd done something wrong, pissed at me for...I didn't know what.
"Let's get this shit straightened out," Marcus was saying now as he pounded the gavel and yanking me out of this current haze. "We all knew they would make a move, but I gotta say, I didn't really expect it would be like this. They're gonna play on every angle they can—money problems, safety concerns, any skeletons in their closets, whatever they can wrap their hands around."
"Lex doesn't have any skeletons in her closet," Dom chimed in and I could tell just from the wary glint in his dark eyes that he was feeling just on edge about all this shit as I was.
"Neither does Iz," I threw in and cast a tight nod in Dom's direction to let him know I was with him all the way on this one.
If there were any dark, dirty secrets in Isabelle's life, I would've already known about them. We wouldn't have come this far together if we kept secrets from each other. Lex wasn't an issue either, but...
"I think the real problem here is that we don't know what these girls know and what they don't," Heath was saying gruffly now.
"Nah," I shook my head and tapped my cigarette into the ashtray in front of me. "What matters is which one might talk. It's not gonna be Iz. And it's not gonna be Lex either."
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Eli shifting anxiously in his seat and I couldn't blame him. If I were him, I figured a whole slew of nasty emotions would be running through me right now: anger at my brothers for not trusting my girl, fear of what would happen if everyone was right and I think, right about now, my mind would be working overtime to sift through everything I knew about her. Where she went when I wasn't around, who she spent her time with when she wasn't with me, what secrets she'd buried deep that I didn't know about.
"That's a pretty damn big assumption to make about my girl," Eli tossed out. His tone was calm and even, but everyone in the room and their mother could sense the undercurrent of malice there too.
"How well do you really know her?" I asked with a frown. I wanted to keep the peace, but I wanted this resolved more.
Eli shifted again and clamped his hands together in front of him. "How well do you really know yours, huh? She's only been hangin' around the clubhouse for, what, not even a year? The only reason she even showed up here in the first place was because of my girl and come on, am I really the only one at this table who doesn't see how outta place Caleb's girl is here in our clubhouse? She's not one of us. I'm sorry, bro, but she's more of an outsider than Becca is and we all know it."
I loved Eli Harris like a brother. I really did. But he was treading some serious fucking thin ice right now. My elbow rested on the table now and I rubbed my mouth with my free hand to mask the animosity rolling off me.
"I don't appreciate you pointing fingers at my pregnant old lady," I told him and did nothing to hide the darkness curling around each word.
"Alright, alright," Marcus called out, clearly wanting to diffuse the growing tension in the room. "What I don't appreciate is that all it took was them bringin' in three old ladies and now, you two," he gestured toward me and Eli, "are starin' each other down like you got an itchy trigger-finger. That's exactly what they wanted and you're givin' it to them. This bullshit stops now."
He paused to make sure his point hit its target and waited until a round of nods passed around the table.
"Fact of the matter is," Marcus pushed on, "I think we can all agree none of these girls gets a free pass. I don't care how long they've been around or whether or not they're knocked up because we need to do a little recon of our own because they sure as shit have been diggin'. We need to know what their weak spots are and we need to know if those weak spots are anything we need to be concerned about."
"Cut 'em loose tonight and see where they land," Heath suggested heavily. That was his own daughter-in-law he was casting suspicion over, too, and the weariness attached to the act wore deep into the lines already etched into the old man's grizzled face. "If they've got anything to hide, anything that needs coverin' up, they're gonna take care of their business as soon as possible to keep us from catchin' wind of it."
Dom shot him a livid glare. "That sounds like you're sayin' you wanna set-up my wife."
Heath just shrugged. "It ain't a set-up if she's got nothin' to hide. You know I love Lex like a daughter, but that don't mean she wouldn't crack if they put pressure on her in all the right places."
"So, you three talk to your women as soon as we're done here, find out exactly what the ATF said to them, send them home with an escort, and then their escort will stick around, if you will," Marcus waved a hand like he was discussing just regular old business, "when and if there's anything that needs reporting. Eli, I think you should run a scan on the girls, see what pops up. Heath'll keep an eye on ya to make sure you don't decide to leave anything out. Casey, you stay on Becca. ZZ take
Isabelle. And Doc, you stay with Lex. Everyone else parks it here for the rest of the night until we get a report. Is that clear?"
His eyes swept to me in a hard glare and I nodded tightly. Then he shifted that glare to Dom and Eli, waiting until he got the same reaction from them before calling church to an end.
I didn't like this at all. I didn't like the idea of anyone, myself included, casting any sort of shadow of doubt over the person I'd never been more sure of in my life. I didn't doubt for one second all ZZ would report tonight was that Isabelle went home, worked on a project or watched some TV, and then went to bed. My club putting a tail on my old lady was as unsettling as it was infuriating. Part of me just couldn't believe we were actually in this position, that we were investigating our own women like none of the commitments Dom and I had made to our respective old ladies mattered. Like we couldn't be trusted enough to attach ourselves to women who were loyal and trustworthy every step of the way.
The idiocy of the whole thing was unnerving. Being part of something that could cast this kind of suspicion on Isabelle, with what the repercussions of that suspicion could mean...the rest of that thought just couldn't take shape in my mind.
Marcus' words at Dom and Lex's wedding filled my mind now: you gotta figure out if she's gonna be an asset or a weakness because she can't be both.
She was absolutely an asset, but I'd just be lying to myself if I said my trigger-finger didn't get a little itchy, as Marcus had so aptly put it, when it came to her either. I had a very short, very thin fuse where Isabelle was concerned. Brandon Davis could attest to that.
