“Then what if we do what he asks?”
I hesitate for a second, looking at her, trying to figure out if she really means what I think she’s saying. It’s my job to keep her out of this mess, she better not be trying to insert herself into this.
“What do you mean?” I say.
“He wants us to get rid of those FBI agents that are after him, right?”
“And he wants their files. Well, he wants the files that older agent, Agent Jones, has on him. He wants to know what they know, so he can figure out what assets of his are safe so he can start over. But you’re talking about tracking down and killing an FBI agent. That’s fucking insane. We’d have no way to do it without attracting some serious attention.”
She shakes her head.
What is she not understanding?
“You could use me. As bait, I mean.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The agent Bowen Dale wants to get rid of has approached me several times. He’s even given me his card and his private number. I think he’s interested in me for more than testimony. You could use me as bait to lure him to us. Then we get rid of him.”
“Stone would never sanction that.”
She nods. Looks me dead in the eyes. My blood goes cold.
“He wouldn’t. But he doesn’t need to know.”
Chapter Seventeen
Adella
“No, we are not having this discussion. Breaking Stone’s orders? Putting you at risk? Addie, have you lost your mind?”
All I want is to take some of his pain away. Even if it puts me at risk, it’s worth it. You do what you have to do to help your family, even if it involves risk and self-sacrifice. It’s what I’ve been taught from an early age, what I’ve seen every man in the club do time and again. I can see how all of this is weighing on him, on the club. I’m not some girl that needs to be sheltered from the world; if I can help, I’m going to help.
“I can make my own choices, Logan,” I say. “And sometimes you have to take risks to protect the people you care about.”
“And sometimes those risks are stupid and get the people you care about killed. This isn’t your war to fight.”
His words bite me deep, they’re so bitter and angry.
Can’t he see what I’m trying to do? The club is stuck, I know they’ll never find a man like Bowen Dale on their own — he’s always been one step ahead of everyone; this is the one sure chance we have to get rid of him. Agent Jones will surely answer my call, he’ll meet, and I know it wouldn’t be too hard to catch him by surprise and end this nightmare once and for all.
“I’m just trying to help. I don’t see anyone else coming up with any solutions.”
“And you also didn’t see what your father did to Silas, just for him putting hands on your mother.”
I grab him by the shoulders.
“Then tell me what happened. How can I understand if you won’t talk to me?”
“You really want to know?”
“I do.”
He swallows. Pain swells in his eyes. Pain and doubt — such a surprising thing to see in a man who is usually so resolute, so determined. It’s enough to make me wonder whether I want to hear what happened to Silas at my father’s hands.
“He was like a fucking animal, Addie,” he says. “He mauled him with his bare hands. Ripped him, hit him, broke him. He choked the life out of him and stared into his eyes, watched the last bit of life leave him, listened to his last gasp with a smile on his face. He was happy that Silas was suffering. All because that man laid hands on your mother. It wasn’t a mercy killing; it was personal, it was brutal. And there’s not a fucking doubt in my mind that, if I let you go through with this bait idea of yours, he’d do the same to me if something went wrong.”
“I see.”
It’s all I can say. His description makes me freeze, a chill descends over me. My father’s darkness is something that has always been kept distant from me; no matter how much time I spend around the club, no matter how well I get to know the boys, my father’s always described in glowing terms — a fair leader, a reasonable man, someone they respect, someone who always gives good guidance — and that’s the side of him I always see at home, too. The violent side of him has always seemed like a myth. A ghost. Something only hinted about in whispers.
But now that spectre is real.
I love my father. I’ll always be proud to be his daughter. But hearing what this conflict has brought out in him has me more determined than ever to end it by any means possible. I need to end this and I need to find my path and identity away from the club.
No matter what it costs.
“If it’s hurting him as much as you say, Snake, that’s even more reason for us to take care of Agent Jones ourselves,” I say. “If we do this now, we could save a lot of other people from being put in danger. What if Bowen Dale and the others try to go after my mom again? Or some of the other old ladies? Or even Josie? How many more people will die?”
His eyes flare. I knew that name would get to him.
