Now Venus was a bigger question mark than before.

What I really wanted to do was kill her. Just get rid of her once and for all.

Problem was, I didn’t know who her contact was, or how they’d found out the drug buy was bogus.

I thought about taking her out to the desert and using a crowbar and a pair of pliers to get her to talk. In retrospect, that’s exactly what I should have done. But instead, I fucked up and made the dumbest mistake I’d made in years.

I took it to Jack.

There were good reasons for it. For one, protocol demanded it. He might have been a do-gooder idiot, but Jack was still the president of the MC.

Plus, even though I was running all sorts of illegal shit on the side, none of it included first degree murder. If I didn’t include Jack on the decision and he found out later, he could’ve kicked me out of the Riders. Years ago it would’ve meant a bullet in the back of my head. John Glynn and other club presidents wouldn’t have even hesitated – not for a betrayal that huge.

But we were kinder and gentler now. A thousand points of light and all that horseshit. Plus, Jack didn’t have the balls to smoke me. Didn’t even have the balls to tell his pet gorilla to do it.

Knowing all that, it was a particularly stupid mistake to tell him about Venus.

Oh well. Live and learn.

I went to the body shop the next morning. I pulled Kade in on the meeting, too. After all, he was the Sergeant-At-Arms. If a civilian was going to get killed on official club business, he was probably going to be the one to pull the trigger.

I laid out my case, telling them about the post-it note, the microphone on the dumpster, Venus’s conversation, the fake drug buy, and the complete lack of anything happening afterwards – including her going completely radio silent.

The only thing I didn’t tell them was how Benjy had clued me in initially. Part of it was, I didn’t want Jack going to Benjy and exposing my little white lie about the ex-boyfriend. I knew Benjy would get all butt-hurt and I’d never hear the end of it. I didn’t need that fuckin’ hassle. Otherwise I’d have to dispose of two fuckin’ bodies.

But in retrospect, I think my gut was warning me, Don’t lay all your cards out on the table. Just in case.

Thank God I listened to my gut.

“Why didn’t you bring this to me earlier?” Jack snapped when I finished my story. Kade just stood in the corner, arms crossed, silent as a wooden Indian.

Because I’m cooking a bunch of meth on the side, dumbass.

“I thought I’d confirm my suspicions first,” I lied. “Make sure it wasn’t bogus.”

“You knew that as soon as you overheard her phone conversation.”

“No I didn’t. She could’ve been getting pressure from a dealer.” It was a plausible explanation – although I didn’t believe a word of it. “In fact, it might not be the DEA. Could just be some scumbag she’s into for ten grand worth of coke who wants to muscle in on our territory.”

“Well, obviously it’s not the DEA, since they didn’t bust the fake drug buy.”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t assume that. They could have been filming the whole thing, assembling a case for when they drop the hammer later.”

“With what evidence?” Jack scoffed. “There wasn’t anything in the bags.”

“Yeah, but if they were watching that, they might be watching our other operations, too.”

“We’ve only got the dispensary business,” Jack said.

‘Only’ the dispensary business. What an idiot.

“That’s still enough to send us to prison for thirty years,” I pointed out.

Jack looked thoughtful. “Maybe it’s time to get rid of that, too…”

Oh my fucking GOD.

“I didn’t call this meeting to convince you to throw away what little fuckin’ money we have dribbling in,” I snarled. “I called this meeting because we have a fuckin’ problem.”

“You said it yourself – you don’t even know if it’s the DEA.”

“Which is why we need to bring her in and get it out of her.”

“Venus?” Jack asked.

“No, Marilyn fuckin’ Monroe. Of course Venus.”

“Lou?” Jack said, his voice a threat. “Watch the tone.”

I sat there and fumed silently, cursing myself for going on this stupid fool’s mission in the first place.

“I’ll talk to her about it,” Jack said.

I stared at him. “What?”

“I said I’ll talk to her about it.”

“You fuckin’ idiot – what are you gonna do? Just go ahead and ask her, ‘Hey – you workin’ for the DEA?’”

“I’m not going to warn you again,” Jack said, his eyes like a wild animal’s, just waiting for me to make a false move.

I had to unclench my jaw before I talked. “You really think that just because the bitch wants to fuck you, that’s enough for her to admit she’s a traitor?”

“We have a good relationship. She trusts me.”

“She doesn’t trust anybody THAT much. She knows that if she admits what she did, we’ll kill her, so – ”

“Nobody’s killing anybody,” Jack said with cold finality. “Nobody’s hurting anybody, either. Got it?”

I glanced over at Kade. “Then what the fuck do we have him for?”

Kade just stared back at me emotionlessly.

“Not for the things you want him to do,” Jack said. Then he sighed. “Look, I’ll explain to her that she needs to come clean with me, that she’s not in any danger, and that we already know what she did. If she’s in trouble, I’ll tell her we’ll protect her.”

“Oh, we’ll protect her,” I muttered sarcastically.

With Jack as our president, the Midnight Riders hadn’t just lost our balls – our whole dick had fallen off.

“You’ll see – she’ll talk to me,” Jack said confidently. “She trusts me.”

It was like trying to reason with Benjy. Jesus.

“Maybe you should take her some drugs,” I said, thinking out loud. “Soften her up.”

Jack looked like even the suggestion offended him. “No. Absolutely not.”

“She’s an addict.”

“She doesn’t want to be.”

I groaned. “All I’m sayin’ is, give her a little nose candy and she’ll be a lot more talkative.”

He shook his head. “If I make her feel safe, she’ll tell me the truth.”

This whole boy scout act disgusted the ever-loving shit out of me.

“Maybe you should use that famous cock of yours on her, too,” I sneered. “Might get a little more out of her if you bang her brains out first.”

Jack looked at me in disgust. “It’s not that kind of a relationship.”

“Maybe you should make it that kind of a relationship. She’d probably tell you everything if you were plowing her.”

“No.”

“Why not? You gone gay on me, Miss Priss?”

“Fuck you. She’s into drugs. She’s trouble.”

“That’s kind of my entire fuckin’ point, Jack.”

He shook his head. “She’s into drugs because, deep down, she’s fragile.”

“I don’t know how hard you fuck your bitches, Jack, but I’m pretty sure she won’t break.”

Jack fixed me with a death glare. “Lou? I’ll handle it.”

“Right. You’re going to nicely ask a traitor, drug addict bitch to – ”

“Lou? DROP it.”

I sat there, enraged, and wished I had a double-barreled shotgun on me. Life in prison would be a bargain for killing this stupid motherfucker and his useless pet gorilla.

But I kept my mouth shut and walked out instead.

As I left, snatches of our conversation kept echoing in my head:

It’s not that kind of a relationship.

Maybe you should MAKE it that kind of a relationship.

Yeah… maybe he should.

Or maybe I should.

Only trouble was, her and me? There was no way that was happening. One, she fuckin’ despised me. And two, once Jack told her how he’d found out, she’d be terrified of me.

She’ll talk to me, Jack had said. She trusts me.

As I got on my Harley to leave, I had a flash of brilliance that almost made up for my earlier boneheaded mistake. I realized I knew somebody else she trusted, too.

She’d said it herself:

I’d fuck HIM before I’d fuck YOU, Lou. Any day.

Benjy.

All I had to do was convince my own simpleminded mole to get onboard, which was going to be the easiest goddamn thing in the world. And I could sweeten the pot, too.

She’s an addict… give her a little nose candy and she’ll be a lot more talkative.

One little pharmaceutical supply run, and I’d be in business, baby.

Fuck Jack Pollari.

Fuck Venus.

Fuck the DEA.

Fuck anybody who messed with me.

They were all going down.