Andre

 

“Will! What the fuck? Itold you to get these books sorted!” I am beyond irritated and entering the realm of pissed. When he rushes over to my side, I thrust the business binder at him. We’re inside the safe house that was cleared out several days ago just to make sure everything is actually gone. We’re all human, as much as it pains me, and occasionally mistakes are made. Mistakes like the ones in the book, however, are far less forgivable.

 

“I did! We did! What are you talking about, dude?” He sounds almost frantic as he pages through the book.

 

“No, you didn’t! Look!” I point a rigid finger at one of the columns. Then I point at another and another. “You see these? They were all supposed to be sold, not kept. So why are they still listed asactive? I figured after I got after Jeremy, everyone else would up their game, but I guess I was wrong. And before you go telling me that you didn’t know, there’s a list at the beginning of every binder with a monthly agenda. As you can see here.” I flip to the front of the binder and show him. Actually, I thrust it in his face and almost hit him with it.

 

He stumbles back and grabs the binder. When he looks at it, his face falls. “Oh shit… Jeremy must have… I think Jeremy somehow fucked with the books. Either that or there’s someone in the Black Knights who would rather get caught than see you succeed. Because last week, these books were all perfect except for that one fuck up; you saw them yourself.”

 

I draw in a slow breath that’s meant to calm me; it doesn’t. “Yeah. I remember. And I also remember that big, dumb brute who challenged me a little over a month ago, Remember the angry biker who brought Samuel up? Bet you just about anything he has a lot to do with this. I didn’t think he was that smart, but he sure didn’t seem like the type to let things go… and I sure as hell haven’t seen him around here since. Did we even catch his name?”

 

Will’s eyes narrow, and he almost appears to squint. “Oh yeah! I told him why he didn’t wanna fuck with you and he stormed off. I’m pretty sure his name was Isaac Morris. He was one of Samuel’s most loyal guys, so… I guess I can see why he’d have it out for you.”

 

My jaw clenching, I nod. “Okay. Here’s what you’re going to do: Grab Grant and two other guys you trust. I want you to track this guy down and find out if he had anything to do with these books and these businesses that were supposed to be closed.”

 

Before Will can nod, I see the sharp, distinct flicker of red and blue lights from the window. “Shit…” Without a thought, I drop down to my knees and push a desk aside. I pry up one of the floorboards and drop the binder into it. Once the floor board is down, I push the desk over it again before standing up. “Is everything else cleared out of here, Will?”

 

He eyes the window and the lights, and we both watch as a patrol car rolls up into the small parking lot. “Yeah. But I’ll head back and make sure. Can you handle these guys on your own?”

 

I nod, but keep my eyes on the patrol car that appeared. “Yep.”

 

From the corner of my eye I see Will leave the room. A few seconds after he does, I make my way to the door and fold my arms across my chest. Two tall, intimidating-looking cops step out of the car and stride toward me. I hold my ground, though, and my head cants to one side. “Afternoon, officers. There a problem?”

 

“Not sure yet,” one of them says as he gestures to the other officer to head around to the back. “This your place?”

 

“One of them. Do you have a badge? A name?”

 

“You seem a little defensive, Mr…” He pauses and looks down at a piece of paper he has in his hand. “Zelnick. But I’m Officer Bryce and my partner you just saw is Officer Crow. We’re just doing a routine check on some of the crappier parts of town.”

 

My eyes narrow slightly, but on the inside my gut feels heavy. Kristel’s father is a cop, and I know her last name is Bryce. How many Officer Bryces are there? Fuck, this could be bad. I have to get him out of here. “I’m not defensive, just confused. I generally use this building for storage since it’s hard to come by these days. With all the businesses I have, a building rather than a cubicle just seemed to make the most sense.”

 

“If that’s the case, then you won’t mind if we come in and take a look, will you?”

 

“Doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice, does it, Officer Bryce. Crow’s already on the hunt for whatever it is he’s looking for.” As Bryce steps closer, I still don’t move.

 

“Should we be looking for something, Zelnick?”

 

“You’re the ones who showed up here. Kind of strange you don’t know the answer to that question, don’t you think?”

 

His jaw tightens, and I can’t help but smile; I’m getting to him. “How about you step aside, Zelnick, and we’ll see if we can’t find the answer to our question. Seeing as how you’re not exactly cooperating with me, I have reasonable grounds for suspicion. And if you’re hiding anything in here, we’re going to find it.”

 

A snort makes my nostrils flare, and I step aside with a long, graceful hand sweep. “Please, be my guest. And don’t forget to trash everything on your way out.”

 

Officer Bryce gives me the same kind of look a parent would give a child who had just done something wrong. He brushes past me and walks into the building. Against my better judgement, I follow him rather than wait outside. If this man really is Kristel’s father, I need to learn what makes him tick. He’s also the biggest threat to my club right now, and I desperately want him out. Although the place has been cleared out, I know that I’m done if he ends up finding the binder under the floor boards.

 

“You know you’re not gonna find anything right? You’re wasting your time, piggy.”

 

He stops and turns to me. Then he chuckles. “What did you just say to me?”

 

I shrug, my arms still folded across my chest. “You heard me. Besides, what kind of officer shows up with just one other cop to ‘check out’ a building in the middle of almost nowhere? You’re either very stupid or very sure of yourself.”

 

“Okay… you’re going to tell me exactly what you’re hiding or I’m gonna call in some more guys to rip this whole place apart.”

 

“Funny… I thought that’s what you were gonna do anyway. You can’t threaten me with something I’ve already figured out. And besides, even if youdo rip this place apart, you’re never gonna find anything illegal. So I don’t give a fuck, go ahead!” I uncross my arms and spread them out from my body.

 

He glares at me before he turns to the desk over the floorboards that binder is under. The sound of his breathing tells me that he’s less than pleased; in fact, I swear I can hear him growling. He rips open the drawers, but finds only a few pens, some erasers, and a piece of blank paper. He moves on to a cabinet against the wall. Inside he sees a bunch of plastic glasses and plastic containers, all of which have either water or some kind of non-perishable food items.

 

“Pretty illegal, huh? Finding where my employees and I keep our lunch.”

 

“You need to shut up right now, boy.” Officer Bryce offers me a scathing glare before he strides noisily into the next room.

 

I follow him even as I hear Crow and Will in the near distance. It sounds like Willis keeping him occupied, which is good. “What’s the point of even showing up if you can’t even do your job properly? There are thousands upon thousands of illegal businesses and crack houses that you guys fucking know about, yet you choose to come here on the fat chance that you’ll find something… what? Doyou even know why you’re here? Or are you one of those dumbasses who asks ‘how high?’ when the big boss asks them to jump?”

 

With a growl that I can hear loud and clear, the officer grabs a shelf and drags it over. It falls to the floor with a loudbang! Just as he turns around to face me. He towers over me by at least a foot, easily, but I’m not afraid of him. In fact, I’m having fun getting him all riled up. It would seem that Kristel’s father has quite the temper, just like she does. I wonder if he’s spontaneous, too.

 

“Really? You’re just gonna –”

 

“Yeah!” He steps toward me. “I am. And you know what else I’m gonna do, Zelnicky?” Before I can ask him anything, he grabs me by the shoulder and pushes me back against the wall.

 

My body relaxes with the push, and when I hit the wall, I feel like a car’s just slammed into me. If I resist him, he’ll actually have something on me, so I let him spin me around to face the wall. As he grabs my wrists and roughly snaps them in handcuffs, I let out a snort of laughter. There’s a huge grin on my face.

 

“Smooth, asshole. You’ve got absolutely nothing on me, and you know it. So you better believe I’ll be hiring a lawyer and charging you with assault. It’s real common in this day and age, but I didn’t realize how common until now.”

 

“Shut your mouth! I mean it. You’re under arrest for harassing an officer and impeding a routine investigation.”

 

“Bullshit! I haven’t laid a single finger on you. And if you’re referring to ‘piggy’, you don’t wanna know what else people call you guys. That was nothing. So don’t tell me that I harassed you and ‘impeded’ your investigation. I don’t doubt that you dumbasses have all the paperwork to conduct this raid, but that’sallyou’ve got. Because you haven’t even read me my damn rights… because you knowthis isn’t right!”

 

“Hey, what the hell? Andre, what happened?!” Will rushes into the room, but stops dead in his tracks when Officer Crow comes through another door across from him and places his hand on his gun.

 

“Don’t worry about it, Will. Just cooperate with these assholes, and they’ll be gone before I get back.”

 

As Bryce drags me away from the wall and pushes me toward the door that grin is still on my lips. I hear him calling for backup, and I know that this place is about to get ripped apart for real, but I don’t give a shit. They aren’t going to find a damn thing. I think.

 

I feel like a caged animal as I pace back and forth in the cell. My eyes are locked on the phone against the wall because I know I’m entitled to one phone call. It’s now 10 p.m. and I’ve been in this shithole for the last three and a half hours. By the looks of things, I’m not getting out to see Kristel tonight, which is why I really need to call her.

 

“Hey! Assholes! Where’s that phone call I’m supposed to get? I have rights you know!” More name calling probably isn’t going to get me too far, but I’m admittedly pissed. Officer Bryce had no grounds for tossing me in here in the first place, and now Will has to deal with a full-on raid all by himself. I have no doubt that he can handle it, but if they find that damn binder than everything will be over.

 

“Turn your back to the cell and put your hands through the bars.” Officer Bryce strides over to me, and he looks as pissed off now as he was earlier.

 

I give him a steady stare before I turn my back to him and put my hands through the bars. He cuffs me too tightly before he opens the door with a series of clicks and clacks. A big hand grabs me by the wrists, and he all but pushes me down the hall and over to the phone. Without a word, he uncuffs one wrist and folds his arms.

 

“Go ahead. Make your damn call.”

 

Fuck, I think. If he’s standing right there, how am I going to call Kristel? Now that I really think about it, the station probably follows up on all outgoing calls. There’s no way I can contact her with this phone; she’s going to think I stood her up.

 

“Fuck,” I mouth, but pick up the phone anyway. Will is my next choice since I want to know how everything went. Maybe he can call Kristel for me, too.

 

The phone rings and rings and rings. Eventually I get his voicemail. “Hey, it’s me. Tell everyone I’m fine. I’ll be out soon.” As I speak, I cast a glare at Officer Bryce. Just as I hang up, he cuffs me again and marches me back to my cell. “Are the cuffs actually necessary? Because I’m here for nothing. Even if I did leave, you’d never be able to keep me for anything.”

 

“Like I said back at your little building… shut your mouth.” He slams the door closed, then gestures for me to turn around and put my hands through the bars.

 

With a roll of my eyes, I do so. All I can feel is relief when he removes the cuffs, and when I turn around, he’s staring down at me. I fold my arms across my chest and raise both eyebrows at him, non-verbally challenging him.

 

“You aren’t the first arrogant punk I’ve put behind bars, and you won’t be the last. The only thing different about you is the fact that you’re smarter than the others.”

 

“Oh yeah? You didn’t find shit, did you?”

 

“No… but we will.”

 

“Okay… let’s just get this out in the open because it’s pissing me off. You obviously have some kind of beef with me, but I’ve never met you in my life. So, what the fuck is your problem, Bryce?” I can’t bring myself to call him officer when he’s dragged me in here for no good reason.

 

“That’sOfficer Bryce. And I don’t like bikers. They’re dirty, underhanded, brazen criminals who don’t give anything to any towns except for grief and crime. I’ve never met one in my career who hasn’t tried to screw me or one of my own over in some way. You’re clever, but I see right through you, Zelnicky. Because I know exactly who you are. You and your ‘boys.’”

 

“No, you’re the one who doesn’t get it. Since we’ve been here, we’ve done a lot of good things. We’ve cleaned up some of the nastier parts of town by giving life to businesses there. We’ve donated I-don’t-know-how-much money to all kinds of charities, especially ones that need it like children’s funds and cancer funds. We attend AA meetings and influence all kinds of drug treatment facilities. We care about keeping this city safe just as much as you do,Officer Bryce, which is why I’m still so pissed at you for barging in like a damn bull. If you have a bone to pick with me, fine, but you don’t need to judge all of us.”

 

He folds his arms across his chest. “I don’t really care what you do, Zelnicky, but cleaning up the streets isn’t your job, it’s mine. And it’s this station’s. I don’t appreciate rogues and vigilantes in my town, and I never will, so you’d better work on cleaning up your damn act. Because if I see you trying to ‘clean anything up’ by yourself, you may just regret it. I’m onto you, and you better damn well believe we’ll be watching you. So make us all happy and stay out of our way.” He inclines his head, but in a manner that’s more condescending than friendly, and leaves.

 

“Fucker,” I whisper as I step away from the bars. With a low sigh and a shake of my head, I look over at the crappy toilet, the sink, and the bed. It’s going to be a long night.