DORIAN

 

This is a trap.

The voice on the other line said to come alone. They said they would know if I even spoke to my club. More important than any of that, they told me they had the answers I was looking for.

Of course, that didn’t mean shit. For all I knew, it could’ve been someone trying to lure me some place alone so they could blow my head off. Considering a meeting with the Triads was on the horizon, I didn’t have many options. Walking into this trap was something I had to do.

It was on the outskirts of Ivory where there was nothing but abandoned farmland, unpaved roads, and half-developed housing. It was the middle of the night, so all I could see was what my headlight could illuminate. I headed to the address I was texted and got there as soon as I could after saying goodbye to Gina.

“This is the place…”

There was an old farmhouse that hadn’t been used in years. I took a moment to gather myself. I checked to make sure my piece was ready in the back of my waistband. Then I headed to the farmhouse.

As soon as I got near it, I saw a figure standing in the shadows. I immediately pulled my gun out.

“Who are you?” I said.

The figure slowly started walking forward. It was a man who looked familiar but I couldn’t place. An older bald man in a suit. I looked at his waist and saw the moonlight shimmering off the badge on his belt.

“Put your gun away,” he said with his hands in the air. “Nobody here is going to shoot you.”

He stood a few paces away from me. I kept my gun pointed at him. My finger was on the trigger just waiting for me to squeeze.

“Put the gun away,” the man said calmly. “You see the badge, don’t you? Killing a federal agent gets a harsher punishment than someone else.”

“…Dammit.”

I breathed a frustrated sigh and put my gun back into my waistband.

“You mind telling me what the fuck is going on?” I asked.

“Someone wants to talk to you.”

I heard a couple of footsteps coming from the shadows at the side of the barn. It was so dark but I recognized her immediately as soon as she stepped into the moonlight.

“Lieberman.”

“Dorian Sullivan,” she said, a confident smirk on her face. “It’s good to finally talk to you.”

“I wish I could the same.”

“Oh, don’t go hurting my feelings now. The last thing you want to do is get on my bad side.”

“I think it’s a little too late for that.”

“Perhaps. But you’ve still got a chance to salvage everything.”

“What do you want?”

Lieberman put her hands behind her back. She puffed her chest out proudly, standing there like she was on a pedestal. You didn’t see women like her in Ivory very often. Pantsuit. Flats. Not much makeup. Then there was the badge on her belt that she loved to flaunt. Lieberman was something else.

“This is Agent Cook,” she said to the man standing next to her. “He’s been a part of my task force ever since coming to Ivory. Do you know why we came to Ivory, Sullivan?”

I didn’t say anything. I just kept my eyes locked on her.

“You do,” she continued. “Lin and his people are responsible for moving so much weight that he caught everybody’s attention. Now I’m here in Ivory to give him the justice he deserves.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Don’t play games with me. I know the Black Reapers have a deal with the Chinese to move their product through Ivory.”

“If you know that, why don’t you arrest them then? Why don’t you arrest me?”

The way she giggled would’ve made anybody think she was off. It’s like she took pleasure in other people’s discomfort.

“The thought has crossed my mind,” she said. “But no… I’m not interested in bagging some two-bit motorcycle club in some town that isn’t even on the map. I came to Ivory to fry some bigger fish. Now the time has come for me to do it…”

She took a step toward me, her hands still behind her back.

“…And you’re going to help me.”

“How do you figure that?” I said.

“I know everything. Your clubhouse was attacked by a rogue motorcycle club. Now you know that they were hired by the Triads. Now you understand that your club is just another pawn to Lin.”

I already knew what she was getting at. I shook my head and laughed at the thought of it.

“Now you’re expecting me to work with you to take down Lin,” I said. “You are crazy.”

“Am I? What’s crazier? Trying to arrest a group that’s moving enough weight that they have to hire multiple motorcycle clubs to get it through different cities? Or going to war with that same club?”

I stood my ground, my jaw clenched as I tried not to react to the shit she was saying. I knew she was just trying to get under my skin.

She took another step toward me and whispered.

“I know. I know the Triads are coming. I also know that Cunningham, your president, is too stubborn to fall on his knees and plead for mercy. He intends on getting you and the rest of your club killed.”

“We’re not going to die.”

“You will. You’re just a club with six members and a prospect who’s in the hospital. Lin has hundreds of members working for him. That’s in addition to the MC he hired to shoot your clubhouse up. He has more money, more resources, more guns. Rest assured, your club will die. I don’t care how many burning buildings you’ve run into, firefighter. This is one you won’t be running out of.”

I put my head down and laughed.

“And I suppose this is the part where you offer me a solution,” I said.

She grinned at me even though I could still feel the disdain coming from her.

“That’s why I chose you, Sullivan. You’re the good one in the club. The one who can be reasoned with.”

“I can be reasoned with but I don’t think you’re the one to do it.”

“Oh, I think I am. I’m the only one with the solution to your problem.”

The smile left her face.

“Give me the info on Lin,” she said. “I need the info you have. Once you do that, I’ll come in with the rest of my task force and we’ll scoop him up along with the rest of his gang. You won’t have to worry about him coming after you.”

“You said that there were hundreds of men working for him.”

“And I’ll sweep up the bulk of them once you set them up. I think you’ll agree that those odds are better than the ones you’re facing now.”

I looked down at the ground. I thought about what Lieberman said. Shit, I was embarrassed that I was even thinking that this was a possibility.

“And what about the club?” I said. “You know that the Reapers have been working with the Chinese.”

“The club will have to do their time. Crime can’t go unpunished. But for you… Doing this for me… I can promise you that you won’t spend a day behind bars.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the suggestion.

“You want me to rat on the rest of my club so I could avoid prison time?”

“You’ve got a spotless record, Sullivan. Wouldn’t it be nice to keep it that way?”

“Not if it means turning on my own club—”

“Don’t be stupid!”

She raised her voice so suddenly. It was like there was another person standing in front of me.

She arched her eyebrows and took another step toward me.

“I’m offering you a chance to survive,” she said. “The Chinese don’t care about you. The club will be back out after serving their time in protective custody. This is the best solution. It’s in all of our best interests.”’

“It’s in your best interests. You can’t expect me to rat on my club. That’s not even a consideration.”

“You’re not willing to give up the Triads to me? All because of some stupid loyalty to a piece of fabric on your chest?”

I looked down at the logo on my kutte.

“If you don’t understand what the patch means, then there’s no way I could ever explain it to you. No deal, Lieberman.”

She sighed a deep breath and started moving away from me.

“I was afraid it would come to this…”

She suddenly pulled her gun from her waistband and raised it up.

Shit.

I reached for my gun. But just before I could shoot at her, she turned and fired at the man standing next to her.

Bang.

The shot rang into the night sky.

Agent Cook fell to the ground in a heap. He started clutching his stomach as the blood gushed from his wound.

Lieberman took a knee down next to him.

“J-Jane… Why?”

“Sacrifices have to be made,” she said. “You knew this was a dangerous job. We have to do whatever it takes to get Lin. I can’t leave any loose ends…”

My eyes wide, I was too distracted by what just happened to move. I kept my gun pointed at her, unsure if I should shoot her right there.

The life was slowly draining out of Cook. So far away from the city, there was no chance we would be able to save him. Lieberman looked like she was doing everything she could so that he didn’t make it.

“You heard what he told you earlier,” Lieberman said to me. “Killing a federal agent gets you a very stiff penalty.”

I looked down at Cook on the ground. I shook my head in disbelief.

“You’re framing me,” I said. “You’re gonna tell everybody I shot him.”

“Whose word do you think they’ll take? A federal agent? Or a club member?”

“Why would you do something like that?”

“I’m trying to help you see clearly.”

She walked back toward me, nonchalantly putting her gun back into her holster.

“Give me everything on Lin,” she said. “If you don’t, the Triads will come for your club and kill them. And if you somehow manage to escape, I’ll put you up on federal murder charges that’ll make sure you never see daylight.”

Shit.

I looked away from her. All I could do was stare at Cook as he took his last few breaths.

“Put your gun down, Sullivan. Don’t add more murder charges to the one you’re already facing. You know I’m your only way out of this.”

She nonchalantly tucked her gun back into her waistband. She took a knee down next to Cook and watched him as the life left him completely.

“I’ll give you some time to think about it,” she said. “Don’t wait too long though. I’m sure the Triads will be coming for your club real soon…”

I had my gun pointed right at the back of her head.

If I do this right now…

I could put Lieberman’s lights out. I could erase their bodies and nobody would trace it back to me. But that still wouldn’t solve the problem with the Triads.

I held back a shout as I stuffed my gun back into my waistband. At this point, Lieberman had stopped paying attention to me. She’d already made her intentions clear.

If there was a way out of this, I had to find it somewhere else.