"No, seriously. We haven't been thinking about this right. All we have right now is speculation. I mean, aside from Chewy being a traitor who needs killing. But we have no idea about the others. I need to get back in there."
"It's too dangerous," I insisted.
"Would you be saying that to, say, Dezi or Cary?" she shot back.
"Walking into a place full of threats with no backup whatsoever? Yeah, I'd be saying this to them too."
"I have to talk to my guys. Dutch and Grandpa at least. They will have information for me. I considered calling or texting, but I don't know at this point if Chewy is just letting them be there, or if they're being watched. I don't want to risk them."
"Just yourself then," I said.
"I'm a big girl, Fallon. I can take care of myself. I'm not going to go in there guns blazing. I'm not a fucking idiot."
"What's the plan then?" my father asked, neutralizing a situation that he knew was going to get heated quickly if he didn't step in.
"I'm going to text Dutch and say I am coming by later to grab some of my stuff. Doesn't sound like a threat. If anything, it sounds like a woman who is defeated and knows she needs to move on with her life. They didn't know about the safe deposit box. They have no idea I had that much money squirreled away. They'll think it's normal that I need my clothes."
"No," I said.
"It's not exactly up for debate," she shot back, giving me an understanding, yet firm, look. "If this was you, and these were your men, you would want to try to know for certain before you went in, guns blazing, and take everyone out."
She had me there.
"I don't like it."
"I'm not asking you to like it."
"It could go bad fast."
"Which is why I would have you get your guys set up nearby before I even text anyone. Get into place, get prepared. I'm assuming, with your connections, you can find a way to get me wired, so you can listen in."
I shared a look with my father.
This would be the one chance to throw a wrench in her plans, to say it wasn't possible, that we didn't have the supplies.
"Yeah," I said, sighing. "Yeah, we can do that."
"Good. So, let's get it going," she said, giving us a nod before moving out of the room.
"Gotta admire how calm she is about walking in there," Cary said, shrugging.
"So, who are you thinking for backup?" my father asked. "Pagan is down."
"Yeah," I agreed. He wouldn't like to hear us say that, but he wasn't the asset he usually was with his bum leg. "Niro, I guess. Same energy. Seth has the sniper skills. Get him on a roof somewhere. Maybe Finn too, he's not bad. But maybe some of your guys for the hand-to-hand shit." They were more seasoned, less likely to freeze up. "Cary, Dezi," I added, nodding toward them. Cary was as seasoned as my father's men. Dezi was the kind of man you wanted on your side in a street fight. "And Slash."
"You're gonna want Crow too," Dezi said, leaning back in his chair.
"Why's that?"
"He's been hard to get a read on, but Sway said something about him being a little fucked in the head when it came to knives," Dezi said, shrugging.
"It's a little hard to take you seriously when you're shimmering with glitter, but if Slash agrees, then Crow too."
"They're a big club," my father said, "but I like our odds even with fewer men going in. Plus, there's Danny. Sounds like she can handle herself."
My mind flashed back to the night of the accident, how knee-jerk her actions had been.
"Yeah," I agreed. "She can handle herself."
And I would just have to learn to be okay with that.
Because she was going in there alone.
Whether I liked it or not.
Chapter Seventeen
Danny
I would never admit it, but my stomach was flip-flopping as I walked down the street.
Fallon had dropped me at the coffee shop, so if Chewy had anyone looking, they wouldn't see me leaving the Henchmen clubhouse. Because the plan was to pretend that Fallon had dumped my ass once I became less valuable to him—i.e.: when I was no longer president, and he couldn't get information out of me.
I didn't wear the disguise of a dumped and defeated woman easily, but I kept reminding myself I would only have to come off as broken and weak for a few minutes. Just long enough to hopefully be able to see Dutch or Grandpa, to get some answers out of them if possible, before the Henchmen moved in.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, I forced my gate to become a little slower, a bit less purposeful as the bar came into view. I made my shoulders slump. I relaxed my jaw and the muscles around my eyes.