“I was working a case. What I do isn’t any different from what—”
“That’s not going to help your case,” Thumper interrupts.
“We’re nothing like you,” someone else spits. “Cash doesn’t control what cases we take. We don’t hurt others to get the job done.”
“Angel,” Thumper says. “Why are you here?”
The man looks to me as if I have all the answers.
“I was working a case in Telluride,” he begins.
Cold dread skates up my back at the mention of the town I was in with Sylvie less than a week ago.
“I thought your man was there for the same reason, but he left before getting anything done.”
“I thought you were dead,” Thumper says. “I saw you go down. Lauren said you were still on the floor when she left with Cara, Penny, and Amanda.”
Angel looks at Thumper but doesn’t open his mouth to explain whatever Thumper is talking about.
I look around, noticing I’m not the only confused person in the room. Boomer looks pissed by proxy, Grinch’s anger is all that he needs to rip this guy’s head off if given the command.
“Everyone, sit the fuck down!” Kincaid snaps, and all of us move, taking our spots around the table.
Even Grinch listens to his president’s command, leaving Angel the only one standing.
“What’s your full name?” Max asks as he takes his seat behind the computer.
“You’re not going to find shit on me, techie.”
Max lifts a cocky brow, challenging the man.
“Angel Guerra.”
Max’s fingers start to fly over the keyboard, and I don’t miss the scrunch of his brows as he watches his computer screen.
“As I was say—” Angel locks his jaw when a knock sounds from the other side of the conference room door.
Dominic pulls the door open enough that I can see it’s Lauren standing on the other side, but he doesn’t step aside enough to let her enter.
“This is club business,” Kincaid says from the front of the room.
Lauren glares at him as Dominic closes the door in her face.
When I look back, Angel seems to have lost some of his confidence, but after a quick blink, it’s right back in place. There’s a fucking story between the two of them, but I doubt if anyone will take the time to explain to everyone in the room what the hell is going on.
“You were dead,” Thumper says again before Angel can continue to explain.
“Takes more than two to the chest to get rid of me,” Angel says, his gaze barely touching Thumper before he turns his attention back to Kincaid.
“Can someone start from the top for those of us that have no fucking clue what’s going?” Ugly asks.
Kincaid runs both hands over his slick bald head before answering. “Angel is a mercenary that was on the same job that Thumper was on when he worked for the FBI. Traffickers showed up, shot Angel, and took Thumper. It was revenge for the death of another trafficker. Thumper killed one of the guys that raped one of the women in his care. The brother wasn’t happy about it.”
My eyes don’t know where to land, racing back and forth among Angel, Thumper, and Kincaid.
I’ve heard bits and pieces about Thumper’s time as an undercover FBI agent, but details are always few and far between. The club thought he was an actual trafficker, and they were prepared to take him out, not only for choosing to be someone we’re trained to hate but also for what seemed like his ability to infiltrate Cerberus before returning to his life of crime. It was a really dark time for all involved, and I can only imagine the level of betrayal everyone felt before the real truth came out.
“I’m working a case,” Angel begins again.