Page 73

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
GUNNER
“We’re not involving everyone in this.” Bear spoke to the entire group, and I watched for their reactions.
“Are you telling them anything?” Bull asked.
Bear rubbed his hand along his beard. “I am, but I’m not sure how much.”
“You don’t trust them.” Tank guessed correctly.
Bear sighed. “I want to, and for the most part, I do, but this situation is too fucking fragile to have anything go wrong.”
“This club will never work if you don’t trust your brothers,” Pop spoke up. “I’ve seen clubs fall because of much less.”
“I plan to tell them on the day it’s set and tell them to all stay here as a group to watch our club and women,” Bear said to nods of agreement. “I don’t want anyone in the dark, but I need to be careful. Need to keep everyone safe.”
“I agree,” I confirmed. “Any information that leaks, no matter how small, could mean those of us who go into the Widows clubhouse don’t come out. At least not breathin’.”
Bull studied me for a moment and then shifted his attention to Bear. “So what’s the plan?”
Bear glanced my way before facing the group again. “Talked to Luke, he’s on board, has the FBI at his call on this. As soon as we give him the information, the FBI will take their positions. Don’t know what Nick has given them, but I’m guessing it’s something if they’re trusting us to set up the meet. Word is, the agency doesn’t play well with others, but Cam’s contacts there and Nick’s undercover information has probably opened those normally locked gates some.”
“We think Nick’s given any information on us?” Ritz asked.
Bear ran his hand over his short black beard. “I don’t. There’s not much to give. If he knows Gunn’s father is Viper, then so does the FBI, but that doesn’t implicate us in shit. We covered our tracks well interrupting those shipments, which made the Widows and the Diablos sloppy. According to Cam, the FBI has enough on the Diablos and plans to move on those arrests as soon as they have Viper and Snake. They think taking the Diablos in first will be a tip-off that they’re getting close to everyone, so they plan to wait.”
“Makes sense,” Pop agreed. “Does Luke have the video?”
Bear nodded. “Yeah. Gunn emailed him everything in case we don’t make it back out. Luke gave me the impression that the video was like the icing on the fucking cake for the FBI. It gave them evidence of the trades being made so they have a much bigger case than they originally planned. Needless to say, without the video, we’d all still be standing around with our hands in our pockets, even with Maggie’s testimony.”
“So we’re just handing them over?” Bull asked, but it was obvious he didn’t like the idea.
“Not exactly,” Bear answered slowly. “Gunn and I”—he gestured toward me—“decided to tell Luke the trade will be on Saturday.”
Tank raised an eyebrow. “When is it?”
“Pop arranged for it to be Friday night.”
Murmurs followed the announcement until Tank finally spoke up. “What’s your end game here?”
His eyes flicked around the table of men. “We’re just planning to make sure they get what they deserve.”
“So why tell Luke at all?” Ritz inquired. “Just take the fuckers out.”
“There are too many players in this for us to just end them. It stopped being us against them when the FBI sent Nick in undercover. So this ends without our fingerprints, but it still ends on our terms.”
“What makes you think Viper hasn’t shared any of this with the whole damn organization?” Ritz asked.
“He wouldn’t want it leaked that I had him by the balls or take the chance that the information I’m holding on the cartel could get out. My guess is there are very few who know what really went down between us, if any at all. He’s been holding this secret for as long as I’ve been gone.”
“How’d he explain letting you go?”
“He told the others I was recording shit, but he didn’t tell them what. They didn’t fucking care. What Viper ordered they did without question and that included his VP.”
Ritz shook his head. “Whatever you think, man.”
I leaned forward and put my elbows on the table. “You don’t agree?”