Page 25 of My End (Iron Fiends #10)

Stretch

We were about a mile out from the Gas Mart when Adam’s phone rang.

I was behind the wheel, whistling something that didn’t match the tension crawling up my spine. Something was off. Had been off. And whatever was coming, I didn’t like the taste of it.

Adam answered with a casual, “Yeah.”

Then silence. Just him listening.

My gaze shifted from the road to Adam’s. He leaned forward, elbow braced on the console, a little too still.

“Uh huh,” he muttered. “Right.”

Another long pause.

“Got it.”

He hung up.

I didn’t say anything. Just kept driving. “All good?” I asked finally, keeping my tone flat.

Adam glanced at me and then back at the windshield. “No.”

My stomach dropped.

Adam pulled out his phone again and tapped quickly, pressing it to his ear. He didn’t say a word the second time. Just listened, nodded, and hung up again.

We pulled into the Gas Mart. Adam didn’t move.

I got out and started pumping gas.

My mind was racing. Adam hadn’t acted any differently since we left that morning. The errands had been the usual, food, wine, smokes for Kevin, and a load of other bullshit, but something was definitely changing. I could feel it pressing against my ribs like a loaded gun.

I climbed back into the SUV and slammed the door.

Adam slipped his phone back into his pocket.

I didn’t start the engine.

“You wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?” I demanded. “You’re the fucking chef, and it seems like you know a hell of a lot more about what’s going on than I do.”

Adam chuckled under his breath.

“Yeah,” he said. “That is exactly what I’ve wanted everyone to think. Just the chef who likes to cook and talk.” He reached into the waistband of his jeans and pulled a handgun.

My eyes widened. “Jesus.”

He checked the cylinder, snapped it shut, then tucked it back under his shirt.

“Start the car, Stretch. We need to get back to the house.”

I froze.

He just called me Stretch.

I hadn’t told him that.

“How the hell do you know that name?”

Adam turned toward me, calm as ever. “Your name is Stretch, and you’re part of the Iron Fiends Motorcycle Club.

Boone and Gibbs have been targeting your club for months, and you finally had enough.

You ghosted your brothers and somehow managed to get an in with Boone and Gibbs. I’m still fucking amazed by that.”

I blinked rapidly. “Who in the hell are you?”

“Name’s Brian,” he said and leaned back in the seat.

“And while I do enjoy cooking, I’m not a private chef.

I work for the FBI. For the past year and a half, I’ve been collecting evidence against Boone and Gibbs.

” He reached across the console, popped open the glove box, and pulled out another gun.

“An hour ago, Tilly called your club and told them Boone and Gibbs know about you.”

My chest tightened. “What?”

“I know because while I’m with the Bureau, I also have deep connections to the Banachi and Maranga crime families.

As hard as it might be to believe, they’re actually trying to stay clean.

They were going to come down on Boone and Gibbs for the Iron Fiends, but I asked them to hold off.

I figured you were working on something. ”

I stared at him.

He kept going.

“I didn’t think Tilly would fall for you the second she met you, but it worked out. You took her off the board. I was trying to figure out how to get her out of there untouched.”

I leaned back and tried to breathe.

“Have I answered all your questions?”

“The big ones, yeah,” I rasped.

“Good. Now start the car. We need to get back. I’ve got agents on standby. They won’t move unless I tell them. Shit could go sideways real quick or not at all.”

I started the car. “Does Tilly know anything else?”

“No,” he said. “She’s innocent in all of this. Everyone else in the house is, too. The only other guys who know the real shit are Jim and Kevin.”

That made sense. Jim had always been a prick, and Boone had dragged Kevin back the minute he felt his grip slipping.

“How did they find out about me?”

“I don’t know. They know the name Stretch. They don’t know who Stretch is. Yet.”

“They put me on gate duty. That has to be them figuring it out.”

Adam shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe they’re guessing. Maybe they’re trying to make you sweat.”

I drove in silence for a few minutes and gripped the steering wheel too tight.

This whole thing was unraveling fast. I had hoped for more time and more chances to get inside Boone and Gibbs’s circle. To see what they were hiding. To take them down from the inside. But now...

“We have to get Tilly out of there,” I said.

Adam nodded. “That’s your priority. Get her out. Get her safe.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll stay. I’ve still got evidence to gather, but I think my time’s almost up. The stuff I’ve got will put them away for twenty years minimum. I was working on tying them to a few murders, but that might not happen.”

I looked over at him. “I’ve seen what they’re capable of. They think they are above the law. You think you’re going to put them away?”

He smirked. “Yeah, I never miss.”

The SUV rolled down the road, and the weight of everything threatened to crush me. The clock was ticking. Boone and Gibbs were circling. Tilly was in the middle.

And it was up to me to get her out before it all blew up.