Of course. Because I was so new. I followed him down a dingy hallway rarely used. A doorway to the left showed some mats, a couple of punching bags, and mismatched heavy looking free weights. A few of the lawyers in the building still worked out there, but I liked the nice and well-lit gym across town. Finally, we reached the third locked wooden door to the right, and Nick opened it with a key. “Here we go.” He flipped on a light that flickered a few times before strengthening.
I followed him into a windowless square shaped conference room with wooden table and seventies-style metal chairs. The floor was cracked tile that might’ve been white at one point, the walls were a dingy yellow, and the light cover a beautiful stained glass of green and blue. I studied it.
“Pretty, right?” Nick asked. “I bet there’s a history with it.” He moved for a stack of manila files and a couple of notebooks already sitting on the table next to several yellow legal pads, pens, and markers. He’d already attached a whiteboard to cover the entire far wall, and right in the center was Aiden Devlin’s picture, with Scot’s over to the right. Then Nick kicked out a chair. “Have a seat.”
The seat wasn’t too dusty, so I smoothed my skirt and sat, reaching for a legal pad. “What have you learned?”
He drew out the chair at the head of the table and dug through the stack next to him for a legal pad to read a thick stack of notes. “All right. Aiden Devlin became a Defender, AKA an Enforcer, in the Lorde’s Motorcycle Club about two years ago.”
I started taking notes. “Just two years?” While what I knew about clubs came from television, I still knew something. “That’s enough time to be a Defender?” We’d get to what he enforced and defended later.
“Good question.” Nick flipped over the top page. “The Lordes patched over a motorcycle club in Portland called the Diablo Riders two years ago, and it looks like Devlin was with the Riders for a decade. It was a small club, and apparently he rose quickly with this new Lordes group to a position of Defender.” Nick looked up; his gaze somber. “With a group like this, he had to deal some tough shit to rise so quickly. You get that, right?”
No. None of this made a bit of sense to me. “Why does one club patch over another?”
Nick exhaled. “The Diablo Riders got caught trafficking drugs and guns, and the DEA put away who they could. There was no evidence on at least five of the members, and the Lordes patched them over quick, meaning they assimilated the remaining Riders into the Lordes.”
I rubbed my chin. “So the DEA followed the former Riders to the Lordes?”
“No. The DEA was already watching the Lordes as well as the Riders. The two clubs worked in tandem, which explains the bloodless patch over.”
Heat spiraled down my throat. “You’re saying that Aiden has been trafficking drugs and maybe guns for more than ten years.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Nick said, his voice low and calm. “The Lordes own an apartment complex in Idaho, near the Washington border, on the prairie close to the freeway, where many of the members live, and the DEA raided it a week ago, finding guns and drugs ranging from heroin to marijuana.”
“That’s how Aiden ended up in our jail,” I murmured.
“Yeah,” Nick said. “They had enough to distribute—especially meth. The DEA lab will break it down and find out where it came from. The guns included several sawed-offs, Mk 14s, and handguns with the registrations filed off.” He leaned back in his chair, his voice softening just enough to provide warning. “And you let Devlin go free.”
There he was. The trial shark. Finally, I could see it. Frankly, it was a good look on Nick. Sexy, strong, and sharp. “I was pretty much frisked by the DEA on my way to court, and there was nothing in the case file.” My voice remained clear and surprisingly steady. “If you’re doubting my abilities, I’m more than happy to step down.”
He steepled his fingers together beneath his chin, his expression smoothing right into thoughtful. “This case, taking down the entire Lordes organization, could be a career maker for you.” He leaned forward. “Come on, Anna. I’ve read your entire personnel file. You’re as ambitious as I am.”