knew what it was like to receive the kind of treatment Holden was paying to have Scarlet get.
“Holden waited for time to go by, and he’s done it carefully so law enforcement doesn’t get wind of it. His attorneys represented members of the Venomous club and another little-known club called Twisted Steel. They were on the same run we were on not too long ago,” Code reminded. “In any case, he made a very large offer to have the VCs pick her up, giving them first option before going to other clubs with his offer. He told them they had two weeks. I imagine they started out right away. He told them exactly where she was, her home address, her work address.”
Absinthe’s heart dropped. He actually started to rise as if he could outrun the order Holden had given. There were eyes on her, he consoled himself. She was a good driver and she was already very close to the coffee shop. Once she was there, Torpedo Ink would ensure she was safe.
“When was that offer made to the clubs?” Czar asked.
“The attorneys took it to the two clubs last night. I caught it because one of the attorneys always makes a point of recording anything Holden says because he’s afraid Holden is going insane and will turn on all of them. The moment it appeared in his files, the alert was sent to me. If Holden knew about those files, he would lose his mind. There’s some fairly damning evidence.”
“All of which I’m certain you have now.”
“That is correct,” Code said.
“Send the others the reports,” Absinthe ordered. “Thanks, Code. I really appreciate the heads-up. I hope she packed enough to stay with me for a while. She isn’t going back until I can sort this out.”
“We can get her things for her,” Code said.
“Don’t forget we have that job in Sacramento as well, Absinthe,” Czar reminded. “This is all hitting at the same time.”
“I’m in,” Absinthe said. He was part of team one and wasn’t about to let them down.
Absinthe didn’t dare warn Scarlet. She would turn around the moment she knew he was in her business. As it was, he was going to have to be careful how he revealed everything to her. He would be as honest as possible, but he wasn’t going to just let her leave and be killed because her feelings were hurt. Shit. He shook his head.
Savage looked down at his phone as the report came in and then up at him. He stood up and came straight to the table to drop into the chair across from Absinthe. He was a stocky, compact man, all muscle and steel, a scary, dangerous individual with the flattest, coldest blue eyes anyone might ever want to see. Absinthe was used to him, but being in close proximity with him, even outdoors, when his demons were riding him so hard, was difficult.
“I can take care of this for you,” Savage offered. “Holden is a piece of shit. He’ll keep coming at her.”
It was that easy. It was always that easy. Savage was the club’s go-to man. If not him then his brother, Reaper. Reaper had Anya now and Czar was doing his best to keep him from having to do so much of the dirty work. Absinthe could have told him; it was Savage who needed to be protected far more than Reaper did now that Reaper had Anya to anchor him. Savage had no one and he was being eaten alive.
Absinthe shook his head and leaned back a little in his chair, watching Savage with cool eyes, trying to find a way to help him. There was always a pathway, but in opening it, that connected them, and Absinthe had more than once spent months trying to get images from Savage’s mind out of his head.
“Czar is working on a plan to take all of them down—the corrupt attorneys, the judges involved, any cops, all of them,” Absinthe said. “Thanks, Savage. I appreciate the offer. Once she’s sitting right here with me, I’ll feel a whole hell of a lot better.”
“Just understand the offer’s always on the table. Send me the green light and I’m on it.” Savage started to rise.
Absinthe leaned forward and he sank back down. “The Venomous club is really working to chip away at the Diamondback territory here in Northern California. Do you think they’ve really grown big enough to challenge them and no one has noticed?”
Savage shook his head. “Diamondbacks