look into everyone’s spending over the next few days. And I’ve got a place for you to gather your boys. I texted you the address, if you want to forward it to them and have them meet you today. I’ll take you there now.”
She blinked. “Is that what you’ve been doing?”
He shrugged and smiled. “I gave my statement to Officer Woodard, and then I got on the horn. Seems Dylan has several properties he uses as warehouses for various items, and one of them is a few miles outside of town. He offered it up for your use as long as you need it.”
It was almost too much. Ethan had told her he’d find a temporary home for the club, but she hadn’t expected him to work so fast. Gratitude and something else, something deeper, swirled within her, and she didn’t care who saw her. She hugged him and beamed up at him. “That means a lot, Ethan. I don’t know how to thank you.”
He shook his head. “You just did. Come on, let me show you the place.”
Quickly, Brett pulled up his text and forwarded the address to her full contact list for the Silver Suns, telling them to meet her in two hours. She wanted time to look around first, and she needed to think about how to address the situation with everyone. Most of them knew they were going to have to talk to the police, but she wanted to gauge their reactions to that in person, as a group. She valued Ethan’s opinion in that, too, and his ability to notice details and read people.
The warehouse wasn’t bad at all, had air conditioning, and had obviously been used as a meeting place on at least one occasion, as there were folding chairs and a bench table stored. Curiosity had her wondering what was in the boxes and bins, but she felt she was better off not knowing, plausible deniability and all. She smirked to herself as she noticed she was even picking up on the lawyer-lingo that Ethan talked in.
“What do you think?” Ethan asked, breaking her train of thought.
“I think it’s an upgrade. If we manage to survive this, I don’t know how we’re going to get used to new digs because we’ll never be able to afford something this nice.”
“I’m sure we could help you work something out,” he said, as if it was no big deal. One thing at a time.”
Yes, she would have to take that approach, or she’d get overwhelmed. She had already contemplated stepping down today, all things considered. It might be better for the club to just handle their own problems without her presence causing a rift between them. At the same time, Brett worried that walking away would only cause the Suns to fight and end up destroying themselves from the inside. If she could just hang on a little while longer, maybe she could pull them out of this abyss.
Especially with the help she was getting from Ethan.
She turned to thank him again, but his phone chimed, and he frowned down at the screen. Brett waited, and when he looked up at her, he told her, “Looks like we’re meeting with Tony as soon as you’re done with the club.”
Brett’s heart pounded in her chest. “He didn’t give you any clue as to what he found?”
Ethan shook his head, his jaw clenched and the muscle in his cheek twitching. “I’m concerned he doesn’t have anything, and he’s trying to buy time. But we’ll see.” He hesitated and then asked, “What are you going to do if it’s bad news?”
She didn’t want to think about it, but she supposed there was a real chance it would turn out for the worst at this point. Blowing out a long breath, she replied, “I’ll do my best to take it in stride and try to figure out how to move the club into a new phase, or if it should just disband entirely.”
“I know you don’t want to do that,” he told her, his voice gruff as if he empathized with the turmoil inside her. Maybe he did. “I will do everything in my power to help you avoid that, regardless of what Tony says, and whether you’re at the helm or not.”
“I know you will,” she told him, clearing her throat and trying to swallow the lump that had formed there. It didn’t work very well, but she held it together nonetheless. “Is it sad that I’m wondering right