Bourne met Nash’s gaze and held it. “I can’t make a move on his territory while he’s still alive. He’s got too much over people that he’s bought their loyalty. I also can’t kill him because the retaliation will come hard and fast from his people. However, someone else can kill him and while his people scramble to figure out who, I can cause some serious issues for them. The interruption to their business and the uncertainty of it would give me enough scope to make my move.” He turned his gaze to me. “That’s where you come in.”

“You want us to deal with him for you? So you can get what you want?” I said.

“You’d be doing yourself a favour, too, Cole. You don’t want to live in a State run by Julio. He’ll cause you no end of trouble.”

“Tell me about that. What trouble could he possibly cause us?” I didn’t let on that I already knew what kind of trouble Julio could cause us. I wanted to see how much Bourne would be willing to share.

“I’d think the Trilogy fire was a good example of the shit he gets up to. He also likes to play with his enemies by causing problems between them and their business associates, so for example your wholesalers, that kind of thing. Julio finds ways to make sure everyone needs him, and if he can’t do that, he finds ways to make sure you don’t fuck with him. He blackmailed me when he got proof of something I did five years ago. Trust me, if you’ve got skeletons in your closet, he’ll find them and use them.”

“Say we come on board, what’s the plan?” Nash asked.

“Julio has met a woman and from what Alex can figure, she’s his weakness. He’s planning a weekend away with her soon. We think that’s our best time to attack because each time he’s taken her away, he only takes a few men with him.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. A headache had settled in. “Leave all this with us. We’ll take it back to the club and let you know what we decide.”

Bourne’s jaw clenched. “Don’t take too long, brother. This needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. Before Julio makes any more ground in Queensland.”

I scowled. “We’ll take as fuckin’ long as we take, Bourne. I need to be sure this serves us and not just you.”

My hands clenched by my side as I walked out of the meeting; the desire to tell him what I thought of him sat heavy in my gut, but I kept my mouth shut. I had to be smart about how I handled him. And I had to remember that even though he’d shared information with us, that didn’t mean we had or would ever have an alliance with him. Bourne was not the kind of man to form a working relationship with. He’d save your back one day only to turn around and stab you in it the next.

8

Harlow

I eyed the bike behind me as I drove to the clubhouse.

Rogue.

I’d almost choked on a cough when he’d knocked on my door this morning and announced that Scott had sent him to watch over me for the entire day. And the way he’d dropped his gaze to my chest as he’d uttered the words ‘watch over you’ had almost made me gag.

There’d been no way I was staying at home after he’d arrived there, so I’d made him stay outside while I got dressed, and then I’d decided to head to the clubhouse. I had cake to drop off for the guys before I went to work.

Wilder sat in the clubhouse bar when I arrived, and jerked his chin when he saw me. “You got a minute, Harlow?” he asked as he downed the remainder of his beer.

“Sure,” I said before sliding into the chair across from him. I was grateful to be in the company of another club member, and ignored the scowl Rogue gave me.

Wilder hit me with a smile, and I couldn’t help but take in how good-looking he was. His dark hair sat slightly messed against his tanned skin while just enough scruff on his face defined his jaw and guaranteed to turn the eye of every woman he walked past. But it was his piercing green eyes that always got me; he used those eyes to convince women to do anything he wanted, and I was no different. He had this way of making you feel good when you said yes to his request, and I’d seen numerous girls fall for his charm.

“How are you feeling? Better?”

“A little better. Why? What are you going to ask me for today?” I gave him a smile to let him know I was okay with him asking me for something.

His smile morphed into a grin. “You know me so well, Harlow.” Leaning forward, he continued, “Trilogy reopens in a few days and I desperately need staff. I was doing okay until this morning when a handful of staff quit to go and work at another restaurant. The asshole tried to poach more of our staff but thank fuck they didn’t all leave. I’m gonna need to borrow some of the Indigo team for Trilogy, so do you think you’ll be well enough to fill in until I train new people?”

And there were those eyes, begging me to say yes.

I nodded. “Of course. Whatever you need, I’m yours.”

“Wilder!” A yell cut through the air and we both turned to see where it was coming from.

Gunnar, the newly patched member, stood in the doorway of the bar, staring at Wilder, waiting for his response.

Wilder pushed back his chair and stood. “What?”

“There’s a bitch outside looking for a fight. Griff’s not around; you wanna take this one or do you want me to deal with her?”

“Fuck,” Wilder muttered, “I’ll do it.” He began stalking out and I quickly followed him. I didn’t like to involve myself in club business, but if it was a woman, he might be thankful for my presence.

Rogue sneered at me as I walked past him. “This ain’t got nothing to do with you, bitch.”

I sent him a glare as I continued on my way. “Screw you, asshole.”

“Fuck, I got no clue what Cole sees in you, apart from your tits and ass.” He followed close behind and I did my best to ignore him. I had him pegged for the kind of man who loved to get a woman all worked up and then toy with them, and I refused to give him the satisfaction of that.

I stepped outside and recognised the dark haired woman from the other day – the one who’d been arguing with Scott when I’d bought him cake.

Her angry eyes came to me and then shifted to Wilder who stood in front of me. “So, I need that money back I gave you the other day. Turns out my brother got his drugs from someone else and they’re still threatening him over non-payment.”

Wilder squared his shoulders. “I don’t know anything about any money you gave us.” Gone was any trace of the fun and easy-going Wilder, and in his place was a man I wouldn’t want to have problems with. His tone made it clear he wasn’t interested in discussing this any further.

She crossed her arms over chest and rested most of her weight on one leg as if she was settling in until she got what she came for. “I gave the dude with the lips the cash. Go ask him for it.”

The dude with the lips?

“Babe, he’s not here and won’t be back for a few days at least, so I suggest you come back then and speak to him yourself.”

Scott does have good lips; I would agree with her there. Kissable lips.

“No, I suggest you call him and get it for me. Dealing with asshole drug dealers is not the way I wanna spend my time ‘til your dude gets back.”

I had to give her credit for her perseverance.

Wilder’s back muscles shifted under his fitted t-shirt as he shoved his fingers through his hair. She was clearly irritating him, but he held his cool. “I’ve got a shitload of things to get through today and hassling Scott for your cash isn’t one of them, but I can see you’re not planning on moving that ass of yours until I do.” He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and stabbed at it.

I stepped next to him while he waited for Scott to answer. His annoyance was painted on his face and I watched as he directed his frustrated gaze at the woman. When Scott didn’t take the call, he left a message and hung up. “Not much more I can do until he calls me back. Give me your number and I’ll let you know when that happens.”