At His Mercy_ Hell Brigade MC(13)

“It means we have a bloody traitor in our midst. Someone is snitching on us, and we need to find that bastard,” announced Nick.



Everyone stared at each other. It was so unprecedented for the members not to have unflinching faith in each other. Although many of them were from different walks of life, they were brothers from heart. Anyone of them would die for the others. Harboring the idea that one was working with police was unthinkable, horrifying.



“That’s a very serious accusation, Nick. You don’t have any proof.”



“I don’t need proof. At least not now. But when I have that bastard’s neck in my hands, trust me, I will get enough proof to hang him.”



“It doesn’t have to be one of us,” said Matt.



Nick dismissed him with a wave of his hand. He and Matt never saw eye to eye on many matters. Their personalities rubbed against each other, and although Nick owed him his loyalty because they were club brothers, he didn’t particularly like the man. “An outsider wouldn’t know about our dealings.”



Matt picked up his bottle of beer and took a healthy swig. “It could be one of the others who hang about in the club. Without us knowing about it, they pick up a lot of information.”



Nick’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”



“It’s obvious enough, man! It could be the girls.”



Mala, Suzy, Willow, and Gabby who were all working in the bar stiffened. Nick saw them lean forward on the counter as they listened to the discussion. True, they girls knew far more than they needed to. Technically, they weren’t members of the club but in reality, they ran the clubhouse and were privy to a lot of information.



“Willow is my Old Lady. She wouldn’t do something like that,” Ronald defended her. “Don’t even think about it.”



“I wasn’t referring to Willow.” Matt’s gaze met Nick. Sparks flew between the two men. “There is someone who is relatively new. She is practically an outsider.”



“Gabby?” Nick said, his teeth clenched so hard that there was a danger his jaw might break. “It’s not her.”



“And how do you know that? She has only been here for a month. We’ve never had trouble with the police before. The rest of the girls have lived with us for a considerable more time. If they planned to sell us out, it would’ve happened before.”



“It’s not Gabby,” Nick insisted. Although he didn’t even glance in her direction, he was quite aware that she listened to the entire discussion with unwavering attention. “It’s not her.”



“She goes out on her own. Hey, Gabby, come here,” Matt beckoned her.



She came forward. “Yes?”



“Did you go out in the morning today?”



“Yes. I went to the NGO to collect stuff.”



Matt pointed at her. “See, she went out. It’s possible that she made a call to the police from outside.”



“I didn’t do any such thing,” she protested.



Ronald tapped his fingers on the table. “She didn’t know about the delivery, man! How could she snitch about it? Not many people knew the date and time.”



“Nick knew.” Matt’s eyes glowed with fervor. “Did she know about the delivery, Nick?”



Although he was tempted to lie to protect Gabby, he’d a duty to the club. They came first and he couldn’t, in good conscious, tell a blatant untruth. “She knew we’d a delivery today but she didn’t know the place and time.”



Ronald leaned forward. Technically, the men weren’t allowed to divulge any significant information to the woman. “Why the fuck did she know about the delivery?”



“Pillow talk, Ronald. Nick spent the night with her,” said Matt with a lascivious grin.



Some men stirred. Although most of them chose to stay out of this discussion, all of them appeared interested in this new development. Nick never showed any lasting interest in a woman. “She didn’t know anything important,” Nick said.



Matt stood and circled around the table towards Gabby. “She could’ve picked up tidbits from here and there. Men drink...and when they drink, they talk. And she is always at the bar, listening, eavesdropping on private conversations, cozying up to everyone. I bet she is an informant, a plant by the police.”



“That’s a fucking lie.” Nick stood. Defending Gabby so vehemently wasn’t part of his plan, but when Matt targeted her, he couldn't just sit idle. “She works at the bar. Of course, she hears stuff, just like other girls do. That doesn’t make her a snitch.”



Matt stopped a few feet away from Gabby. Her expression conveyed fear. But she didn’t take a step back. Instead, her gaze bored into Matt’s. “I didn’t do it.” Her voice was loud, firm. “You guys offered me sanctuary. I would never do anything like that.”



“Why the fuck should I believe you?” he snarled into her face. “I don’t know you, but I know my men, and they wouldn’t do anything like this.”



“Leave her alone.” Nick leapt forward. His hand settled on Matt’s arm and he drew the other man back. When Matt shrugged out of his embrace, Nick placed himself between Gabby and Matt. “She didn’t do anything.”



“How the fuck do we know, man? Let me have a few minutes alone with her, and she will confess.”



Nick could imagine what would happen if he allowed Matt to take her into a separate room. Although violence was frowned upon in the clubhouse and among the members, the women were often fair game. And since they weren’t officially members of the club, their protection was rudimentary. If a man claimed a woman as his Old Lady, she was sheltered from the worst. But the rest of them were up for grabs.



Gabby wasn’t due any defense because she didn’t have a protector.



But he was there!



And he would see to it that Matt didn’t bully her.



“You’re not taking her anywhere,” he growled.



“I thought you wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery?” Matt snarled. “Is she more important than the safety of your brothers?”



“She is not a threat. If she was, I wouldn’t protect her.”



No one dared say anything as the two men glowered at each other. It was rare for one of them to go against the other. Such a thing was unheard of. Even if there were differences, they were sorted through words and not fists. But for the first time since he joined the club, Nick felt the urge to smash his fist in another’s face.



If Matt wasn’t careful, there would be a brawl. And he didn’t mind beating the shit out of the other if he didn’t lay off Gabby.



“She is the only one who could’ve done it,” Matt insisted. His hands clenched into fists, and Nick could see the struggle on his face. He was trying to resist throwing in the first punch. Well, bring it on. Nick was ready for anything. “Ronald, back me up here. We need to question her.”



Ronald scratched his head in an absent-minded gesture. “Until this matter is sorted out, it might be a good idea for Gabby to go away from the clubhouse.”



“She is not going anywhere.”



“And why the hell not? She is not a member of our club and as such doesn’t deserve our protection.”



“She is my Old Lady, and she isn't going anywhere,” Nick said in a voice that vibrated with rage.



He heard Gabby’s gasp loud and clear. Shit! He didn’t intend to lay it down like this. Cut a long story short, he didn’t even know he was considering the idea. But he couldn’t leave her alone to face the wolves, not when she got into this mess because he decided to spend the night with her. And damn it to hell! He bloody wanted her. Not only sexually but emotionally only. She was the only woman who won his heart in a long time. Every other woman paled in comparison. And he wasn’t going to lose her just because Matt was the world’s biggest dickhead.



Matt’s eyes narrowed. “She is your...what?”



“You heard me. She is my Old Lady so back the hell off!”



Ronald came forward to put a hand on Matt’s shoulder. “Matt, leave her alone. You know the rules. She is under Nick’s protection.”



“And if she screws up...”



Ronald’s gaze met Nick’s. Fear swirled in their murky depths. “If she screws up, he pays the price. We all know that. But right now, she is innocent until you have some proof.”



Matt bristled. He flexed the muscles of his arms but then he strode off to take his place on the table. Picking up his beer bottle, he drained it in one swig. “I will get it.”



Ronald turned his attention to Nick. “You’re the one who opened this Pandora’s Box, Nick. And now you have to see it through. Prove that someone is a snitch and find out who it is. Until then we’re not going to commit to any more hauls.”



James ran his hand through his hair. “How the hell would we get all that stuff out of the warehouse if the police are sitting there?”



“We leave it for now.”



“And if that raid it, we lose stuff worth thousands of dollars. That’s more a hundred grad of load sitting in there,” he growled.