“Hell yeah, that’s happened to me before. Suddenly that thing that I was obsessing about was all over the place, when I’d hardly noticed it before.”
“Exactly. So I’ve trained my brain to look for the obvious where things may not seem apparent. Make sense?” Savage was smart; he caught on quickly.
“So how is this going to help us? Are we going to go get the kid?” Okay, he wasn’t that smart.
I laughed. “No way. These biker fuckers have played nicely into our hands. All we have to do is sit back and let them kill one another. Saves us the effort. Because as soon as they work out that Demon is alive and he has joined their rival club . . . and that he’s the one who snatched the kid, full-on war is eminent. Then when they are done wiping each other out, we can round up the survivors and throw them in jail where they can rot, for all I care.”
“How are they going to know Demon is alive?”
Good question. I grinned, patting myself on the back. “This is where I deserve a promotion. I let the MC guys break into police records. The ones I wanted them to find. Took them damn long enough.”
Savage sucked in a breath. He quirked an eyebrow, a puzzled look on his face. “What do you mean? That’s fucking illegal.”
I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart. “Look, we know they’ve been trying to hack the system for fucking years. One of their boys—I think his name is Hammer—is an I.T. expert. They've never succeeded because we've always had the best anti-hacking software. But now, it’s in our best interest to give them access.”
“Fuck. That’s genius, partner. Evil genius.”
“Callahan gave me the go-ahead yesterday after I explained my plan to him. So it's all good. He cleared it with the Senator. Walker wants these fuckers dead as much as we do. It was part of his election promise to make our cities safer.”
“I thought you had it in for the Senator?”
“Oh, I do. If this operation goes south, he will be the one to blame, not me. So it's win-win all round. If the bikers kill one another . . . it's a win for cleaning up the streets. If they don’t and things go wrong, well, then the Senator will be in trouble for exposing us and it's the end of his fucking career.”
“Christ, I am glad I’m on your team. These people don’t know who they’re fucking with, partner. You’ve outsmarted them all.”
Elbows on the desk, I steepled my fingers in front of my face. “Finally. Finally, my fucking nightmares can stop. I can find peace and get on with my life.”
“Revenge has never been this sweet, has it? After all these years . . .” Savage didn’t sound as convinced as he always did. Or was I imagining it?
We both fell silent, lost in our own thoughts. This would never bring Amy or the others back, but it would make me sleep better at night, knowing I did something to make the world a better place.
Then why did I have this burning in my gut? I didn’t like the idea of Jamie being collateral in this screwed up adult game, but some things couldn’t be helped. I prayed that he would get out of it alive. That he would survive against all odds.
Chapter Sixty-Three — Harrison
Since Eva had walked out that morning, she hadn’t called. At first I wanted her to come crawling back to me, telling me she’d made a mistake. That she wanted me.
Days passed by and I immersed myself in every activity imaginable to stay busy, my anxiety kicking up a few notches. Her silence was worse than her anger and disappointment.
Then I tried calling her, but I’d hang up after a few rings. What would I say? Nothing had changed. She’d made her thoughts clear and I wouldn’t be able to bluff my way through with her. She was way too smart for that.
It's all about the sex. That’s why I’m missing her.
I kept repeating it over and over in my head. More sleepless nights followed, more intense workouts at the gym, and more frenetic living. The pace was relentless. I turned my life up full volume.
But I couldn’t forget what she’d said. All my attempts to tune her out¸ failed. Eva’s words were burned into my mind. Change or lose the chance with her.
It’s up to me.
Up to me.
Me.
My chest swelled with pride whenever I appraised what I had earned in life through sheer hard work and determination. I deserved every part of it—they were my just rewards. I owned my dues like a motherfucker.
But her.
Eva was so much more than I deserved.
With her open mind and caring heart, she had shown me that there were possibilities . . . that I could find love and happiness. I wasn’t doomed to live a loveless life.
She gave me that. If I really wanted it, I could have it.