Page 26 of Wire

“Both my parents are Russian immigrants. All above board.” He grits out. Savage places a hand on his shoulder as Marx eyes him slightly before giving him a chin lift. All the brothers know that both me and the Tombs ran prelim background checkson Savage’s men before they became our allies. Nothing was flagged, but it is a wild coincidence. Especially with us trying to find a link between Hammer and the Bratva.

Remy continues talking, “No one ever notices me around the club, it’s just how it is. Hammer was the same. He had started taking more and more phone calls when I was around, speaking Russian. I told my dad, and he said he’d keep an eye on him.”

“When was this?” Savage prods.

“Around a month before the Kraykowski thing.”

“Weren’t you already Pres by that time Savage?” Marx says

“We were in the transition then. Flack was the one who led the charge in getting Hammer to step down.”

“No wonder you got your ass shot,” Pops pipes up, tipping his chin at Flack, who just grins back. Pops’ eyes then dart to Remy “Oh, sorry girl” She smiles sweetly at him, crinkles her nose and shrugs.

“So I think we agree Hammer is fucking with us all, MC and Bratva. Around the time Remy is talking about there were three Russians at play. Roman was running the Bratva here, Ushakov was pulling strings from Russia, and Kovalev was in the skin trade. Savage, your MC under Hammer’s leadership were still 1 percenters, although you never traded in skin, so if he was headed down that track he could have been in business with either of them way back then, and Roman, along with the rest of us, shut it all down. That could explain why he has a hard on for us,” Dayz says, looking around the room at everyone who had a role to play.

“Motherfucker. We should have just taken him out,” Savage moans as he runs a hand down his face.

“We need to find who he’s working with. How does he know when you guys are on a run?” Dayz looks to the Death Riders, who look at each other before muttering “Fuck” under their breaths.

“Remy, is there anything else you can remember? Names, places, dates?” Chewy asks, her eyes extra stare-y. She does that when she’s in the zone.

She shakes her head for a moment, her short blonde hair whipping around her face. Her brows are pinched in the center when she stops abruptly. “Wait, he kept saying ‘devushka’. He said it more than once. I’m not sure what it means.”

We all look toward Dex, who frowns. “It means ‘girl’ or ‘the girl’. Can you remember any other words, Remy?”

She closes her eyes and I see her lips working. “‘Devushka moy’ that’s what he kept saying. He was adamant. He growled it before hanging up.”

Dex curses under his breath and runs his hands through his hair. “Devushka moymeans ‘the girl is mine’. What girl?”

Theories and murmurs go around the room.

Marx’s whistle splits the air, gaining everyone’s attention. “Looks like we have shit to sort out. Ana, if he’s working with someone in the Bratva, we need to know. Savage, start cleaning house. Hammer may still have allies within your walls. Wire, Chewy and Remy, you try to figure out who this girl is. Is she someone we already saved when we shut down the trafficking ring last time, or is she someone else? Tombs brothers along with Fox, Nitro, Sniper and Tank, I need ears on the ground. What’s the word on the street? We got our work cut out for us.”

Chewy claps her hands, rubbing them together with a grin on her face.

“Why the fuck does she look so excited about that?” Dex says under his breath.

“Because it means me and Pops can try out some new techniques, Dex.”

I watch Dex shudder and chuckle to myself.

Remy

I lean back and stretch my arms up over my head. The pull on my muscles creates a good type of ache. I’ve been hunched over, staring at my screen, researching anything I can think of to find even a sliver of a hint where Hammer could be hiding. Two nights ago, we found out that Ivan was Hammer’s contact in the Bratva, which devastated Ana. So much so that she “went bush” as her mom says, to get her head around her friend’s betrayal. Gus followed his wife to make sure she was OK, and they decided to stay a few days to decompress in Roman’s cabin. Which, I have a feeling, is why all the Tombs have been hanging around the clubhouse the past two days. Gus hasn’t been here to tell them to get back to the office.

With no sign of Hammer on any of the programs I am now proficient in, I instead try to relax. I’ve never been one to meditate, but now may be the perfect time. If I can relax my mind and think through everything I know about Hammer, I may be able to find a lead. Leaning my head back in the comfiest office chair I’ve ever sat in, I close my eyes and rock slightly; the movement soothing me further.

“Devochka moya, ty menya slyshish’? Ona moya” Hammer grips his phone and

growls. “Fuck!”

“All good Pres?”

“What the fuck do you think, Snake? Fucking Devil’s Rose MC -”

I can’t make out anything else because they walk the other way down the hall. I wait a moment longer, not wanting either of them to know that I may have heard them. I’m not scared of Hammer, but I’ve never been fond of Carter; Snake, as he’s now called. It suits him. He’s as slippery and as mean as a snake. I wonder if he will leave when Hammer leaves? I shouldn’t know this, but my dad and Savage are going to ask him to stand down. What he’s doing, the way he wants the club running, it’s dangerous. It’s always been dangerous, but if he’s in bed with the Russians, it’ll mean he wants to get into the skin trade, and I know Savage won’t let him. Well, Nat won’t let Savage. She’d kill him if he tried.

Deciding the coast is clear, I move down the hall, heading for the common room. As soon as I enter, Hammer steps in front of me.

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