Page 45 of Sniper

“It’s been two fuckin’ weeks and we haven’t set one fuckin’ eye on this asshole. What the fuck is going on?” I wasn’t afraid to admit that my nerves were shot to shit. Waiting for Ethan to make his move was driving me insane. “All he’s done is send creepy ass messages to Katey.” The only good thing was that the shooting lessons had given her a much needed confidence boost.

And she slept through the night. Mostly.

“I haven’t been able to track those messages,” Slate groaned. “It’s really pissing me off. It’s like he’s a fucking ghost.”

Yeah, I didn’t believe in ghosts. The truth was that Katey knew more that could help and she still refused to share. No matter how much I tried to coax the information out of her, she wouldn’t tell me a goddamn thing. She shut me down every time I asked about it, and it pissed me off.

I knew it was something terrible that she refused to share because whenever I asked, guilt flashed in her eyes and instantly my gut twisted. But what the fuck was she hiding? “You find anything else on Katey?”

Surprise flashed in his eyes. “Trouble with wifey?”

“Yeah. No. Fuck, I don’t know.” Most of the time things between us were great, especially now that she wasn’t a raging bitch all the time, but she was holding back. “I don’t blame her, but I know there’s something she’s withholding.”

“If she is, then it’s nothing that would show up by a deep dive into her life. She got a speeding ticket when she was twenty. The only debt she has is student loans for medical school and one credit card which she hasn’t used in more than a year. Her criminal history is clean.”

“No iffy associations?”

“Nope. The only family is the brother you know about and an uncle in Brooklyn.” He looked up at the screens and back at me. “A few domestic calls that never amounted to anything.”

Just what I expected. “And Ethan?”

“That’s harder to answer,” he replied on a heavy exhale. “He seems to be well-connected.”

“Seems?” Rocky grumbled. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means the fucker always lands on his feet. You know how it is when a guy is expelled from an MC, usually he spirals. Not Ethan. He floundered for about six months before he bounced back, becoming a major dealer of molly, coke, and psychedelics. Fuck if I can find out who his supplier is, or where he got the start up cash.” He pulled up a screen with different mugshots of Ethan over the years. “He has more money than he should, based on what he’s selling, and I can’t find any records of any of these arrests.” He pointed to the screen again with a frown.

“That sounds like more than connected. No photos of him with important people? No connections from his family to someone powerful?” Diesel leaned forward, propped up on his elbows as he frowned at the screen.

“Nope. What’s Katey said?”

Nothing and that was the goddamn problem. It was time for me to go get some answers. “Not much but I think it’s time for a little push.”

All of my brothers nodded in agreement. “There’s no reason to think Ethan is done just because we handicapped the Black Vultures. If he’s got fifty grand to put on Sniper’s head, then he can hire another crew.”

I agreed. “Looks like he has his own crew too—at least based on those assholes who rolled up on us in the parking lot.” My fists clenched at the thought of those assholes putting their hands on Katey. “They were young and stupid, but they didn’t shy away from violence.”

Slate nodded. “The plates on their bikes were from California, so it’s a safe bet he brought them with him. Or maybe the rates are cheaper in Cali,” he snickered.

“Either way,” Diesel began. “We should stay vigilant because this asshole isn’t done.”

“Agreed,” Rocky nodded. “We gotta stay alert, ready for another attack.”

“Lockdown?” Gio asked with the same dread we all had even though it was necessary.

“No, but nobody goes anywhere alone.” Diesel’s tone was firm, and he looked around the room at each of us to make sure we understood. “Nobody. For any reason.”

As soon as the meeting was over, I went in search of Katey. It was time to have a long talk. I put it off long enough, too long, and now I had to have those fucking answers. But I knew her better now and I knew exactly how to handle my skittish kitten. I found her sitting on one of the sofas in the bar.

“Katey.”

She looked up from the e-reader she’d borrowed from Ellie, questions swam in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Come with me.” I didn’t wait for her to agree or disagree, I grabbed her free hand, tugging her to her feet. “Don’t argue. Please.”

Her mouth snapped shut and she came willingly. “What’s going on, Sniper?”

I didn’t answer her, even though I knew it would drive her crazy, and yeah, maybe that was on purpose but goddammit, what would it take to make this woman trust me? Stopping at our shared bedroom door, I turned the knob and pushed the door open before motioning her inside.

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